Monday, December 13, 2010

Job opening - Zell Lurie Institute

Position Description
for
Administrative Assistant for Venture Capital Programs

General
This half-time, academic year position (approximately 20 hours per week during the academic year) will provide administrative assistance to the three student-run venture funds. Primarily this position will assist the directors and students in the Social Venture Fund and the Frankel Fund, both action-based-learning course experiences housed in the Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Both courses simulate real world venture capital company investment activities. There are 4 Social Venture Fund Teams and 4 Frankel Fund teams in which approximately 50 students participate (24 in the Frankel Fund and 28 in the Social Venture Fund). The Wolverine Venture Fund, also housed in the Zell Lurie Institute generally does not require on-going assistance from the Admin for Venture Capital Programs but may need assistance from time to time for special situations.
Each Fund conducts business and invests real capital as would a small venture capital firm. Therefore, each fund has multiple stakeholder groups, including students, advisors, faculty, co-investors, entrepreneurs and donors. Between the two funds, from 2 to 6 equity or convertible debt investment transactions are expected to be completed annually and approximately 30 advisors and 45 remote mentors, most of whom are U of M or Ross alums, being actively engaged in the process. With the amount of correspondence and record keeping required to support this number of students, advisors, and transactions, it is very difficult for the faculty directors to take care of the fund processes and operations and provide top quality teaching and support to the students. With the number of current and prospective donors to the Ross School involved with the advisory boards, it is particularly important that the Fund stakeholders continue to view these two programs as favorably as possible.
This position will handle the administrative requirements of the two Funds so they can run more smoothly, the students can have a better experience, and the fund directors can spend more time continuing to develop better ways to teach the subject matter required for the Funds. It is anticipated that position would be a half time position.

To apply, send your resume and a cover letter to Carolyn Maguire at cmaguire@umich.edu. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Qualifications
• Ability to work independently and with minimal direction is very important.
• Excellent communications skills are required to interact well with students, applicants, and alumni advisors in person, by phone, and through written communications. Ability to compose and prepare routine correspondence, draft policies and procedures, and prepare communications to the stakeholders is important.
12/13/2010 1
Student Fund Admin Position Description
• Excellent word processing, Excel spreadsheet, and PowerPoint presentation skills.
• Minimal bookkeeping/Excel skills are required for maintaining budgets,
facilitating accounts payable and investment disbursements.
• Good organizational skills for not only the efficient processing of the workflow
but also for planning advisory board meetings, company presentations, and
similar group activities sponsored by the Funds.
• Good interpersonal skills are also very important.
Reporting Relationships
The Fund Admin would report to the Directors of the ZLI venture funds and work closely
with the Zell Lurie Institute staff.
Responsibilities
Funds Management
• Manage budgeted funds by maintaining and publishing fund transactions and fund
balances. Prepare and maintain statements that might be required to complement
information requested from the university from time to time.
• Prepare and process requests for disbursement of Funds (with the help of Carolyn
Maguire, Administrative Assistant for ZLI).
Human Resources (HR) Coordination
• Serve as the HR coordinator for the Funds including maintenance of student
records, Confidentiality Agreements, etc.
• Help facilitate the semi-annual recruiting process for students in the fall and
spring of each year.
• Assist in arranging meetings between students and Directors.
• Assist in managing the performance review process for participating students
• Assist with the inevitable career counseling and assistance activities that students
seek from the Directors.
Communications
• Serve as communications manager for Funds to obtain and maintain contact
information for current students, former students, advisors and donors to assist
with communication to and from these stakeholders. Research alternative
approaches to maximize communications and social networking through such
vehicles as Linked In, Face Book, specialty software, etc.
• Maintain resources and contact information for all members, alumni, and
advisors.
• Prepare and send information packets to all new candidates for advisory boards
and mentor networks.
• Coordinate press releases between students, Ross, and ZLI PR communications
contacts
• Assist with communications to current and prospective donors
• Coordinate information with the Development Office with respect to prospective donors, meeting with advisor/donor prospects when they are visiting the campus or when Ross personnel seek to visit the advisors in their home locations. Events Management
• Assist Fund Directors and students in organizing and staging Fund events such as advisory board meetings, recruiting events, cooperative programs with other parts of the university, etc.
• Assist Fund Directors in inviting and hosting guest speakers
• Assist students and directors in obtaining meeting rooms
Course Management
• Assist Fund Directors and students with student administration issues as needed including class enrollment, grading, overrides, independent study, and student evaluations
• Obtain meeting rooms for each Fund in advance of each term
• Organize and maintain teaching aids, tools, and materials for Fund Directors and assist in keeping CTools site up-to-date.
• Assist in the preparation and publishing of Course Materials
Information Management
• Maintain and facilitate preparation and updates as needed for the marketing materials (flyers, web page, etc.) required for fund operations.
• Organize and maintain the policies and procedures, operating plans and investee information including due diligence binders for the Funds both electronically (electronic files and CTools) and manually.
Record Keeping
• Maintaining the “Back Office” files for all Fund investment transactions including legal documentation and due diligence binders, both electronically and in paper, that may be necessary to share with potential new investors from time-to-time.
• Organizing the Fund records for Portfolio Companies to facilitate tracking Fund rights and obligations and for easy access for future financings and other calls on the Fund by portfolio companies
• Organizing and control of the Fund Records for easy access by students who need access to the records for continued learning or to process future transactions.
Research
• Assisting Directors from time-to-time with research for the preparation of classes and lectures and for tracking comparable student run funds at other institutions to maintain our competitive advantage.
Other
• Other responsibilities as may be requested from time-to-time.
• Other duties from time-to-time to assist the ZLI staff with the administrative needs of the Institute.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

