Advance COrporate Excursion: Chicago
Part 1: What?
This past spring break, I went to Chicago with ADVANCE for their annual Corporate Excursion. ADVANCE is a professional development organization that focuses on the success of minority students. After deciding to minor in business, I thought that this trip would be a good idea to go on to improve my networking and professional skills, and that is what it did. On the trip, we visited various different companies and learned about the different positions within each company, and the work environment of each. The trip was very beneficial to my career development because it taught me the importance of networking. I learned that a typical day in corporate depends solely on the work environment of a company. Additionally, I learned the importance of an elevator speech, and how to deliver one effectively. The excursion helped me be more confident in introducing myself to people, and telling others more about myself, my interests, and purpose. Also, a majority of the companies we visited had people of color speak to us. It showed me that I can be successful in corporate America if that is where I choose to be. Visiting the black-owned businesses helped me understand some possible difficulties/roadblocks that I may encounter if I open my own medical practice.
The trip was a weeklong trip. We left March 15, and returned the 22. During our trip, we met some alumni of UC, visited various companies, and had time to experience Chicago on our own. When meeting with the alumni, we were given the opportunity to get to know them and their journey and experiences following college. The companies that we visited include Hershey’s, PepsiCo, National Black MBA Association, Chubb Insurance, Ariel Insurance, and an African American Entrepreneurship Panel. Many of the people that spoke to us told us about their journeys up the ladder in corporate.
At Hershey’s, we were given the opportunity to see where graduates of UC could end up. Ashlee Carlisle, alumni of UC and former president of ADVANCE, and her boss informed us about their company, and gave us a tour of the office. Since she had experience being on an ADVANCE Corporate Excursion, she knew what we were looking for on the trip. She was able to pinpoint and answer any and all of the questions that we had. Also, she gave us advice on what we should do while we are still at UC and what we should do after we graduate. Ashlee was very helpful and having her as the first presenter on the trip set a positive tone for the rest of the week.
On the trip we rehearsed and presented our thirty second elevator speeches at each company we visited. The elevator speech is intended to inform someone in a professional setting about one’s self. The elevator speech can be tweaked and adjusted according to the situation. The version that we presented consisted of our names, majors, years, organizations that we were a part of, and what our reasons for coming on the trip were. The information we relayed in our speech was intended to set us apart from everyone else. It gave us experience speaking in front of people that could be potential employers and who knew what to look for in a possible employee. They gave us feedback about our speeches all together and let us know that we had a nice start on marketing ourselves and getting ourselves known.
Part 2: So What?
The Excursion gave me more insight on the business field and what it would take to be successful. It taught me how to market myself through the elevator speech, and how important it is to network and stay in contact with people that I meet and the importance of keeping them updated on what is going on in my life. Prior to the trip, I did not know much about the business world. I had taken a few business courses but they did not give me an actual feel of the environment of the business field. The trip allowed me to grow in many different areas of my life. It impacted my development academically, professionally, and personally.
Academically, the trip encouraged me to continue striving for a minor in business. I realized that no matter what I choose to focus my business minor in, what I end up doing as a career does not have to deal with what I choose to minor in. For example, I want to minor specifically in entrepreneurship. Just because my minor will be in Entrepreneurship, does not mean that I cannot become a nurse administrator in a hospital. Although my minor would not be in Business Administration or Management does not mean that I am not qualified for the job. With my minor, I would not be stuck having to be an entrepreneur. I still will have different opportunities if I decide later on in life that entrepreneurship is not for me.
Additionally, the Excursion helped me learn more about how to be professional as far as how to dress, network, and what it takes to be a professional business woman. It taught me the importance of networking and staying in contact with the people that I meet. I learned that it is truly through the connections made with others that people are able to succeed in different areas of life. The most important thing I must do when networking is keeping both new and old networks updated on what is going on in my life. There is really no point or use in me networking if I am not keeping people updated or current on what I am doing in my life.
