http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/ en-us Copyright 2008 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:06:29 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss So, I have daily contact with the lovely Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Debbie Campbell. She happens to be my wonderful, kind boss. From experience I know that she is totally approachable and interested in helping students. Since I got to know Debbie, I never actually gave the rest of the Fox administration much thought, until last week that is. Last week I got to meet the Super Dean Himself, Moshe M. Porat. I actually had lunch with him. As in, we shared a table and ate the same type of sandwich. Now, I'm not trying to say it was the same as meeting Patrick Dempsey, but it was really cool. He talked about his visions for Fox and Alter Hall. Fox is all about a quality-over-quantity education, so programs for mandatory internships and participation in the Investment Fund program are not going to be on the agenda anytime soon. When a school requires an internship, the value of the experience is undermined in order to supply the entire undergraduate class with experience. Dean Porat wants all of our professional experiences to be significant, not fluff. The same idea can be applied to involvement in the Investment Fund. While I think the program is really cool and I am pretty excited to see what the Alter Hall Trading Floor is like; I'm not a finance major and I would not be excited if I had a huge mandatory project on top of all of my other work. The dean also talked about how he hopes to add more faculty in coming years. Overall, the day was a lot of fun AND very informative. http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/11/lunch_with_the_dean.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/11/lunch_with_the_dean.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:06:29 -0500 Sorry for my absence, I've been busy rioting in the streets in celebration of the World Series Championship by the Philadelphia Phillies and the election of President Barack Obama. It was a good week. The celebrations for the Phillies have been widely chronicled. Campus was kept clean and crime-free throughout the excitement. Last night, when Obama was named the 44th President of the United States, I couldn't believe it. Many people ran out into the streets celebrating. In comparison to last week, this crowd was much better behaved. Students ran into the middle of Broad St. at red lights jumping, dancing, and screaming and then returned to the sidewalk at green lights. A firework was set off over the Edge (a student housing building) as the crowds cheered. Everyone was hugging everybody else. A black sedan crawled down Broad St. with students hanging out of it: one held a giant American flag, the other had a cardboard cut-out of Obama. Car horns and hollering could be heard well into the night. As my facebook status read throughout election day: "If historical events would stop happening, I would get better grades." So, on to a six page paper and four group presentations, all due in the next 10 days. When all that is over, I may riot again. http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/11/a_riotous_good_time.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/11/a_riotous_good_time.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:11:41 -0500 Why yes, you're correct, the above picture is NOT one of the Director of Enrollment Management at the Fox School. Although any day spent with him is a joy, a day spent with Bruce Springsteen is even better! Springsteen came to Philly to support presidential candidate Barack Obama, about 50,000 people turned out to sing along. He played seven songs, right on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the Art Museum. Best of all, the concert was completely free. Saturday night, after seeing the Boss I went to another concert, Matt Nathanson, a singer who is little heard of, yet sold out the TLA on South Street. Nathanson played for two hours straight, interspersed humor, and closed with a cover of "Thunder Road." What a blissful day =) ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/10/a_day_with_the_boss.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/10/a_day_with_the_boss.html Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:38:39 -0500 Well, the first week of classes of my sophomore year is behind me. I'm taking financial accounting, microeconomics, statistics II, introduction to marketing, and religion in the 1960's. I have been doing a lot of homework. Both my accounting and econ classes have online homework programs which give instant feedback. Naturally, I've been doing those assignments a few times. That's what happens when you can immediately see the bright red X on your wrong answer. I'm still taking mostly introductory courses, but the work is definitely increasing. Today, in our second day of marketing we had to get up and speak in front of the class. The professor I have for that class is also the Director of Assessment, so we have to rate ourselves each day on our own class participation. It's oddly motivating. Well, guess I better get back to that homework! http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/09/school_school_school.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/09/school_school_school.html Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:22:48 -0500 K, so I just got back to campus, and the same thing keeps happening. Someone asks me what year I'm in, I reply, "Freshman," and then someone else corrects me and reminds me that I am a sophomore. I just cannot wrap my head around it. I know I had almost four months to get used to the idea, but I cannot accept the fact that my freshman year of college is over. I can't believe that I'm reading a new Welcome Week calendar, when it seems like the last one was less than a month ago. All summer I've been looking forward to my apartment (with my three best friends) but it just seems weird to not be returning to my little dysfunctional family on the second floor of 1300. One of my first days back in the city, my boyfriend and I went to Sabrina's Cafe (Totally delicious and affordable, you should check it out ... but you'd have to ask him how to get there. There was a subway ride involved and then we walked.) and then to the Italian market. We found a tiny, hole-in-the-wall spice shop and the amazing smells inspired us to cook! But, being ridiculous college students, we didn't really know how. So, we started small. We picked out a delicious spice mix labeled 'for garlic bread' and went from there. We got a loaf of fresh bread and a fresh clove of garlic, went back to his apartment and got to work. Then, we found out that Jon did not bring any cooking supplies to school, you know, things like a baking sheet, a bread knife, tin foil . . . Boys. Anyway, our garlic bread, prepared with supplies scavenged from his fraternity house, was delicious. =) Have a great first day of school! http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/08/new_beginnings_1.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/08/new_beginnings_1.html Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:27:21 -0500 http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/06/hey_strangers_hope_youre_enjoy.