A little late for this, but I figured it is never too late!  ;)

So, I hope everyone has enjoyed their holiday (long weekend) with family, friends & lots of shopping!  :)

Good tips for interview prep for those that will now have to start looking for jobs...
1. Get questions from different interview sites & answer them
2. Write the bullets of your resume and explain each one
3. Practice, practice, practice (best in front of the mirror)
4. Once in the interview, mirror your interviewer  ;)

Besos!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Events & Transition Elections

Hola everyone!!

We've had a few events including whirlyball & thanksgiving which were a ton of fun!!  :)








And now we will have a transition meeting which I hope most of you can attend on Dec 5th at 10:15am at Ross... This will be for elections, pretty much anyone who wants to participate can. Someone will take over the social events, MBA Kids, newsletter, blog, website, facebook, etc... It really all depends on you now!

So, come to the meeting and get involved!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

que es el facebook y para que sirve

jajajajajajajaja!! Hopefully you speak Spanish, this is hilarious...

Partners Mtrek Won!!!

Yep, we won the picture of the America's!!!  And here is the winning picture... 

Sunday, October 17, 2010

International Cuisines

Hola every one!!

It was great to see so many of you at the Cuisines Around the World potluck! We had from sushi, to indian food, chilaquiles, brasilian cheese balls, yummy blue muffins, it was all delicious!!!







Keep checking the Ross Partners website for the calendar on upcoming events such as wed's happy hour at Grizzly Peak & the Halloween lunch.

See you all soon!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Job Opportunities!

Hola everyone!

Here are two recent job postings we got for those of you looking for a job:

First job position
Admissions Assistant

Office of Admissions
Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan


Position: Temporary Admissions Assistant
Hours/Week:
40/Week
Shift/Hours/Days:
Days

DUTIES
Support recruitment of high-quality applicants to degree programs (MBA, MBA Evening, BBA,
and MAcc) by providing highly responsible secretarial and administrative support to Admissions
Team. Coordinate processing of applications and forms. Correspond with outside agencies and
other University units concerning student transactions. Position reports to one of four Associate
Directors.

Perform initial screening of applications and organize for review by Admissions Committee.
Respond to inquiries and complaints from students, parents, staff, faculty and outside
agencies. Provide reports and statistics concerning program, admissions and enrollment
activities. Provide primary support for Associate Director. Work with other staff to support
other Associate Directors. Maintain calendar. Take phone calls, assist callers or visitors as
necessary. Determine which matters require Associate Director attention and communicate
in timely fashion. Coordinate meetings and projects. Initiate written correspondence in
response to general inquiries. Provide support for daily activities, including copying, mailing,
correspondence. Assist with hosting or other events. Maintain mailing lists, logs, travel
arrangements, expense reports. Maintain unit paper and computer files with attention to
confidentiality.
Provide backup reception.

