2/3 of the way done with Semester II

This week was a wild ride. We finished out both of our ten week classes in Critical Thinking and Accounting, and are taking a week off before we head into Organization Behavior and Change. I'm really looking forward to having one class to direct all my attention to, and really dive into the concepts. I've already read two chapters in preparation for next week's class, and I'm really excited about the overlap with Psychology, so I'm hoping this class, unlike Accounting, will be able to relate to knowledge I already have.

Speaking of Accounting- we have survived! The final was fifteen questions long. We were allowed to answer the ten of our choice and the remaining five would be extra credit. I attempted to answer all fifteen, and it took me a full three hours. Most of the other students didn't take as long, but at the end it was me, and about a fourth of the class there at 11PM trying to wrap it up. It turned out to be a great effort, as I got an A on the test, resulting in an A in the class. Not bad for not knowing a single Accounting concept prior to the class! The feeling of accomplishment can't be matched. I worked very hard for that A, and even a week later I'm so proud that the hard work has paid off.

A couple of weeks ago, I also mentioned that I would be doing an article in Austin Woman Magazine. The magazine is out now, and I've had requests for a link to the online copy, so here's a link. www.austinwomanmagazine.com/Articles/2011/03_MAR/58_WomenofWilliamson.html

What non-Business majors can expect coming into the Concordia MBA

There were many reasons that the Concordia MBA was the right fit for me when I began the application process a little over a year ago. I'll list a few, but not in any kind of order

• The Cost- This is an affordable program.
• The Non-Profit Marketing Outreach- I work for a nonprofit, and I didn't want to learn business if it was going to remain only useful in an ivory tower or for only use as an entrepreneur. I needed a program that spoke the language of real life issues and problems and could translate in the nonprofit arena.
• The Program Length- This program is 6 semesters long. I started in Fall of 2010 and will complete this journey in August of 2012.
• The Program Schedule- Meeting one night a week made the most sense for my busy schedule. I knew that school would likely take an extra 20 hours in the week, and working full time and being married, I knew I could either spend more of those hours in a class room, or do more at home, and at least be on the same couch as Matt.

• The Accessibility to Non-Business Majors.

I want to spend a little time to expand on this concept. My undergraduate work is a Multidisciplinary B.A. in Theology, Psychology and Spanish. The closest I ever got to Accounting before now was in my Calculus class, and let me tell you- that's not exactly apples to apples. I was committed to expanding my education, but with my husband in grad school full time, and me working full time, I just wasn't sure I could put myself through the stress of a year of pre-reqs before even being accepted into the program. Concordia does not require prerequisites, and I am thankful!

I will give you a little insight into what that means for me as I've been going through the program. I will tell you, there were times when I honestly questioned if not having the pre-reqs was a mistake. This coursework is by no means easy. This is not an easy degree. This is not the program for the slacker or someone just looking for an official document to have framed and mounted on their wall. This program is work- hard work. I will have my degree framed and mounted, but because I will be proud of what I accomplished to get it.

For example, in the first semester is a Marketing Management class. I have some students in the cohort, who have full time jobs and degrees in Marketing. I've never had a class. So while they were taking a class in Marketing, my experience was a little more than that. I had learn a whole new realm of terminology, and it took a little more work for me to begin fluidly using that terminology. I will say that I learned a great deal, and put the strategise I learned into practice, but the road for me to get where my fellow classmates were was a little longer and steeper.

Another example is currently in Accounting. A majority of my class has had much more experience with the subject, and often times the professor assumes that we've all had the class in undergrad and are capable of having discussions that take it to the next level. I'll be honest, this is the hardest I've ever had to work for an A. And this earned A, feels so good. Course we'll see the final results of that after next week's final!

