Admiration for professors

If you want to know what a college professor has to endure to teach these young minds in spite of the students' best efforts to remain uneducated (!), just read this blog entry by a college English professor in Minnesota. Students REALLY DO exist like the one she describes - more often than you'd hope!

O Mighty Crisis

It would be hilarious if it weren't so sad!

The state of stuff

Coming up on the end of the semester already! First is Thanksgiving break which is supposed to begin next Thursday but (alas!) my Wednesday classes are cancelled, too (aw, shucks!). Back on campus December 1st with just EIGHT class days left! Whew, it sure has come quickly.

Got the coveted "A" on my most recent Statistics test (barely!) and doing well in both Accounting and Classics so I should finish up this semester in good standing. I plan to take Managerial Accounting over Winter Break - that's [3 x 5 x 3] (3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks!). My accounting lab TA is teaching it and I like his no-nonsense approach.

I've also registered for Spring 2009: a foundation Economics course and another general education (Gen Ed) requirement. That's just 6 units - taking it REAL easy in the Spring so I have time to work at H&R Block. Summer school last summer put me ahead of the game so now I can afford this luxury without falling behind.

January and early February will be full of excitement as I get things together for professional admission to Eller College of Management as an Accounting major. Included are: a resume and application packet, a skills assessment, and a formal interview. If accepted, I could start my upper division classes as early as Summer 2009.

Haven't heard a peep from the summer internship people, but after doing a bit of research on the web, it does sound like too big a time commitment anyway. I'll keep my ears open for other opportunities to learn the hands-on practical business stuff another way.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling content with another good semester almost in the books and will have a bit of a break between the last day of class and the first day of Winter Session - about nine days with only two final exams scheduled. Time to count my blessings and get some home projects accomplished!

Becky the Intern?

So what comes to mind when you hear the word "Intern"? Someone who hangs around a busy office and makes copies and gets coffee and occasionally does a little filing? Yeah, me too.

Well, I found one that's likely to be a bit busier than that! Not sure yet if I'll do it (or if they'll take me, either), but it sounds like I'd learn a lot - stuff you don't get in the usual classroom setting.

About two weeks ago a clipboard was making its way around my Classics class. I didn't have much time to read what it was about, but the ten or so names on it (in a class of 500!) looked kind of lonely (and one was an obvious joke - which I won't go into here!), so I added my name to get more info and sent the clipboard on up the row.

Got a phone call last night (in the middle of Obama's acceptance speech!) to arrange an informational meeting - but first she made me summarize my "leadership qualities" to see if I qualified for the meeting! Apparently I possess the requisite "Leadership" (she seemed a little patronising - or maybe its just me), so two other fresh-faced, eager young students and I heard the spiel and got a brochure and a designated time to call back if we were interested in the next level of interviews.

Not sure how they feel about me divulging details, so I'll just say it is described as a "management" position for the summer supervising a small crew of workers in a general service business. They'd train me, mentor me, help me set up a business plan and marketing approach. Then I'd hire some hard-working kids, purchase supplies (on the company's dime), meet with customers, estimate and schedule jobs, and supervise their completion. It's real work for real customers and I'd get paid real money.

The initial meeting gave us only about 10% of the details so I said yes to the next step where I'll learn the remaining 90%. They'll let me know in about a week if I'm selected for the next level.

I do want to take summer school and don't want to be distracted from my academic goals, but she indicated she was able to do both last year, so maybe I can handle both as well... For me it's not the money, it's the experience of "running a business" without the financial outlay or personal risk. After graduation I'll need to know this stuff to run a small accounting business, and it would also be valuable experience to pass along to my future clients who might be struggling with some aspects of the big picture in their own businesses.

It just might be a good fit... I'll keep you posted.