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS
Three to four years minimum progressively responsible office experience, demonstrating
secretarial and administrative capabilities and skills. Professional demeanor and presentation.
Excellent oral and written communication skills. Able to work professionally with the public
and serve as representative of Business School. Able to work independently and exercise
initiative as critical member of small team. Excellent judgment and capability to act in high-
stress environment. Able to set priorities, work simultaneously on numerous tasks, and meet
deadlines. Demonstrated attention to detail. Deep dedication to customer service, quality
management, and team approach to work. Accurate word processing skills. Demonstrated
interest in and capability of learning new software applications.

CONTACT
Interested parties should inquire, or submit cover letter and resume to:
Doug Thomas
Sr. Associate Director of Admissions
dgthomas@umich.edu

The second job posting is:
Position Posting

Receptionist
Office of Admissions
Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan
Position: Temporary Receptionist Position
Hours/Week: 40 Hours
Shift/Hours/Days: Day/8 am-5 pm/M-F

PRIMARY FUNCTION
Serve as receptionist for the Office of Admissions. Provide high quality customer service to the School’s prospective and current students (MBA, BBA, and MAcc students), staff and other visitors. Perform full range of general office/administrative work. This position reports to the Assistant Director of Admissions.



DUTIES:
Serve as receptionist, answer phones, greet and assist visitors, respond to phone, email and in-person inquiries about our programs, admissions, and registration in a timely manner. Route incoming calls as appropriate. Distribute and send out mail for the office in a timely fashion, especially during application deadline times when mail and email volume is heavy. Distribute incoming faxes. Provide assistance to other staff members in preparation for major events coordinated by the office. Assist with making updates to the Admissions website. Assist with other projects as needed. Generate weekly reports. Maintain inventory of marketing brochures. Coordinate counseling appointment schedules for Admissions Associate Directors. Maintain conference room schedule. Coordinate coverage of front desk at all times.


NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS
High school diploma or community college degree. At least two years of office experience, with demonstrated customer service and administrative skills. Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills. Ability to work in a high stress environment with periods of extremely heavy inquiry and visitor volume throughout the academic year.



Must have good judgment as to how and when to respond to inquiries directly versus referring inquiries to other staff persons. Must be able to set priorities, work independently, meet deadlines. Must be proactive about staying on top of program changes, events, policies and deadlines.



Experience with Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel. Demonstrated interest in and capability of learning new software applications. Demonstrated attention to detail.



CONTACT
Interested parties should inquire, or submit cover letter and resume to:

Doug Thomas
Sr. Associate Director of Admissions
dgthomas@umich.edu

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Volunteer for the Women In Leadership Conference


The 2010 MBA Women In Leadership Conference is looking for MBA partners (both men and women) to help out with a variety of events on Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1. Volunteers can attend the conference workshops, breakfast, and lunch, free of charge (a $35 value).


If you’d like to volunteer, please sign up for a time slot in the link below,
WILC Volunteer Registration


Feel free to email me with me with any questions.


Thanks!

Karen Harichandran
Volunteer Chair, WILC
2010 Women In Leadership Conference
http://www.bus.umich.edu/Conferences/WILC2010/

Sorry...

About last post, I accidentally posted here instead of on my blog (ooops!)!  Sorry guys... 

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Volunteering at Gleaners and Coffee at Caribou

Hola everyone!

Well, here are a few pics of those of us that went volunteering at Gleaners...


And hung out Friday at Caribou for coffeee...


Today was Apple Picking, I will put more on the newsletter & this wed there's happy hour at Bar Louies, hope to see you there!!  :)

Don't forget to sign up at the Partners website for the partners club, we've got a lot of really cool things coming!!! 

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

SPARK & Mtrek

Hola!!

I've had a lot of partners ask me about SPARK (or more on the lines of what to do if you cannot work)... Basically they are an incubator for entrepreneurs and all you have to do is send them a paragraph about your qualifications. They will send it to entrepreneurs and then send you the info of who is interested. You then can write to them and work as a volunteer for their cause.  :)

Here's the email you need to contact: Amy Cell, write to: Amy@annarborusa.org

And as for the MTREK, it was awesome!!! The new partners participating were: Erick (he's still in Peru though, he'll be an MBA 2013!), Adriene (she's a hairstylist, so make an appointment!), Joana, Larissa, Susan, and Stacey. The leaders were Shad (me) & Kristen.  All of them were a ton of fun and really just great all around. The trip was amazing, we had ruins, beach, sun, pool, night-clubs, and even a bit of sickness, jajaja...  Here are a few of the pics...