Concordia does support the use of Ivy Software. I've used this for both Economics and Accounting. The program comes with a small binder with chapters to cover. Along with it is a CD to use in your computer along with the text. You can pre- and post- test to see your progress after taking the course work. The software can be done in a week or two, depending on how quickly you want to move through it. Do be aware that while it refreshes terminology and gets your brain spinning in the right direction, this is not a full class in a mini session. I would say the Ivy Software created a foundation through the first two chapters of Accounting, and was helpful a little further through Economics. Its a great place to start when preparing for a class you've never had before, but you'll still have some work ahead of you to keep up in these class sessions. Classes generally in these core competencies are 10-15 weeks. Its a bit like drinking from a fire hydrant. Anything you can do to prepare ahead of time, you should do. Then, hold on for the ride. It's work, but like removing a band aid, its over with quick enough.

I certainly don't want to scare anyone from pursuing Concordia if you don't have a business background in your education. If this is your passion-then you can do it! There's hard work ahead, especially if you come from a background as diverse as mine. But I came to Concordia because I wanted to stand on my own two feet. I want the confidence of not only knowing exactly what I'm talking about, but to even position myself as leader in that discipline. It may be hard work now in this journey, but I know when I walk the stage at graduation, I'll be on my own two feet.

And the budgets are... balanced!

Last night was the big night for presentations in Critical Thinking! It seems that each class has a group project defined in the syllabus, and so for Critical Thinking we had a 20 minute presentation with 10 minutes of Q&A on balancing the Federal Budget.

As I've mentioned before, our 20 person cohort is divided into 5 teams of four people. My team is number 1! Literally. So being numbered 1, we had the opportunity to kick off the night of presentations by going first. I recently took a course from iSpeak on Presenting 4 Success, and so this was my first time to present to the class with some new skills. Generally teams start by a greeting, and introduce our team members, however using the information I gained, I immediately connected with the audience using a picture and a personal story of when I had worked with the State Department and tied that into federal spending. Its amazing to see the differences within the groups. One group was highly visual offering several representations in tangible ways to explain the concepts they covered. Another used technology most effectively with a killer PowerPoint. I feel that our group's strength was something you don't usually attempt when putting on a presentation, but I felt we were highly relational. I know we had great facts, but through use of personal examples, we were really able to connect with the audience, so much so that time had to be called on our Q&A, or we would have kept right on going. I know there is room I can grow to utilize power point to greater levels or have engaging props, but I just wanted to share how proud I am of my group in our ability to reach out and connect with our audience. We'll find out next week how we scored, and our big papers are due.

These past 2 weeks have been a mad blur. This week I haven't gotten to bed before midnight, and I am up at work by 7:30 each day. Tuesdays, with class, are generally 15 hour days. This week will be focused on writing and incredible paper, wrapping up equations for Accounting, and then the next week will be our cumulative final in Accounting. That means a mad push for 2 more weeks, but the finish line is in sight! An MBA can be hard work, but I am already astounded by the personal growth I've seen. I'll try to give you a glimpse in the summary of this semester after the additional 5 weeks of the next class we will take on- Organizational Behavior and Change.

A growing focus- How my MBA and work are walking together

Several weeks ago I posted about our group project in Critical Thinking and my work with the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce's Legislative and Public Policy Committee. From our Briefing, I was able to talk for a moment with State Representative Larry Gonzales, and meet his Chief of Staff. As a result, I have scheduled them both for a tour next week. This timing couldn't be any more significant as state budget cuts threaten the programs our STARRY Agency has for those in need here in Central Texas.

Also, if you will remember, the group project our class has been given is to balance the federal budget, and as an individual project we are creating a Critical Thought Paper. Having seen what I've learned in our group project, I determined to make my individual paper related to the state budget and how it will affect vulnerable children and families in Central Texas served by STARRY.

This has lead to some exciting developments. Tomorrow I have been invited down to the State Capitol to meet with some movers and shakers to learn specifically what is in line for Health and Human Services. These will be great connections not only to use as resources for my paper, but to keep abreast of the latest developments, so I can do all that I can to protect those we serve, who are often unheard in the Capitol halls. With this experience, I hope to be utterly prepared as I meet with our State Representative, and share our passion for the hurting and abused children and families of our community.

Wish me luck!