Not only did I learn how important it is to network, but I also learned how important it is to prepare for a job interview. It is good to review about a company before I go to the interview. Many companies want their workers to be very knowledgeable about the company for the purpose of marketing. For this reason, the hiring manager wants to make sure that the person he/she is hiring knows enough about the company to market it effectively. Also, it is beneficial to know core, obvious facts about the company, as well as interesting facts, or things that not many people know about the company to impress the employer and to make it known that one is really interested in the job. It is very important never to go into a job interview blindly because it will reduce one’s chances of getting the job due to being unprepared.
Personally, the trip taught me how to better market myself. Before the excursion, I did not quite know all the positive effects that marketing myself positively would have on my development not only as a person, but also as a business professional. I learned some key things about what it takes to make it in corporate or in the business world in general. No matter how hard something gets or if someone tells me no, or that I am not going to make it, not listen to them. Instead of listening to the negative things that people say, I choose to take it and make it a positive by aspiring to prove them wrong. Also, I have learned to “force my work to fit in my life and not to force my life to fit in my work.” I should never look up one day and feel that my life has just passed by because I am so focused and obsessed with my work. I should be able to look up and feel that I have lived my life to the fullest according to how Jesus intends me to.
Part 3: Now What?
Going on the Excursion has truly inspired me to continue on my plan to minor in business. I know that I am not the type of person to sit behind a desk all day, but I am a hands-on person, and I want to help people. With my major in nursing, and minor in business, I know that I will not be in anyway bound to working behind a desk. Listening to the presenters from the Excursion, I know that I will not be limited to one specific job. I know that I can use my talents and skills in many different areas. Within the nursing profession, there are already many different opportunities that are available to me. When I add business as a profession, it expands the various opportunities available to me. I know that with these two professions combined that I will not be limited to one thing and I will be able to interact with and reach many different people. I will be given the chance to touch as many lives as possible in a positive manner according to the will of The Lord. This experience has helped me expand my horizon. It got me thinking that after college I can take off a year and be a travel nurse, and then go back to graduate school and become a Nurse Practitioner and maybe receive my MBA. During this time I will be working part-time to gain more experience as a nurse. After graduating grad school, I can open my own medical practice, if that is what I called to do.
I am inspired to continue to learn more about being professional and the business field. Since the trip, I have taken multiple steps to better myself professionally, as well as personally. I have taken advantage of the resources that have been available to me. For example, through the Excursion, I became a member of ADVANCE, which I was not prior to the trip. I remain in contact with Mr. Walton, who is the advisor of ADVANCE, and the Student Employment/Internship Coordinator for the Career Development Center (CDC). He has helped me update and edit my resume and cover letter to the standards of an employer. Additionally, I have become a part of the executive board for ADVANCE. Next year, I will be the Community Affairs (Service) Chair. In this position, I will be given many different opportunities to practice my professionalism when setting up community service opportunities for ADVANCE. Also, I will have access to many alumni of UC that were a part of ADVANCE in the past, as well as other people that have connections with ADVANCE. This will give me a chance to network and improve my professionalism by interacting with them.
Additionally, this experience has encouraged me to find a business to intern with. I was blessed with the opportunity to intern with my sister under the co-owner of two separate businesses. I am an intern for William G. Peterson, for A Loving Heart Group Home, and Creative Corner Child Care in Dayton, OH. It is my responsibility to make sure that everything is organized and that tasks are completed efficiently and on time. I have to make sure that information is sent out to whom it needs to be sent out to, make phone calls, and maintain a schedule for Mr. Peterson. In other words, my role is the role of a secretary. In the past month of interning, I have learned a lot about what goes into running a business. I have been given the opportunity to learn about the various components that must be done for a business to run successfully.
Overall, on the trip, I have learned a lot of information that is conducive to my growth academically, professionally, and personally. Furthermore, I have applied a lot of this information to my life. I have taken steps to making sure that I keep people updated on what is going on in my life, specifically people that I consider to be my mentors. When I was accepted into the nursing program, I made sure that I told people that had supported me throughout my journey about my acceptance. Slowly, I have been trying to improve on reaching out to others more. It is something that I struggle with, but it something that I hope to change from a weakness to a strength. Also, I have been working on being more assertive and not passive and shy. I have realized that I need to speak up when I am called to speak up. I have been learning how to be more independent and not rely on or wait on others to get something done. I have been taking more initiative when it comes to different areas of my life. All in all, the trip was a great learning experience and it was a very valuable experience.
