Posted by Elizabeth on 7:34 PM
Watching the elections in Sao Paulo will be an experience I will never forget. My classmates both republican and democrat surrounded by Brazilians, and hotel guests from Germany and else where..watching the numbers role in on the Hotel's outside bar TV-was exciting and fun.
Cheers-Clapping-Boos could be heard from each announcement on CNN (the first Chanel we could find broadcasting the results-the rest of the channels broadcasting just regular programming). Everyone was making early predictions, asking each other about the process in early voting for each state-how some classmates couldnt vote -as early voting opened the day some left and the lines were too many hours long for them to make their flights to school...the sacrifices they made.
some people left the night early like around 9pm...
Posted by Elizabeth on 5:54 PM
We are in Sao Paulo and Buenos aires for Module 3- a week in each city.
I arrived in Brazil after traveling for a combined 17 hours. The temperature is pleasant. Not too hot, nor smug, just sorta perfect 75 with little humidity. I was prepared for the worse-sweat drenched clothes exiting the plane like in Tanzania. But instead-just a little overcasted 75 degrees.
I took a taxi with my classmate and pal Phil. The biggest observation I have about Sao Paulo is the graffiti everywhere. I kept thinking to myself how did they reach that spot or that one? Phil commented that it reminded him of New York in the 80's. The overall architecture is mostly cement buildings-indicative of any hot climate location. I didn't see a lot of trash. The city seems mostly clean. The stories about the traffic...
Posted by Elizabeth on 9:20 PM
In between the modules life is pretty much finishing finals and reading for the next module and of course working. Now because life is life, there are still about a million other things that happen as well.
I will try to recap them here:
First- This happened:
I have worked at VLST for over 7 years. I am grateful for the experience that the company has provided me with and also for all the great people I have worked with over the years. I walked in as a lab manager and research associate focusing on molecular biology and leaving as the Sr. Operations Manager. My favorite projects would have to be moving the company, space planning and overall creating operations. With a small company I have loved being able to wear so many hats over the years and being exposed to the different...
Posted by Elizabeth on 10:30 AM
I just finished with classes for Module 2 of my Global Executive MBA program. I am currently in my hotel in Madrid and getting ready for dinner. We will be dinning tonight at the Palacio de Linares
Even though this module was just 2 weeks, I feel like we have been gone for over a month. Each day is crammed full of learning, speakers, dinners/cultural events, studying and projects that each day magically turns into 100 hours. And for sleeping, well that is for things like lunch breaks. I was so exhausted one day, that i just pulled over a chair, put my feet up and was knocked out within seconds. This program is not for the faint at heart, as I am learning. But I guess, neither is life, well at least my life.
What can I digest so far over these two weeks?
-Leadership-Success-it means...
Posted by Elizabeth on 5:28 PM
I wanted to share something with you, a speech I gave in September of 2008 to the City of Seattle Council members:
"We live in a world of evermore complicated problems that are integrated over all disciples over all human behavior. We can no longer afford to create structures that are one sided/meet only one function. We can no longer keep ourselves looking for a solution in one area. we need to create an infrastructure that blends all lines, to force a mix of ideas. We need to create a CERN [Particle Accelerator] type of structure a type of city. Where instead of colliding particles we collide people in order to elucidate the ideas from them, to most importantly inspire new ideas.
We can do this by acknowledging that art examines the raw form of the problems in society...
Posted by Elizabeth on 3:12 PM
Yesterday, I started Module Two of my Global Educational Adventure.
We are currently in Barcelona and then next week will be in Madrid. (Tough life-huh?!)
The courses in Module Two are:
-Corporate Strategy,
-Corporate Financial,
-Industry Economics
-Integrated Course: Competing Globalizing Industries
So far, so GOOD! I am following along much better in Corporate Finance then last quarter's accounting class. My professor Gloria Batllori is an incredibly smart professor that can lasso complex ideas into a practical, simple approach that the students can all understand. She put a graphic on the board today where you saw all three financial statements connected and I could almost hear my brain click with "Aha". Not to say that I didn't understand the interdependence last quarter, but sometimes,...
