Waco is a special place in so many different ways. When you first come here as a visitor it seems strange and you don’t really understand the dynamic. But after 6 years of living here, it is home to me and the strong community bond is undeniable. I grew up in a suburb of a large city and thought that was the only way to live. But the small town atmosphere in a growing environment has become such a comfortable environment for me and for so many others at Baylor. The community that Baylor and Waco have created is so unique. Just within the last 6 years I have seen substantial growth in the relationship and the joint ventures the two partners have taken on. I can’t imagine what Waco will be in 10 years with Baylor’s new stadium and the growth of the community along the river.
I will update tomorrow. Have a nice night.
« Counting down the days
I have two more days this week, and then I am on to my last week of school EVER! Can’t believe this time is already here. The school work has stepped up and will be crazy within that time period. Next week alone I have four finals, and then I still need to be preparing for my oral exam for the healthcare portion of my degree. I will be in New Orleans the weekend before my oral exam so I need to study as much as possible now!
Obviously things around the country have been crazy the last week, but especially here in Waco. West is only about 15 miles north of Waco and I know many people who were affected by the explosion. On Thursday I have the opportunity to attend a memorial for the first-responders who died during the explosion and pay my respects. I am sure it will be very emotional for everyone who attends. President Obama and the First Lady will be in attendance, which will be a neat experience. It has been an experience seeing the community come together for West, and I can’t believe how generous this world is.
I better get back to my studies. I will be back more this week to update you on all of my work and the memorial service.
Waco »« Speechless
I sit here pondering a thought that days ago seemed impossible. Baylor WBB got out in the Sweet Sixteen… not so sweet anymore. How could it be?! Well we can talk details, but if you are a sports fan you know what happened. Louisville got hot with 3′s and everyone (including the Louisville coach) was left speechless. They took control of the game and used their insane shooting to sore past Baylor. In my eyes, this was the only scenario that could take Baylor out of the tournament because otherwise they are just too good.Victory seemed possible in the last few minutes, but we just couldn’t hold on. And here we sit… reminiscing what was exactly a year ago today. A 40-0 season and a National Championship.
Luckily, our MBB team was able to overcome their tournament obstacles and made it to the NIT Championship game! I am so excited for them and hope we can win tomorrow!
That is all for now. I am studying for my healthcare law test and just wrapped-up my residency overview paper. I had a good time writing that paper as it reminded me of the 7 fun months I spent in California! I will be spending the rest of my week working on some leads for my future employment and perfecting my last Crossfit Open workout.
Have a nice night.
Counting down the days »« Finals Week
Here we are again…finals week for the MBA program. Luckily the two blocks I am in right now, MIS and operations, are both take-home finals so I will be able to work on them during my free time. Easter break is this weekend so I am sure I will have a lot of free time. Another one of my classes, health care directions, will also be ending in a few weeks so this semester is slowly coming to an end. That means…. I better get a job!!!
The health care program is busy right now with residency placement for the class of 2014. Unlike other programs, the placement of each student is very personal and we do not compete against each other. Strengths and weaknesses are examined and the student is matched with a hospital/company where they can excel. I was very pleased with the process when I went through it, and I hope the other class is as well. We also had Done In A Day this past Monday for students who have either been accepted or are still hoping to be accepted. I am sure it is nice for the prospective students to spend a day on campus to really see what the program is like. I did not participate in this when I was applying as I had been at Baylor for the past four years. I met a few students who had already been accepted to the Robbins Institute and they seemed like a great bunch! Good things are happening around here!
Have a nice day.
Speechless »« Basketball!!!
March complete Madness this year. So many upsets!!! I wouldn’t say it is my favorite year for the tournament but others seem to be excited. It would have been fun to watch Baylor MBB in the tournament, but they are doing well in the NIT. Hopefully they can make it to NYC! The women’s game is actually happening right now. I am not there as I am spending my night doing lots of studying!
This week I have three presentations and a few take-home finals to complete. It might be a long week! The weather will hopefully be nice though which will allow me to study outside! I am also starting to compile my notes for my oral exam which will happen the first week of May. I am not nervous about the hour exam because I know the information is somewhere in my brain. I just have to find it!
That is all for now. Have a nice day!
Finals Week »« Change
Seasons are changing in my life, and I am really starting to see that. During my spring break I was lucky enough to sit down with an alum from Baylor who works for HCA, a large health care employer in Kansas City. He was very inviting and walked me through many contacts in the company. I also had the chance to meet the President of this HCA region and a few other important people. I was very thankful for the opportunity, and I am hoping good things come from it! In just a few shorts months I will hopefully be employed here in KC!