This past spring break, I went to Chicago with ADVANCE for their annual Corporate Excursion. ADVANCE is a professional development organization that focuses on the success of minority students. After deciding to minor in business, I thought that this trip would be a good idea to go on to improve my networking and professional skills, and that is what it did. On the trip, we visited various different companies and learned about the different positions within each company, and the work environment of each. The trip was very beneficial to my career development because it taught me the importance of networking. I learned that a typical day in corporate depends solely on the work environment of a company. Additionally, I learned the importance of an elevator speech, and how to deliver one effectively. The excursion helped me be more confident in introducing myself to people, and telling others more about myself, my interests, and purpose. Also, a majority of the companies we visited had people of color speak to us. It showed me that I can be successful in corporate America if that is where I choose to be. Visiting the black-owned businesses helped me understand some possible difficulties/roadblocks that I may encounter if I open my own medical practice.
The trip was a weeklong trip. We left March 15, and returned the 22. During our trip, we met some alumni of UC, visited various companies, and had time to experience Chicago on our own. When meeting with the alumni, we were given the opportunity to get to know them and their journey and experiences following college. The companies that we visited include Hershey’s, PepsiCo, National Black MBA Association, Chubb Insurance, Ariel Insurance, and an African American Entrepreneurship Panel. Many of the people that spoke to us told us about their journeys up the ladder in corporate.
At Hershey’s, we were given the opportunity to see where graduates of UC could end up. Ashlee Carlisle, alumni of UC and former president of ADVANCE, and her boss informed us about their company, and gave us a tour of the office. Since she had experience being on an ADVANCE Corporate Excursion, she knew what we were looking for on the trip. She was able to pinpoint and answer any and all of the questions that we had. Also, she gave us advice on what we should do while we are still at UC and what we should do after we graduate. Ashlee was very helpful and having her as the first presenter on the trip set a positive tone for the rest of the week.
On the trip we rehearsed and presented our thirty second elevator speeches at each company we visited. The elevator speech is intended to inform someone in a professional setting about one’s self. The elevator speech can be tweaked and adjusted according to the situation. The version that we presented consisted of our names, majors, years, organizations that we were a part of, and what our reasons for coming on the trip were. The information we relayed in our speech was intended to set us apart from everyone else. It gave us experience speaking in front of people that could be potential employers and who knew what to look for in a possible employee. They gave us feedback about our speeches all together and let us know that we had a nice start on marketing ourselves and getting ourselves known.
Part 2: So What?
The Excursion gave me more insight on the business field and what it would take to be successful. It taught me how to market myself through the elevator speech, and how important it is to network and stay in contact with people that I meet and the importance of keeping them updated on what is going on in my life. Prior to the trip, I did not know much about the business world. I had taken a few business courses but they did not give me an actual feel of the environment of the business field. The trip allowed me to grow in many different areas of my life. It impacted my development academically, professionally, and personally.
Academically, the trip encouraged me to continue striving for a minor in business. I realized that no matter what I choose to focus my business minor in, what I end up doing as a career does not have to deal with what I choose to minor in. For example, I want to minor specifically in entrepreneurship. Just because my minor will be in Entrepreneurship, does not mean that I cannot become a nurse administrator in a hospital. Although my minor would not be in Business Administration or Management does not mean that I am not qualified for the job. With my minor, I would not be stuck having to be an entrepreneur. I still will have different opportunities if I decide later on in life that entrepreneurship is not for me.
Additionally, the Excursion helped me learn more about how to be professional as far as how to dress, network, and what it takes to be a professional business woman. It taught me the importance of networking and staying in contact with the people that I meet. I learned that it is truly through the connections made with others that people are able to succeed in different areas of life. The most important thing I must do when networking is keeping both new and old networks updated on what is going on in my life. There is really no point or use in me networking if I am not keeping people updated or current on what I am doing in my life.
Not only did I learn how important it is to network, but I also learned how important it is to prepare for a job interview. It is good to review about a company before I go to the interview. Many companies want their workers to be very knowledgeable about the company for the purpose of marketing. For this reason, the hiring manager wants to make sure that the person he/she is hiring knows enough about the company to market it effectively. Also, it is beneficial to know core, obvious facts about the company, as well as interesting facts, or things that not many people know about the company to impress the employer and to make it known that one is really interested in the job. It is very important never to go into a job interview blindly because it will reduce one’s chances of getting the job due to being unprepared.