3,5,7,A, WOW

This week Dr. Thom met with those students who had an interest to provide a short writing workshop. He gave freely of his time, as we met before our scheduled class time. As you can tell- we had a great turn out.

We discussed the rule of odd numbers... writing paragraphs of 3,5 or 7 sentences. Formulating paragraphs into 3,5 or 7 per section and so on. He gave us some great tools to make our writing almost into a formula, but I have to tease- with all these uses of specific numbers to write, I joke that writing is seeming a bit superstitious!

We also got back our midterms in Accounting this week. Hours and hours of hard work have paid off, and I got an A. We had to turn those back in at the end of class for adjustments, but when I get home with it, it's going right up on the fridge! With both my husband and I in grad school and no kids- these are the types of things that make it to the fridge.

Today held a bit of personal excitement. I was interviewed by Austin Woman Magazine. Turns out, I will be featured in the March Edition. I only make mention of this, because I shared with the reporter the importance of my MBA, and how I love the program. I'm not sure if the material will make the cut, but be on the look out for the WOW (Women of Williamson County)when March's Austin Woman Magazine hits news stands all over Travis and Williamson County!

The Blur that is MBA

It's hard to believe this journey started just 6 months ago. The time seems so short and yet the coverage of topics has been almost unbelievable. I remember just like it was yesterday when my fellow students and I were at the launch event and trying to imagine what life as a full time student would be like.

Last semester was a warm up... we had one 10 week class and that class, marketing, felt a bit like drinking from a fire hydrant, while economics had 15 weeks to set a manageable pace. This semester has been built with two ten week classes and one 4 hour block 5 week class. Both Accounting and Critical Thinking are on a warp speed timeline- each week covering 2 or so chapters in Accounting and 2-4 chapters and articles in Critical Thinking. Add to that the midterm in Accounting last week and a group and individual project to be accomplished in addition to these weekly expectations, and you can get an eye for the next five weeks of what we hope to call the downhill slope.

Today my group met to discuss the upcoming project. For a moment we reminisced of what our expectations were, and how great getting an MBA in two years sounds so alluring. Now we understand fully this commitment, and how much work and outside class time are required to make those two years happen. The encouraging note is what we stand capable of, just 6 months into this commitment, and to note- already we are 1/4 of the way through the program!

Taking Critical Thinking to Politics

This week in Critical Thinking, Dr. Thom briefed our class for our individual and group projects. The individual project will be a paper following an issue or editorial and developing thoughts regarding what issues are being neglected or even hid from the discussion. The group project is related to the budget issue our state and country is currently addressing. We have been given a value related to the deficit and then line items of expenses, and their projected values a few years down the road and then a few more years past that. Our goal- balance the budget.

I sit on the Legislative and Public Policy Committee for the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, and this morning, Friday, we had our first Public Policy Forum to the community. We had such a great response for attendance that we had to move to the Library next door. In attendance we had State Reps Gonzales, Schwertner and Strama. State Representative Mark Strama is a friend of mine, and so I was glad to personally invite him to the forum.

All three did a great job of addressing budget cuts, redistricting and funding strategies. This peeked my interest and provided a great lens through which to begin my approach of the Critical Thinking group project. Also, afterwards, I had a small audience with Larry and Mark, and we were able to briefly discuss budget cuts, and ramifications to social services. Mark asked how this may affect Children At Heart Ministries, whom I am a fundraiser and champion for. Intentionally our structure has sectioned any state funded programs to our STARRY organization, which provides services such as foster care, adoptions, emergency shelter and no-cost counseling to our community. I mentioned my individual project in my Critical Thinking class, and asked them both where would be a great source to follow the issue of budget cuts related to social services. They both provided resources, and we will all be waiting to see the appointments they receive, as Larry may be working on a committee with a related article.

What this all will mean to my project, but more importantly, the children served by our services is yet to be seen. A greater amount of clarity will be pursued through the use of this project, and I am so appreciative to have an assignment that will compliment the impact of my position in the real world.

I'll keep you updated on the project and the things I learn as we continue the path towards Critical Thinking!