The Last Month

SO it's been a long time since the last post...too long. It turned out that school became pretty busy, and I needed to focus on all the group projects and presentations that were due the last month of the semester. Well, let me catch you up on what's be going on at the Walton College and Fayetteville.

The last post left you with our group competing in the Aspen Case Competition. Unfortunately, we didn't win; however, it was completely worth my time even though it did consume the entire weekend. I wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again (hopefully the result would be different).  I did get to read the other case studies, and they were very good too. I am glad I didn't have to choose between them! It must have been a tough decision for the judges.

After recuperating from that weekend (which only was a day), I had to prepare for the many presentations I would give over the next week.  One of them was on something that I am particularly passionate about...management consulting.  I was asked by Rick Boone, the current president of the Retail Bakers of America, to conduct a workshop at their convention on team building and communication.  It was quite the honor to be asked, and I am very appreciative of the opportunity.  The workshop went tremendously well, and I met a ton of bakers from all across the U.S.  If you would like to see the slides from the workshop, you can download them at our company's website, Enth Solutions, LLC or you can click here to contact me.

That night I was privileged to be attend Rick's induction ceremony and dinner at Ella's. In fact the event turned out to be extra special because my wife competed in a cake decorating competition during the convention, and the awards ceremony was held during the during as well.  Now I know you all are just waiting on the edge of your seats to find out the results, but first take a look at just one of her cakes and you can be the judge.

Deena's Shaped Cake

And that was just one of the several cakes she had to do in a 4 hour time window.  If there still is any doubt, yes, she won the competition.  She will be heading off to the unfortunate city of Las Vegas for the national competition at the end of September. 

After that great weekend, it was time for finals and the presentations I had been preparing for.  Well, they all went very well, and we got some great feedback on our presenting styles in our transportation logistics class.  It is always good to hear from people out in the workforce and your peers on what you do well and what needs some work.  

So what's in store for this summer? I will be working full time at SVI, which I am very excited about.  I really enjoy the people there, and best of all the work is surrounded with things I love...organizational development. In addition to working, I will also be taking a night class for 6 weeks on International Management.  I haven't had the professor yet, but I have heard only great things so I am pretty excited.  A few of my cohorts and I are also going to be doing some summer reading.  We received several recommendations from our professors, and I am ready to start the book club.  It will be a good way to keep in touch with the great people I met this year.  And finally, I plan on having some fun and maybe even starting a grilling club too with my MBA classmates. 

I know that was a very brief synopsis of what's be going on the past month, but stay tuned. I am sure there will be some "interesting" stories from this summer.  Be sure to check back soon for a "Review of the Walton Professors and their 2010 Class."  If you're interested in getting an MBA or just curious, there will some great information there.

What a Weekend!

This weekend was full of excitement AND exhaustion.  It all began with a forecasting simulation Friday morning in our Transportation Logistics class.  The class was split into teams of 2. I was paired up with a fellow engineer, Nhiem Cao.  Although our forecasting wasn't the best, our product was. The last period we developed such a great product that our suppliers did not even have enough capacity to keep up demand.

After a morning spent forecasting, it was time to move onto what consumed about 98% of my weekend...the Aspen Case Competition.

This year the Walton College of Business was one of twenty-five invited to participate in a global case competition.  The first round consisted of each school hosting its own competition, and we were one of three teams to participate from our college.  This round was 72 hours of fun.  We got the case Friday morning at 9am, and it was due Monday at 9am.  This years case was on the Tata Group and its ability to continue its corporate sustainability strategy in India and around the world.  The case was very interesting and mind stimulating.  After 45+ hours of working on it, we were finished at 5:30am Monday morning. Needless to say, Monday's classes were very tough as I was only able to get about an hour of sleep.  In the end, I am glad that I decided to participate (Although it isn't over. I'll explain below.).  I learned a lot about sustainability and one of the world's largest companies.  The case also gave me the opportunity to work in a group with a couple new people.  I think our group dynamics were awesome.  We only had a few minor hiccups, which I think is pretty good for spending so much time together.  So for now we have to wait until Thursday or Friday to see who the winner of our school is, and then that will get sent off to compete with the other 24 schools. If we end up in the top 5 overall, we will be presenting our case in New York at the end of April! 

I only did two other things this past weekend: the Northwest Arkansas Heart Walk and sleep (However, as I mention before, there wasn't much of it).  The Heart Walk was at the Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, AR on Saturday morning.  Unlike last year, it was a wonderful day weather-wise for a walk around the ballpark.  Our class raised around $3000 dollars this for the cause.  Even though my contribution was small, I am glad I could help out. If you would like to donate to help out in the research for the cure, please click here.  Here's a few pictures of us at the event.

Us with the Naturals mascot

 The team in front of home plate

Lastly, I need to give my wife props for being amazing this weekend.  She is the reason for me eating dinner this weekend. She brought our case group dinner Saturday and Sunday night...in fact, Sunday she grilled us burgers and hot dogs.  I know we all appreciate it very much.  

Well, that was just this past weekend.  You can see being involved in the MBA program here is quite time consuming, but trust me it is definitely worth it.  I am getting to work with some great individuals and learning some things too, but I think it's the experience as a whole that make it wonderful.  This next week looks to be pretty busy too as I have several presentations and course projects to finish, but I know it'll all get done.

Until the next time.....

The Family

My wife and I got our first dog together about 4 months ago, a golden retriever named Heidi.  My aunt recommended taking her to Every Dog Can, which is run by an animal behaviorist. She is AMAZING!  She is like the dog whisperer of Rogers, AR.  Well, we just got back from our first class with her.  Heidi is well behaved, but she just wants to play and play and play.  Here's a picture of her, and yes that is snow on her nose.

Well, now that I talked about our newest family member, I guess I should give a brief rundown of the rest of my family.  I've been married for almost 2 years now to the best girl in the world.  She is a cake artist at Rick's Bakery, so she is very artistic. She loves to paint and garden, and she keeps me on my toes with her new ideas! In addition to Heidi we have two cats, Masey and Ballou. They are brother and sister and love to fight with each other. 

Now, I'll say a bit about myself.  I have lived in Fayetteville for about 7 years now. That includes my time as an undergrad at the College of Engineering.  I graduated in 2007 with a bachelors in Industrial Engineering. Fresh out of school I took a job with a consulting firm in Dallas, TX. I traveled every week for 2 years straight. At times is was really tough, but I am glad I had the chance to meet the amazing (and some not so amazing) people I did. In fact, it was my boss who strongly encouraged me to go back and get my MBA. I had always wanted to, but he faced me in the right direction and was a wonderful mentor. I am now working on finishing my first semester at the Sam M. Walton College of Business.  The time has really flown by, and I am already looking forward to the fall classes. But for now, I have remain focused on finishing the semester strong because there is plenty to do.  In fact, I need to get back to our Finance project. Be sure to tune in next time for more exciting news....