Personally, the trip taught me how to better market myself. Before the excursion, I did not quite know all the positive effects that marketing myself positively would have on my development not only as a person, but also as a business professional. I learned some key things about what it takes to make it in corporate or in the business world in general. No matter how hard something gets or if someone tells me no, or that I am not going to make it, not listen to them. Instead of listening to the negative things that people say, I choose to take it and make it a positive by aspiring to prove them wrong. Also, I have learned to “force my work to fit in my life and not to force my life to fit in my work.” I should never look up one day and feel that my life has just passed by because I am so focused and obsessed with my work. I should be able to look up and feel that I have lived my life to the fullest according to how Jesus intends me to.
Part 3: Now What?
Going on the Excursion has truly inspired me to continue on my plan to minor in business. I know that I am not the type of person to sit behind a desk all day, but I am a hands-on person, and I want to help people. With my major in nursing, and minor in business, I know that I will not be in anyway bound to working behind a desk. Listening to the presenters from the Excursion, I know that I will not be limited to one specific job. I know that I can use my talents and skills in many different areas. Within the nursing profession, there are already many different opportunities that are available to me. When I add business as a profession, it expands the various opportunities available to me. I know that with these two professions combined that I will not be limited to one thing and I will be able to interact with and reach many different people. I will be given the chance to touch as many lives as possible in a positive manner according to the will of The Lord. This experience has helped me expand my horizon. It got me thinking that after college I can take off a year and be a travel nurse, and then go back to graduate school and become a Nurse Practitioner and maybe receive my MBA. During this time I will be working part-time to gain more experience as a nurse. After graduating grad school, I can open my own medical practice, if that is what I called to do.
I am inspired to continue to learn more about being professional and the business field. Since the trip, I have taken multiple steps to better myself professionally, as well as personally. I have taken advantage of the resources that have been available to me. For example, through the Excursion, I became a member of ADVANCE, which I was not prior to the trip. I remain in contact with Mr. Walton, who is the advisor of ADVANCE, and the Student Employment/Internship Coordinator for the Career Development Center (CDC). He has helped me update and edit my resume and cover letter to the standards of an employer. Additionally, I have become a part of the executive board for ADVANCE. Next year, I will be the Community Affairs (Service) Chair. In this position, I will be given many different opportunities to practice my professionalism when setting up community service opportunities for ADVANCE. Also, I will have access to many alumni of UC that were a part of ADVANCE in the past, as well as other people that have connections with ADVANCE. This will give me a chance to network and improve my professionalism by interacting with them.
Additionally, this experience has encouraged me to find a business to intern with. I was blessed with the opportunity to intern with my sister under the co-owner of two separate businesses. I am an intern for William G. Peterson, for A Loving Heart Group Home, and Creative Corner Child Care in Dayton, OH. It is my responsibility to make sure that everything is organized and that tasks are completed efficiently and on time. I have to make sure that information is sent out to whom it needs to be sent out to, make phone calls, and maintain a schedule for Mr. Peterson. In other words, my role is the role of a secretary. In the past month of interning, I have learned a lot about what goes into running a business. I have been given the opportunity to learn about the various components that must be done for a business to run successfully.
Overall, on the trip, I have learned a lot of information that is conducive to my growth academically, professionally, and personally. Furthermore, I have applied a lot of this information to my life. I have taken steps to making sure that I keep people updated on what is going on in my life, specifically people that I consider to be my mentors. When I was accepted into the nursing program, I made sure that I told people that had supported me throughout my journey about my acceptance. Slowly, I have been trying to improve on reaching out to others more. It is something that I struggle with, but it something that I hope to change from a weakness to a strength. Also, I have been working on being more assertive and not passive and shy. I have realized that I need to speak up when I am called to speak up. I have been learning how to be more independent and not rely on or wait on others to get something done. I have been taking more initiative when it comes to different areas of my life. All in all, the trip was a great learning experience and it was a very valuable experience.