See you on Friday's Caribou drop in!!  :)

Shad

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Partners outside of AA for the summer!

You will make friends, I can assure you of that!

Even when you leave the summer to go with your partner for his/her internship, there will be more like you.

A few examples, Kristen, Anjany and Kate in Seattle... and Nidhi, Aurelia, Andrea, Dani & me (Shad) in New York...


Although our summers are almost over (time flies, you will see that) we have had a great time so far and enjoyed every second!

If you are in AA already, make the most of it, enjoy your partner and make sure you check-out all the stuff people who are leaving are selling/giving away for almost nothing. By now a lot of people will have even put out in the trash what they couldn't sell (good stuff btw)... And check out the Salvation Army (in State)...

For those of you coming to the partners Mtrek with us, prepare yourselves for an awesome time in the Riviera Maya!!! And if you have time, we highly recommend you get certified (you can even take classes and do the certification dive with us, just let us know)... Fun stuff to come!

Besos!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

More suggestions...

Just one more...

Try Craig's list for everything... We did find a car, furniture, apartment, etc.. even students for teaching spanish through it!

Although, also you need to be careful, sometimes there are frauds out there so just make sure they are legitimate things.

Around this time of year people are taking stuff out of their homes and leaving it for trash (the things they couldn't sell), so it is a good time to build your apartments!

That is my bit of contribution for all, hope you are enjoying your summer and for those joinging the Mtrek, see you soon!!

