Passport Assignment 6

The objective of the Loyola University College of Business' Executive Mentor Program for Freshmen is to instill the knowledge that only a professional in the field of business could understand, in a casual environment that enables us to ask questions and converse with established members of the New Orleans business world. The mentors who work with our class right now have achieved a level of success that we all hope to someday attain. Check out more at: Loyola College of  Business Executive Mentor Program. I definitely most valued being able to discuss the matters involved in the economy with individuals that knew exactly how the economy works and had advice to give to us on how to work around it as our world changes. Reading things in the newspaper and watching the news is important for understanding the ever changing world of business but speaking to people who are have actually been there seemed a whole lot more effective in my perspective. Upon approaching the prospect of having to meet with our mentors I was honestly a bit apprehensive thinking the experience might be a bit awkward and I did not think the conversations would necessarily exactly just start flowing. Though after meeting just a few times I soon realized that my mentor had a lot of knowledge not only in business but in a key element at being good at business, conversation skills. Our dinners ended up being two to three hours long and the whole time riveting conversation and laughs enveloped our small group as we discussed not only business but stories and hilarious advice. I feel that other Business Schools that do not offer some program similar to ours here at Loyola are missing out. I would tell those students to go seek out an Executive Mentor who is willing to open up about things that all the members of our population just do not know about. By approaching someone in the business field in a professional manner and telling them that you absolutely need to learn, that student might have a shot at having that savviness that that executive mentor has earned relayed onto them. Our mentor gave our group advice and perspectives that I honestly did not know and had not heard and I soaked up every last line of it because I know that I am going to need that knowledge that they have someday. Next semester I look forward to learning even more to get me closer to my goals in the world I live in and my mentor has been and will be more than willing to help get there I am sure.

  Some websites to keep YOUR business savvy up to par during the holiday season! 

Business Week

New York Times

CNN Money

Colbert Report

Wolves On the Prowl Community Service Project

  The Wolves On the Prowl Community Service project that the COB freshman students attended on November 8, 2008 was a solid experience. Dragging our feet, the majority of us managed to begin our day by pulling ourselves out of the warm Saturday slumber that we were all ever-so deserving of and go hit the town with all the enthusiasm that could be sucked out of our dreary bodies and fogged minds. Shortly after we all got some fruit and coffee everyone began to finally open up their squinting red eyes and get a smile on their face, having gotten over the worst part of the day, waking up! Breaking into small groups we all began to see what the next four hours entailed, most of us now a bit more awake and smiling. My group hopped on a bus, actually filling up every seat on the bus if I remember correctly, and headed to clean up some public parks. Fearing the worst, it seemed as though everyone on the bus was ready to do some real work  and show what we were capable of, but devastatingly enough we arrived at a near perfect park that needed the absolute bare minimum of work done. But spirits still high, the group threw on the provided work gloves and grabbed the paint cans. Upon approaching our obstacles the rather large group split into two smaller groups. One group began repainting benches that were in a little need of painting I'd say and the rest of us began pulling overgrown vines off of a chain-link fence. Now the majority of the group had fully awakened and we were bright eyed and on a mission to do what we woke up to get done, and with our overwhelming determination we picked the fence clean and painted those benches black in about 30 minutes.Grabbing a bottle of water and a banana, we all kind of looked around as if we were thinking "Is that all you got?" The group took a short break and then back on the bus we went to proceed onward to our next park. Probably 15 minutes of riding on the bus got us to our next park, actually this one was more immaculate than the last believe it or not. We still picked up the little trash that was sprinkled throughout the field but it only took five minutes. Hopping back on the bus again everyone was still in a good mood and as talkative as ever. We got back to school a bit early and were actually able to see some of the other groups still volunteering. All in all it was a good experience that we all enjoyed, most of us anyways. Another compelling organization  that I have researched in the New Orleans area is the Habitat for Humanity. This is an organization that most everyone is familiar with that helps to restore communities and specifically houses of those impoverished victims of Hurricane Katrina. I feel that the restoration of these homes and communities is vital to the flourishing of our city and that is why I feel so compelled by what this organization strives to achieve. www.habitat-NOLA.org The organization that the clean-up crew worked for was not listed on Blackboard so I was not able to give either a link or brief overview.