Miss Midterms...

This week is midterms and I have a little humor for you.

You know you spend too much time in the library when...

• You have a designated area and the computer remembers your passwords
• Your tutor says, "I'll see you next week," without even asking if you are signed up
• You spread out your work across 2 work spaces like it's no big deal
• You wash your grapes you packed for lunch in the drinking fountain
• You go to 'your' designated stall in 'your' bathroom
• You know which computers are slower and faster than others
• You know all the shortcuts 

Yes. This would be my experience in the library the last few semesters. However, I feel like studying at the library is best for me. My husband rather study at home but I work better in the library so we usually strike a compromise.

I have 4 midterms and I have taken 2 already. I got a 93% on my law midterm and an 81% on my mass media midterm. I'm feeling lucky...I still have my micro-economics midterm and my finance midterm.

What is the best way to prepare for a midterm? I took some advice from my teacher via The Wall Street Journal.

 

The only thing I would add to this list is take occasional breaks...which is why I am blogging right now. 

Wish me luck!

Miss Innovation

"Innovation is more than just being creative, it's about finding new platforms for growth." Clark Gilbert

The College of Business and Communication Summit went so well! I got to campus at 7:30 AM and left campus at 7:30 PM. A long day but well worth it.

I learned so much from the speakers. Here are my notes:

Curtis Peterson-

• Don't lose faith! You will find a job. 
• You may not end up in the field of work that you expected. 
• Internships are crucial, whether the company is big or small.

Susan Preytor

• Do I want to be an entrepreneur? 
• Non-profit isn't always the best option for a business is you are working with investors. 
• You need resources to create.

Clark Gilbert

• There are two aspects to innovation.

1. Sustaining Innovation-to maintain creating and changing norms to create a profit.
2. Disruptive Innovation-companies innovate faster than customers' lives change.

An few examples of disruptive innovations are: the kindle, the ipod, the telephone, the electric car and online media. All of these inventions took companies out of their comfort zones, took a step into the dark and plunged into the future.

This presentation hit me the hardest. As I reflect upon the Talent Activities program, which I am the area director for, we have made many changes this semester. We went on faith, with little logic, but are seeing results. Some good and some 'learning experiences'. Regardless, I am glad that we made them because I know they will help the program in the future.

In a late post, I will talk about the innovations we have made this semester in the program. Stay tuned. :)

Miss College Event Planner

Last semester and this semester, I have bad the privilege of being on the events board for the College of Business and Communication. Every semester, we plan a summit for the students in the college to attend and hear from working professionals in their desired field. I can still remember the first summit I attended. I learned so much and every semester the event helps me define my career even more. (There is something to say about empathy, to me. It means a lot.)

Last semester, I got to host the keynote speaker, Robert Whitman, the CEO of FranklinCovey. It was REMARKABLE! The whole day I kept pinching myself. Within the first 10 minutes of meeting him, he offered to set me up with a job at one of the Wynn hotels (that he a partial owner of) as an event planner! It was incredible. Throughout the day, he soaked up his time with the students. He is such a humble man.

I ended up being invited to reminisce with him and his Harvard buddy and BYU-Idaho's president, Kim B. Clark.That was unforgettable.

He spoke a university forum in the afternoon and shed some words of wisdom about success. He based it off the principles below-

It was so inspirational and I reflect upon these principles almost weekly.

This semester, I get to host Curtis Peterson, who is the Planning Analyst for the Idaho and North America Central Areas of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The event is next week and I can't wait to meet him and the other speakers.

Check out who is coming this semester.

Miss Digital This or That?

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
-Bill Gates 

Just because we have it, does it mean everything has to go digital? Does this have to go digital or does that go digital? How decides?


We have a newspaper publication on campus called, The Scroll. Check it out. Honestly, I don't read it much because I don't have time in between classes to actually read. But, the articles aren't awful and occasionally controversial among the student body. (You know us opinionated educated folk. We always have our 2 cents to throw in.)

The question was posed recently if it should go fully digital and expire the print version. My original reaction was, no. There is something to be said about the nostalgia of holding a newspaper in hand. But, as I thought about it more, I thought objectively and about our future. Is internet really going to be the "global village of tomorrow"?

I am not sure what The Scroll is going to do but if they do change, here are my suggestions for going digital:

• Start campaigning early in a creative way
• Improve the current site and purchase the domain name, "www.thescroll.com"
• Use more multi-media
• Receive feedback for leverage
  
  
  

What do you think? Does every publication need to go digital to be useful and effective for all users?

Miss Messaging

Admit it. We are all judgmental. What makes us judgmental? I believe it is messaging.

What is messaging? Well, in common jargon, messaging can be anything from a text message to a Facebook message to a tweet. In interpersonal jargon, messaging can be anything from how you fold your arms to the tone of your voice to the color of your socks. And, in marketing jargon, messaging is knowing your audience and conveying an idea, opinion or product in a way they understand. 

How can you make your message effective? Well. It isn't as easy as putting a minimum wage employee into a banana costume and having him hold up a "Buy One J****, Get One Free!" sign. (Let's keep this objective.) Messaging takes a few keep principles:

• Research
• Time
• Experience
• Asking a lot of questions
• Making assumptions and drawing conclusions

One of the best things I learned in my marketing classes is "You find out what consumers want and then you make the products. You don't make the products and try to market it to the consumer." In innovative times such as today, before we start a small business, invest in a big company or participate in a non-profit organization, we should all consider this statement.

What are some useless products you have seen? What kind of messaging have they done to promote their product, business or service?

Here are a few that I have seen:

• I need this.
• Of course I need this.
• Who doesn't need this?

Mrs. Tips are for free, today.

A few months ago, a representative from a group on campus came to me and asked me for some advice on planning events? Me? Really? Okay, fine. (Blush)

When it comes to people asking me adivce of certain things (event planning, cooking, careers, friendship, style, etc) I LOVE it.
That is kind of a secret, but, I thought I would let it out.

I believe you can apply this list to any event you are planning. From birthday parties to concerts to dinner parties or even work gatherings. For some random reason, I thought about it today, and felt like I should share it. (I think it's because I have been helping plan a BBQ for work that we have today.)


Here is what I gave her. Enjoy!


Anything else you would add? Let me know. I am curious what you think.

Mrs. Magazine

What have I been up to lately? A lot of coordinating.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making sure that the Fall 2011 BYU-Idaho Alumni Magazine gets published on time. This year, we are publishing the whole issue online (which makes it a lot easier). As the project coordinator, I set all the deadlines and proposed it to: web, design, photo, video and copywriting. Since then, I have been helping everyone stay on task and help them hit their deadlines.

In between, I have been managing BYU-Idaho's first institutional brochure (all universities have a piece like this), a 'mall' map for the student union building, the first official Legacy Hall (all universities have a piece like this as well), helping with the new website and other small production projects. Whew.

This week I really invested myself in the magazine. I conducted a meeting yesterday and had a power-point with each feature or section of the magazine on a slide. We went over what has been done and what other assignments need to be done. After the meeting, I ended up making a  looooong do to list. Esh. So, it's been a busy week but really good. I have had some monumental opportunities and events that will hopefully pay off soon.

Anyway- currently, I am clocked out, auto-reply email is turned on and I am packing for our vacation to sunny AZ...Can't wait!