Besos,

Shad

Friday, May 28, 2010

Tips for Incoming Partners

Congratulations all incoming partners!!!
This must be an exciting period for you all. It was quite an exciting period for me last year. And I remember, I’d lots of questions in my mind during this time. Every second day I used to shoot mail to a senior with tons of questions. I’m so thankful to her for replying to all my queries so patiently and helping me out in every possible way. Now it’s payback time.
I would like to share answers of some of the questions that I’d in my mind before coming here. I hope you find them useful.
Medical Insurance- Many of you (mostly internationals) may find the university insurance to be expensive and you must be looking for cheaper insurance. I’d done the same thing last year, but it didn’t work out. You might get something cheaper but the catch is, university has some set guidelines for insurance and if you decide to take anything other than one provided by University, that insurance should comply with those guidelines. So, if at all you find anything better, do not take it without getting it checked by the Insurance experts in the International Centre.
Buying winter clothes and snow boots- Many of you might be tempted to get winter clothes from you native place/country. If you already have them, bring them. But do not buy and get it from there. They may not be very effective in the Michigan snow. For Michigan snow, you would need Down jackets. You can get them here at reasonable prices. Where to buy them from ? Well, I got mine from Burlington Coat Factory (http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/) when I visited Chicago during fall break. They have a huge collection of branded coats and jackets. Basically it’s a warehouse of branded coats and jackets and you get them at extremely reasonable prices. But unfortunately you don’t have one in Ann Arbor. The nearest one is some 35-40 miles from here. So, if you have a friend who has a car, you can go with her or rent a car for a day and go in a group. Or if you visit Chicago/ New York or any other such place during or fall break, you can get it there. Other places from where you can buy jackets are TJ Max or Marshalls. Both the stores are there in Ann Arbor and are easily accessible by AATA bus. They won’t have a collection as big as Burlington, but you will get branded stuff at reasonable prices. You may also buy them from stores like JC Penney or Macys. But do not buy them without a deal or offer. Otherwise they will be very expensive. You can wait for Thanksgiving to get good deals.
Furniture buying- If you want new modern furniture at reasonable prices, then IKEA is the place. Not everything is cheap there but there are lots of things which can be very cheap there and they look great. Again, the problem is we don’t have an IKEA store in Ann Arbor. Nearest IKEA store is in Canton which is again around 30-35 miles from Ann Arbor. Getting the furniture from there is also a problem unless you have a big car. They do deliver it at home but that would cost some 60$-70$ extra. I remember, even International centre organizes a trip to IKEA sometime in late Aug/ early Sep. They take you in a bus and you can get your furniture loaded in the bus. So, once you arrive in Ann Arbor, do check with international centre. You can also check for furniture in Walmart (located in Ypsilanti and accessible by AATA bus No. 6). If you are not particular about having new furniture, you can get second hand furniture either through Craigslist or through classified ads in myimpact ( College website, ask you partner to check that regularly) or in various garage sale/yard sale. Sometimes you can even get good stuff in Salvation Army (you get all second hand stuff there). We’d got most of our furniture from one guy ( I guess he was from Cort furniture- www.cort.com) who had got a truck full of furniture to Woodbury Garden on a Saturday morning( sometime in mid-Aug). He’d got amazing stuff at amazing price. And the furniture looked almost new. (We got our sofa, dining table, TV, TV stand , couple of lamps, a side table – all for around 140 I guess). It was a steal and we were thrilled. So, if you happen to stay in Woodbury do check with leasing office if he is scheduled to come this year as well. Cort normally rents out furniture (I see their pamphlets being kept in Woodbury) . But do ask them if they plan to sell stuff as well. If at all they come this year as well, do reach there a little before the given time because everything gets sold out within 20-30 mins.
Grocery Shopping- Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti has got most of the international grocery stores. So you don’t have to carry too much stuff from your native country. Of course, it will be slightly expensive here than what you might be getting in your home country but then how much can you bring. So, don’t overload you luggage with food items. Just get some basic stuff which you might need in the initial days. (For Indians- there are 3 Indian stores- Bombay Grocers, Yogi and Taste of India. I’ve been to two of them (Yogi and Bombay Grocer). Both are accessible by bus ( Yogi by No.6 and Bombay Grocers by No. 5). Yogi gives 10% discount to Students.)
Buying a car- Many of you might want to buy car once you are here. There is an area near Jackson road in Ann Arbor where you have most of the dealers selling used cars. Nearby areas like Detroit, Farmington etc has got more showrooms/dealers having a wider variety at more reasonable prices. Before buying a car, do get it checked by a mechanic. You can also check for cars in Craigslist or myimpact.
Transportation from Airport- You get taxis right outside the airport which can charge you either a flat rate (normally $50) or through meter reading (which normally comes to around 50$). If you have a lot of luggage (which obviously you have when you first arrive), better to come by taxi. Otherwise you also have Michigan Flyer (Bus) running at specific times of the day. Rates are reasonable if you book it in advance. Check their website for more information.
Some more general tips:
• Try to arrive here a couple of weeks before the school starts so that you have some time to settle down. Once the school starts your partner is going to be extremely busy.
• Try to volunteer for RLI (Ross Leadership Initiative) program. It’s a week long program for your partners which happens in the first week the school starts and you get a chance to volunteer in that program. It’s a great way to meet other partners, classmates of your partner, see the school. Your partner would get a mail regarding same. So, do ask him/her to let you know about it. One more advantage of volunteering is , you get a Mcard if you volunteer. And with the Mcard you can travel in the AATA bus for free (otherwise you have to pay $1.5 every time you board the bus). Normally the Mcard you get would be valid for a month. So, really comes handy. And overall RLI is a fun session. So, I would highly recommend you to be a part of the same.
• Once you have settled down, go check out the Ann Arbor District Library. Membership is free. It takes not more than 5 minutes to get the membership (just carry an address proof and your passport). You have a very good collection of DVDs and books. You can get as many as you like in one go (totally free) and you can keep renewing them online or over the phone. The main library is located in the downtown just opposite Blake Transit Centre( which is the main bus depot. So, you can just get down the bus cross the road and you are there). If you have a car, the one located in Packard Street will be convenient. If you have kid/s, they have separate play area for kids and kids will really enjoy the place. So, do check it out.
• If you join Ross Partners Club, try to attend all the events (we have lots planned for the month of Aug, Sep,Oct). It’s a great way to make friends and meet people from around the world.
• If you chose to stay in Woodbury Garden, do put somebody’s name ( a current resident) as the person who referred you to Woodbury. That ways, the current residents gets around 400$ as referral bonus and most of the time they will share that with you. ( If you don’t know anybody you can put my name as well  )
This much for now. I’ll keep adding as and when I remember anything else. I’ll also request other partners to share their experience which can help incoming partners.
All the Best!!!
If you have any queries you can always reach out to me or any other partner.
Sagarika Prusty

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Summer is here!

After one year of meeting new friends, getting used to a new life and helping our partners through a tough year, the summer and time for internships has come!

We are going to miss our friends from 2nd year whose partners are graduating and leaving Ann Arbor for good.
Each of us will be in a different place for the summer, some staying in Ann Arbor, some going to Seattle, some Chicago, some New York, some back to their countries... So now is time to enjoy the summer and enjoy having our partners back without the stress of school!