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/06/hey_strangers_hope_youre_enjoy.html Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:59:08 -0500 ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/05/comcast_cares_day.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/05/comcast_cares_day.html Sat, 03 May 2008 14:12:17 -0500 ]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/05/it_dont_mean_a_thing_if_it_aint_got_that_swing.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/05/it_dont_mean_a_thing_if_it_aint_got_that_swing.html Sat, 03 May 2008 13:59:29 -0500 OK, so I have a little secret that no suburban Jersey girl is supposed to reveal: I love riding the subway. Sounds crazy, right? Well, it is. I've been riding the subway on my own a lot lately, about two trips per week. I love to put Lily Allen on my ipod and just pretend I'm in a music video. I really need to download that Sara Borealis (spelling?? "I won't write you a love song . . .) song so I can continue my urban-strutting music video dreams. In answer to the question you're thinking: No, I am not the girl who forgets she has headphones on and sings outloud in public. Most of the time. Its also fun to listen on shuffle and then watch and see how the song you're listening to translates to the people around you. Yesterday, some emo-esque song came on (New Found Glory? Starting Line?) and I noticed that all the sudden, my fellow travelers looked sort of down. They all seemed to be fine when I was listening to Rihanna and the Pussycat Dolls . . . The people-watching is superb. I like playing Guess Who Goes to Temple! when I get on headed home, back to campus. You have to look for clues on the clothing and belongings of your fellow subway riders, as well as their age, demeanor, and facial expression. Beware, sometimes those UArts kids are just going north for no reason, don't lose points. Disclaimer: This is not a real game show, there are no points. Tonight I am headed up to Bloomsburg University to see two of my friends from home. I haven't seen their campus yet, so I can't wait to see how Temple compares. Side Note to My Mom: Yes, I wear my iPod on the subway, but I am always very aware of my surroundings, I promise. http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/04/underground_opinions.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/04/underground_opinions.html Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:44:08 -0500 Last Thursday I attended an event held by the Fox School of Business, "Life After Textbooks: Diversity in the Real World." It was a two-hour panel discussion with some of the biggest names in corporate diversity discussing their companies' practices and such. Many recent alumni also came, from companies like Vanguard, Comcast, and Enterprise. The companies represented on the panel were Astra Zeneca, Cigna, Pricewaterhouse Cooper, and Vanguard. The moderator, Dr. Alison Konrad, is the leading corporate diversity specialist and used to teach at Temple; she now teaches at a university in Canada. She was very funny and is actually very good friends with my Intro to Human Resources teacher. After the panel, there was a reception and students and panelists mingled and chatted. This is usually the type of event that makes me feel like I'm playing dress up in my dad's suit, but it ended up being fun. Fox is great at providing connection events like this, where we (as freshman!) get to hobnob with really important people at big companies. Temple is well known for being the most diverse college in the country, and the transition to the workplace, which might not always be as diverse or sensitive as the Temple community, was discussed in detail. On a sidenote: We are now entering the crunch time for college decisions. I was in your spot last year: it sucks. You have so many great alternatives that its just way overwhelming. Just keep breathing, and try to enjoy your senior year. You will most likely make the right decision. I know I did!]]> http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/03/the_weekend.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/03/the_weekend.html Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:11:14 -0500 I work at the front desk in the Undergraduate Programs office. If you, as a prospective student or parent, come in for a meeting with either David Kaiser or Chuck Allen, for at least eight hours per week, I'll be the first face you see. My main job is to answer the phones and assemble folders and mailings that go out to all of you. I also act as guard dog to the offices in our suite, the Director of Enrollment, the Assistant Dean, and the Director and Associate Director of the Honors Program. Most of the time I end up doing my homework or reading the Wall Street Journal, which is exceedingly boring but required for my Human Resource Management class. Our office is always full of students, who are normally quite loud. The regulars are a friendly bunch. On Monday and Wednesday mornings you can normally hear Jon warming up to sing in his Power, Influence, and Negotiation class. Singing is the penalty if you are late to class (just in that particular one, of course). If Jon didn't take the time to warm up, he probably wouldn't have to sing so often. Brooke and Theresa are always willing to help me with my schedule for the coming semester. One might assume that assembling a schedule takes one hour sitting with their academic advisor. Oh, how wrong one would be. That's if you're me of course. Scheduling for the fall semester is currently the talk of all freshmen, but I've been at it for over a week. I like to look up all the available times for a course, go on ratemyprofessor.com, and change my mind at least fifty million times. Each change must also be entered into the color coded excel spreadsheet that I update daily. I'll post the finished version . . . if there ever is a finished version. Brooke and Theresa are upper classmen who have really taken me under their wing. They give me advice on professors, whether or not to take an honors version of the course, and also help in many other areas, like writing my resume. Lots of days Devon comes in with some homemade goody sent from her mom. In recent memory, we've gotten cupcakes and Irish potatoes. Yum! Eugene always knows about what is going on in the business and political world, and he loves to share his knowledge with everyone. He always gives Emily, the other freshman student worker, and I lots of advice about internships and getting involved in life on campus. I get asked some pretty random questions some days by non-regulars. "Do you know where the US Patent Office is?" No, I know where the Accounting Professional Society meetings are held. My favorite was when a student wanted me to help her extend her visa to attend an extra semester here at Temple. I don't work for the Immigration Department, at least the last time I checked. Life in 106 is never boring (well, occasionally on Friday afternoons when everyone takes off early for the weekend). But at least for today, my time here is up. I have to go to Statistics class! http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/03/life_in_106.html http://blogs.targetx.com/sbm/AnnieBrady/2008/03/life_in_106.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:34:40 -0500