I'm in the FOX Spotlight!

A few words for Temple's Fox School of Business students: get to know and use the Center for Student Professional Development (CSPD). To see why I say this and to read even more advice from others, check out the following page on their website where I was recently featured!

On this page, I describe some of the things that the CSPD did for me in my undergrad career which ultimately led me to my current post-graduate position as a Junior Product Manager:

"Fox Spotlight | When it comes to success stories, these alumni are writing their own chapters."

About the Short Story

I never thought I'd write a coming-of-age piece for a job application. Somehow, that's exactly what happened when I applied for a position with a well-known ad agency in NYC.

Suzie has been a character of mine since I was a kid. I used to create PowerPoint animations of her battling monsters and flying across the city after discovering the software on my parent's computer. You couldn't have told me that Word Art and Smart Art were meant for business presentations.

Over the years, I have sketched, written about, and modified this little girl, but I never thought she would grow up this way. Late one Sunday night, I was taken by surprise when these words started manifesting through the keyboard. My very own fingers were telling me that Suzie is a doll, representing a young girl who realizes it's time to grow up but is not quite sure she wants to let go.

I did get an interview from the agency after this, although I didn't end up with the position. I am happy to say, though, that I was offered a wonderful position with the company I've interned for since last September. I'm very happy that everything has worked out and excited for this new chapter in my life, although I guess a part of me wonders what that might mean for the little heroine from my youth...

My Last Semester, with a TimesNewRoman-Loving Professor

If the course syllabus, course description, and course questionnaire are any indication of what this semester is going to be like, it's going to be a long road to graduation for me.

The semester doesn't start until Tuesday, but one of my professors took the liberty of assigning us something mid-week that is due - not on the first day of class, but tonight... in addition to an assignment for the first day. I would say "the nerve of him" but it really wasn't a bad assignment except the fact that my eyes were bleeding by the time I got through the first page. If this business capstone is any indication of what's to come in the "real world," I'll lose my vision within a year. It's like I got stuck in a time portal from the late 90's... I mean, we're already in the next decade of the millennium here. Okay, I'm going to stop ranting. Take a look for yourself.

It actually entertains me a bit. So I come from a graphic design background and hate Times New Roman, sue me. Not that Calibri is all that beautiful, but at least it looks better when you make it bold, add a shadow, and underline it all at once. Okay, nothing really looks that good when bold, shadowed, and underlined, but my professor apparently seems to think so. True story.

Professor, if you happen to read this either before the start of classes or anytime this semester, I sincerely apologize and hope that you will accept my donation of time to update every single one of your Word documents that you use this semester to a format that is agreeable for both of us.

On a lighter note, I'm going out to enjoy this mysterious Spring-like weather and get myself a drink on Main Street, sheesh.

Your TU Tuition: Paley's Media Center

This post is for Temple University students and people who like libraries.

This Tuesday, the main campus library at Temple University is holding a Media Center Open House. It will be held all day (9 am to 5 pm) on the ground floor, showcasing their VHS and DVD collection while providing tours, snacks and giveaways.

The library is one of the most important aspects of a University, and I'm glad to see any efforts to improve ours. It's always refreshing to check out their resources for leisure as well. Temple's libraries' holdings include 3 million volumes, 6 million photographs, more than 30,000 print and online subscriptions, 35,000 linear feet of manuscripts, and a rich collection of sound and video recordings.

That's a lot to discover, whether for class or personal use... wouldn't you rather catch up on Mad Men season 1 and 2 on DVD than research for that industry report, anyway?

Find out what the Media Center has to offer! Visit the Media Center this Tuesday September 29 and learn about one of Paley Library's newest, most exciting additions.

Finally Out of North Philly - my angry post about getting robbed

For anyone who has ever experienced a loss, for those that know the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, for anyone who cares about my personal life.

I recently relocated from Temple University area to Manayunk, Philadelphia. There were a few reasons for this move, none of them being "North Philly sucks" or anything of that nature. I actually enjoyed my time at Temple, and while I have a year left before graduation, I never thought I was unhappy living in a nice apartment off Broad Street. We had plenty of space, I had two great roommates, and the walk to campus was convenient and nice. I did have some qualms with parking, not wanting to go out after dark (ha), and occasionally worrying about safety issues... but I was always reassured by the vicinity of our Temple police and the neighborhood watch guy, Tom. We had a drunk driver plough into our street once, but nothing really bad ever happened on our block. So when people would call it the "ghetto" and be hesitant to visit me, I would just shake my head and reply, "It's really not that bad."

HOWEVER, just a few weeks before I was set to leave the area for good, with mixed emotions of sadness and excitement, our apartment was robbed. My one roommate had moved out, the other at work, and I was in New Jersey for a graduation party. I'm just glad no one was there when they cut the screens on our windows, broke through the safety bars, and took any and all valuable electronic equipment from our home. Ashley and I lost three laptops, two mp3 players, a digital camera, a graphics tablet, and an internet router that evening. It's creepy to think that they may have been watching us.

Seriously? We are college students, so it's not like we have a lot to begin with, and these things that make up our lives were hard-earned and PERSONAL items. The value I assign to my own laptop far exceeded its $600 resale value, because of photos (thank goodness all my abroad photos are online already), music, programs, and personalization I had in place over the year I had owned it. My mp3 player was not only a music-playing device, but my inspiration to work out, with a fully-loaded exercise playlist. I had started on a workout binge as weather was getting nicer, and ran the track two blocks from our apartment regularly before the break-in. For the two weeks after that I did not even want to be around North Philly. So I lost and mp3 player but also my MO to go out and get exercise. My digital camera was not only a few-hundred-dollar-picture-capturing device, but weeks worth of memories, including some great shots of my new boyfriend and I and a picture with a friend who had come up from Virginia for the Penn relays. Money just can't replace that kind of thing.

So as much as I enjoyed my few years in North Philly, it came to a sour end because of the ill-will of some little hoodlums who fit through a back kitchen window and never learned to respect other people's personal property. Cowards. You just counteract any good that people like Tom and Temple police and university professionals and MYSELF try to bring to this town. I won't be coming back any time soon, and I hope you make lots of money reselling my digital camera that I have the charger for, and the graphics tablet that you forgot the graphic pen for. Good luck in life suckers.

On a happy note, I started my internship full-time, and am now enjoying the scenery of a much friendlier Manayunk. I hope everyone is having a great summer, especially the FUNemployed. Take care!

Awkward Voicemail

Memory card reader + Qualcomm's PureVoice converter =

...Freshman Year Relived.