And for those coming to Ross, we have a very special M-Trek planned for couples, which should be a TON of fun!!


We are going to the Mayan Riviera with a lot of activities including diving (if you're not certified yet, you can take classes and do your certification dive down there), sight-seeing, laying on the beach and partying.

We hope lots of you can join us for the fun, check out our website

Enjoy your summer and I hope to see you soon!!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Looking forward to GBR!

Hello all!

Go Blue Rendevous will be held THURSDAY, APRIL 8 — SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 2010!

The steering committee is looking forward to hosting prospective Ross Partners in a few weeks! For more information about University of Michigan's GBR event and a finalized schedule please go to: www.bus.umich.edu/gbr

GBR is an excellent way for prospective partners to learn about Ross and everything Ann Arbor has to offer. We will be hosting a panel of current partners to answer your questions about jobs, life in Ann Arbor, and our experiences thus far. On Friday we will also have the opportunity to take you to Melange, a great lunch spot on Main Street.

Please feel free to contact any of the steering committee members with questions or concerns.
Rachel, Kristen and Sandra are on the GBR committee and our contact information is listed below:


GO BLUE!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Spring break coming up...

This week is a week of exams for our partners, a stressful time after which we will relax and go on our spring break trips.

Most of the partners are busy figuring out what they will do on such a break, specially since the guys have been busy with interviews for internships and now finals.

The partners club still has a bunch of things going on though, we had a happy hour, a visit to the museum, crocheting, and going to see a movie last night. There's always something going on to keep you busy!

And for a few very good laughs, go to youtube and in search look-up: public bathroom joke, hilarious!!!

Besos!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Snowed in

After a few months of little snow (well, ok, in December we had a lot) we suddenly got a ton!

Now it has been snowing like crazy! Take a look at my balcony: I looked up a few tips on driving in the snow, the first one is: Don't drive at all! I was trying to paste them, but I wasn't able to, so here's the link: http://www.weather.com/activities/driving/drivingsafety/drivingsafetytips/snow.html

I just sent out the newsletter, I hope you all enjoy it! And if you don't have it, send me an email and I'll send it to you... If you guys have any news that should go on there, let me know!

One good thing: I can still ride my bike!! Yes, I know I'm a bit crazy, but it works. At some point the brake froze, but not anymore. So, I biked today and made it safely to where I was going. That is another thing I recommend: Buy a bike! They are useful and help keep you in shape. :)

Besos!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Tip

Craig's List is your best friend in the whole-wide-world! :)

A friend of ours recommended we look for someone to fix our car on Craig's List instead of taking the car to the mechanic... We just saved more than US$100.00!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Partner's meeting

Hi!

Yesterday we had our first big meeting with the new officers (it was open to everyone - actually it would be great to have a lot of partners show up to this meetings). It was good to get together with everyone, share some food and talk about suggestions on events and just general stuff.
We had some good suggestions and if you check out the calendar, it is full of fun events for the up-coming months! :)

We also talked about helping our community by clicking box tops from cereals and stuff like that and donating them to schools. Megan will explain later, but basically you have to clip the boxes where you see this logo:
Another thing we talked about on the community was the Blue Door Charity Auction where you donate a piece of artwork and photography to be auctioned off. This year it will be on Friday, Feb. 12th. For more info, please email: bluedoorboard@umich.edu

Finally, for "housing", I have opened a discussion in the partners website for housing, you can check it out... The idea is to have partners that are graduating and partners that are looking for housing to "partner-up" and give each other tips. Also, there may be some good apartments out there that can be kept in the Ross community! :)

Ok, well, that is all for now... Let me know if you have any comments/suggestions on the newsletter, website & blog! :)
Shad

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Partner's Feelings Galore

I looked up and saw that expression on his face,

The mixed look of being happy n sad...

As I glanced towards him feeling dazed,

My heart pounding loudly and passing moments making me go mad!

He looked intently and said...the words which sounded musical ,

“Got an admit at Ross” and I let out a squeal ,

The reality of leaving everything n everyone behind making me slightly hysterical.

But seriously that moment was painted in magical hues.

As it was the fruit of hard earned labor,

Giving up on social life for the GMAT,essays n interviews

To make things happen in our favor.

It was the moment of our glory ,

Succeeded by days of planning and packing,

And then began the REAL story,

With blessings of elders and their backing.