Posted by Elizabeth on 12:45 AM
Module 1 was completed on Monday when I turned in my last final.The three take home finals varied with expectation.
The first final was due a week after we returned home. It was a 5 page paper identifying a problem with a company and then solving said problem using a non market strategy. The second final was a 4 page paper answering 3 questions regarding a business case study. The third final was a take home, open book exam with a mixture of calculations, essay and analysis.
The five page paper was the most fun to complete as well as the most challenging. Originally the assignment was based on team presentation that we did for class. The class was broken into 6 teams. Each team identified a problem with Amrut, a whisky company in India, and then made a case for a non-market strategy...
Posted by Elizabeth on 10:50 AM
Eeekkkkk...module one is almost over!!! What?! Just five modules left till graduation. ;)
See you soon Seattle!...
Posted by Elizabeth on 9:57 PM
Five things I am grateful for today: 1) slide deck in 2) going to the world bank 3) hometown coffee 4) education 5) sleep in any increment
In 2007, back in MySpace days, I started writing my status update with-
Five things I am Grateful for today: and then started filling in the list for each day.
I stopped once I fully converted over to facebook and deleted my MySpace account and then restarted with Facebook again in 2010.
I don't remember the day I began in 2007, but I do remember the mood. I was drained, emotionally exhausted and felt defeated. I don't remember the cause- maybe it was something simple like the weather-too many grey days in a row in Seattle, or maybe it was something fierce like a broken heart. I have no idea. I remember being in this mood, and turning on PBS (when...
Posted by Elizabeth on 10:57 PM
This is my GEMBA family :)
[I am kinda the where's waldo in this picture-but hey that kinda works for my camera shy personality.]
A few little fun facts:
We are the 5th Cohort of the GEMBA program. The program is the brain child of Paul Almeida and Pedro Parada. You should google them-they are not only impressive-but also on the cutting edge for executive education - knowledge management and strategy-etc.
In only 14 classes I think I might want to get my PhD in policitcal economic theory.
Understanding Game theory is my summer side project- why wasn't this taught in conjunction with Biochem or Philosophy at Seattle U-I will never understand.
Accountants...
Posted by Elizabeth on 9:11 PM
School has officially started!
Instead of climbing on the bus to go to school, I took the midnight flight out of Seattle to DC. I landed in DC after a layover in Boston around noon on Sunday June 10th. Leaving me a few hours before I met my cohort in the lobby for orientation.
I was nervous. The elevator doors open and there was my first classmate Miquel -with the welcome packet held in hand. He has a PhD in Biochem and works for a large Pharma in Spain. I was immediately relieved- Business school contains my science peeps!
We exited the elevators- and my life had been a blur ever since. A blur compromised of constant motion, colors, sounds, accents, little sleep, and many new friends.
The GEMBA 05 cohort is diverse.
My cohort is 39 people-from over 17 countries-11 are females. Ages...
Posted by Elizabeth on 11:52 PM
May of 2012 is a month full of excitement and a month full of first time activities for me...
The most exciting event was on May 12th, when I officiated my best friends wedding, Zachary and Shannon Urban. They met in 7th grade and were each others first kiss and now will be each others last kiss too. This was the first time I have ever ordained a wedding, and got the crowd to both laugh and cry, I fulfilled my duties. ;)
To get ready for the wedding and grad school, I had to go shopping and get some new clothes. I have two fashion designers that are my personal stylist, Krystal Wolf and Cameron Levin. Both of them sent...
Posted by Elizabeth on 9:01 PM
Hello!
I hope this finds you well. As you may have already heard, I have been accepted into the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA)
program through Georgetown University and ESADE University, and I'll be
matriculating this June. This is truly an honor, as only 40 people are
accepted globally a year, and out of the 40, only 10 are women. I am the
youngest participant accepted, and the only Seattlelite (maybe the only
west-coaster too!).
When
deciding on which graduate program I would apply for, the options
spanned the gamut: Public Health, Neurobiology, Whole System Design. During the time that I was weighing these choices, I was
working with Pygmy Survival Alliance (a
non-profit that I co-founded with Dr. Karl Weyrauch in 2009). I ended up
traveling to Rwanda...