Baylor Basketball… man. I went to the KU Baylor game this past weekend and it was a BLAST! So glad it was my last basketball game to attend as a student because it will be a great memory. Sadly, they didn’t have the same luck last night. I am thinking we will not be invited to the tournament this year, but if pattern continues from the past 5 or so years we will be in the elite eight next year LOL! I am excited to see how the women do in the tournament though. I am hoping they go all the way!!!
That is all for now. Have a great night!
Basketball!!! »« Spring Break
It is almost time for SPRING BREAK! My last one ever in my school life. School was VERY busy last week as we had most of our midterms. Fortunately, I was able to make it out alive with some great grades! The younger class is busy this week with midterms, and we definitely understand their pain.
I will not be doing much this spring break except for a short trip to Austin, Texas and another short trip to Kansas City, Missouri. My plan when I go to Austin is pure pleasure and my plan in KC is pure business so it will be a good mix within the short week. My thoughts about post grad life seem to expanding because we have less than 10 weeks left in school. AHHH!!! I can’t believe within those 10 weeks I will be leaving Waco, Texas and moving home to Missouri for the first time in 7 years. I am very excited, though, to start a life again with my friends and family back home. Although I have grown to love Texas, I need some time with my family.
I am currently writing a case write-up for operations due shortly so talk soon! Good Day.
Change »« New Classes
Good Morning!
Today we started our new block of classes which are Operations and MIS. I am excited for the change and actually can’t believe we are already on the second 5 weeks of school. This means I only have 10 more weeks of school left in my life (based on my current plans)! Operations will be interesting because we spent our first semester with this teacher, our second semester with the CEO of a local hospital and now we are back to this teacher. This current teacher has broad outlook on operations so we will learn more about every type of company instead of just health care companies. It seems that a lot of people in my program are interested in operations so I think it will be a fun 5 weeks of a lot of interaction.
This past weekend I spent my time at a Crossfit competition in McAllen, Texas. It was quite the drive for a weekend adventure, but totally worth it. My gym’s team placed in the top 3 out of 25 teams and actually earned first place if the judging would have been correct ;) but that’s another story for another day! The only bad thing was that the competition was in a huge field with lots of dust. It was pretty windy so I felt like I was in a mini dust storm the entire weekend. Now I am back in Waco for a long week of studying!
Have a nice day!
Spring Break »« School Life Balance
This post will focus on my attempt to balance school and life! As strange as it sounds, I found a better balance in my life when I was working 8 hours during my residency than when I was in school last year. I think it had a lot to do with the fact I was able to focus at work for 8 hours and then come home each night and focus on my home life without much overlap between the two. Now that I am back to having more free time during the day, I am perfecting the ability to spend my free time wisely between my goals at school and my goals outside of school.
The main concept that I have been working on is my mentality throughout the day. During my first semester of my MBA I constantly felt busy. Even when I had a lite load of homework that week I would feel stressed about getting my work done. This feeling left me little time to relax and focus on projects outside of school. After Christmas break of last year I decided I needed to get some hobbies outside of school again like I had enjoyed my entire life. Luckily some of my friends were interested in the same idea and we joined Crossfit. Fast forward to this semester and my balance is much better. I spend my required time in class and then set aside a specific time in that day to get my work done. This focused time allows me to be more productive, which also a positive. After I get my work done, I turn my school brain completely off. Now I don’t feel like my free time away from school is a bad thing. It is nice to enjoy my evenings working out. cooking and hanging out with my friends without any thought to school. I believe working on this mentality and balance is important now because it will be a necessity when I am working in the real world. Although it is my goal to work very hard and move up quickly in the company I work for, I also have a very strong opinion in the idea of having a life outside of work. I understand that other young professionals have a different lifestyle in the early years, but I have learned that balance and harmony is very important to me.
Talk to you soon!
New Classes »« Eventful Day
Today has come to be a very eventful day. First, it is RGIII’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Griffin! Second, the Chris Kyle funeral will happen today and the 200 mile procession drove through Waco. If you are not familiar with the situation you can google away, I won’t go into details on here. Although I wasn’t able to witness it myself, watching videos and seeing pictures made me very sentimental about the situation. Something about the unity we can form so fast with strangers is special to me! In my life, I seem to be drawn to situations where these types of bonds are formed quickly because I think it shows what compassion and sincerity the human is capable of. Third, wrestling is no longer an Olympic sport. Although this isn’t something I am connected to, I think it is a huge change for the Olympics and I like to stay relevant on events that impact the world. I am sure there is more going on in the world and there is much more going on in my personal life but these 3 things caught my attention first thing this morning.
I would post more, but I will be back tomorrow. Until then!
School Life Balance »« Finals Already?
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