The early days of Ann Arbor felt as honeymoon,

Setting up new home and spending time together,

Alas, the days of togetherness ended soon

And then began the spell of loneliness that deterred

The feeling of being a prominent part of his life,

As he was ever busy with classes n assignments or networking events,

And I felt agony blazing within as his words felt totally jive,

Making all the negativities inside my mind cement.

There was fighting n ranting about the sacrifices I’ve made,

Coupled with fury and tears,

And when he said that all this is making the love fade,

I was jolted with a deep fear.

I made a promise to make things better,

And found that the key was to give up on certain expectations,

And being satisfied with some quality (though very less) time together,

While making the job hunt my current mission.

I finally entered the marvelous world of volunteering,

Being on F2 visa did not give me work authorization,

But the voluntary work made me take control of my life’s steering

Thus making a difference in my own small way became my real passion.

However, the feeling of being exhilarated coupled with a warm glow,

Was only possible due to the great friends I found in other Ross partners,

Even though there are still periods of feeling high or low,

My friends act as the positive mood tuner.

Having spent time doing things I had not done for a while,

Canoeing, whirly ball, bowling, partying till wee hours et al..

Brings out a pleasant satisfying smile,

With a small voice in my mind saying aloud – hey baby - All is well!!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New officers

Hi! Well, there are new officers taking over! To see who we are click here...

Please send me pics to: shadenn@gmail.com as I will be putting together the newsletter and including more pics in the website.

If you want to be an author in the blog, also email me please.

Today I went to Aurelia's place for language partner we set-up (french/spanish), it was great! It is good to have friends to hang out with. :)

Another good thing about being in the US: Netflix! Great place to get movies (you set-up your account and they send them to you by mail, you pay a monthly fee and that is it!)... Another good one: the library, you set-up an account for free and can rent movies and books for free!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Last night I left the house in my pajamas. We were only supposed to be doing some drive thru action, but it ended up being a date night. I was walking around with my husband looking like a homeless person--snow boots, high socks, cut off sweats, and an old sweat shirt over a bra-less bosom. We were searching for ice cream. Ironically, we also stumbled across the movie The Road and decided it was worth our while. Apparently, so did the ticket taker. We were short on cash and he let us through anyway. I love Ann Arbor and the Michigan Theater.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all!! May all your wishes come true and may your life be filled with blessings this coming 2010 (ie, great internship, being incredibly busy with work and friends, hoping your partner gets a MAP where you can visit or that is not too far and he doesn't go too long, and having winter end soon!).

This is the beginning of this blog where hopefully you will find different experiences and helpful tips on how to handle MBA life as a partner...

My secret? SPARK! It is an incubator in Michigan where I got in touch with 3 entrepreneurs that keep me busy with fun projects. Here's some info on how to do it:


SPARK Volunteer Consultant Program
Ann Arbor SPARK works with hundreds of early stage entrepreneurs that are trying to help transform the SE Michigan economy. For many of these companies, there is no funding available for them to hire consultants to work on their business plans, do market research, make sales calls, and do many other projects related to product or business development. If you have business or technical experiences, and would like to volunteer your time to help a startup, please consider this program. Here is how it works:
1. Send a paragraph description of your background to Amy Cell, Amy@AnnArborSPARK.org. (Examples below)
2. Amy will include it (without your name or contact information) in a newsletter that goes out to local entrepreneurs every 3-4 weeks.
3. Entrepreneurs contact Amy if they would like to get connected with you, and Amy will forward the entrepreneur information over to you. You can decide with whom to meet.
4. Once you decide to connect with an entrepreneur in need, you would mutually agree on the work to be done, time frame, and other details.

If you have any questions about this program, you can contact Amy Cell at Amy@AnnArborUSA.org or 734-821-0075.

AL - His training and skills are in mechanical engineering. With experience in design, process and manufacturing, he has worked with small and medium sized start-up manufacturers. He has taken products from customer concept through design and build. He is looking for early stage start-ups that need help.

DM - She recently completed her MBA with a concentration in marketing and biosciences management. She has over four years of experience in project management, marketing and business development in the life science industry. She has experience managing a multitude of projects that included customer relationship management, marketing campaign administration, and analyzing data to create a sales and marketing plan. She has also been involved in creating a business plan to grow the biosciences program at NC State. She recently moved to Michigan and is trying to make contacts and get connected in the life sciences industry in the area. While continuing to search for full time employment she’s interested in project work that compliments her background.