Taking Advantage of the Location

As a Marketing Communications/Advertising major, many potential jobs can start from networking. It is always important to make good impressions, for you never know how someone may be able to help you out or lend a recommendation for you. Being in London is the ultimate networking opportunity. Even the other students at Richmond University have many connections all over the world. Although we are only here for a semester, I've already met many friends who I know I will keep in touch with once I go back to America. Through the trips I have been on and other experiences of branching out, I have met some really interesting people who have promised me some amazing opportunities.

Opportunities to meet new people can happen in really unexpected places, such as a museum, on the tube, or a night out on the weekend. Back home I wouldn't have felt as confident approaching someone or starting a conversation with a person I didn't know, but being here has made me feel more daring and outgoing. I think that since I know I only have a semester here, I want to take full advantage of being in London and meeting as many interesting people possible.

Doing the Sophomore Experience Abroad has helped me feel more comfortable meeting new people and also at presenting myself as a future business professional. From this trip I have made some really strong connections with people and already feel much more capable to go out and be successful in the business world.

Getting it together

In the month that I have been in London I have found that things are not as easy as I thought they would be. From the amount of school work that I must complete to managing my budget, it all has to do with time and how you manage it. I cannot say that I have been doing the best job when it comes to managing my time but I try my best, I have three classes a day each one hour and half long some days two of them are back to back, knowing how to form a schedule is key when you know your day is limited. I noticed towards the beginning of the first WNEC course I was becoming a bit sloppy I had never really had the same class three times a day so at first it was overwhelming. As time passed by though I quickly started to adapt to the pace at which we were running the course and it made me realize what I am fully capable of. It was almost as if I were conditioning myself to be able to take on more work load with less time which is a skill necessary in the business world. As a result of going to the same class more than once a day you become close to your professors and actually spend time with them out of class like if you didn’t see them enough during the week. One professor took us to go see the London Welsh play rugby and also see a play called Glen Gary, Glen Ross both experiences were great I think having this connection with our professor will only help us build a greater level of communication than just student to professor.

When it comes to expenses things here are much more expensive not the greatest thing for a college student. I am generally very good at managing my money but when I go out to buy some necessities I always convert the price on the label to American dollars and find it to be more expensive. That’s not all I spend my money on but also when I go out with friends I tend to shred through money like never before I lose track of the fact that I am not using American dollars but pounds. These mistakes have taught me to be more precautious with my money by converting my currency and seeing where my money is more beneficial. In the long run this will benefit me by being more financially responsible and giving me that edge in the global business which will require me to be able to convert currencies and manage the distribution of money.

Making A Difference

Making a difference in your own community back home has a lot of meaning but what is more meaningful is making a difference in someone else's community. This week I seized an opportunity to make a difference in the London area. I joined a club here at the Richmond University called The Green Project. I was invited to help clean up a section of the Thames River. When I got to the clean up site, much to my surprise a lot of volunteers showed up. Some were students, some were young children and some were older community volunteers. The first thing we did was put on our waiters. Everyone including myself looked completely ridiculous in our shoulder high waiters. After putting on the waiters we signed in and went straight into the water. Our job was to reach into the river to pick up any trash on the bottom of it. I thought the worst things I would pull up would be paper bags and some cans but I was so wrong. After several hours of cleaning the river, we pulled out rollerblades, a bicycle, beer bottles, radios, a safe, practically an entire car which included the engine, several tires, a hood, an axel and a transmission. We even pulled out an entire bath tub. It was so sad seeing what kind of destruction people are capable of. You can read about pollution but you can never fully understand what it truly does to the environment. Actually picking up the trash yourself changes your entire perspective on everything. It impacted me so much that I cant even throw a napkin or a wrapper on the ground anymore. That water was so polluted which trash it is so hard not to get mad. Many companies just dump their trash into waterways because it is the cheapest and easiest solution to their waste problems. Businesses in the modern world can be so inconsiderate when it comes to the environment dumping whatever wherever they want. As a business student at Western New England it is difficult for me to see that companies can be so socially irresponsible. To think that these companies our the models for many business students today is kind of scary. Cleaning the Thames this week was overall just an incredible experience for me. Making a difference in one community has an effect on other communities. We only cleaned one part of the river but with the combined help of many other groups something even more positive will be able to come of this.

Learning More Than Expected

It is expected that one is going to learn a lot in the class room, but the sophomore experience provides more than one type of learning. In the last month at Richmond, the classes and the work load have been quite crammed. It was challenging at times, however, it provided me with the ability to work on a task and get it done by morning. Most of the assignments, whatever they were, were time consuming and had to be done the following day. This challenge of getting the work done has helped me become more organized and sharpen my research skills.

Everything we did will help dramatically in the business world, because time is money and now I am better at managing my time, and working on things that are time sensitive. If I was presented with a big project and had only 24 hours to do it I would get it done on time, because I had to learn to research, and implement that research in a time sensitive manner.

The studying at Richmond is a good experience because it’s different than what I am normally used to and it’s good to have this different environment to study business in. Its international, its fast paced, and it’s hard, and all three elements combined is what makes this a good experience because it has really been preparing me for the future world of business.

"Broke College Kid" Takes on New Meaning

An important skill to have especially as a business major is to know how to manage money. I think I speak for the majority of the WNEC students when I say that we have begun to notice our funds dwindling rapidly. Many of the other students here come from extremely wealthy families and easily drop hundreds or thousands of dollars on a night out on the town. I know personally I worked two jobs this summer in preparation for this trip so it can be frustrating to hear about some of the things people spend money on.

However the consensus from the Americans I have talked to is “I am totally broke right now”. Being study abroad students, we are not allowed to get a job either. It is hard not to want to do everything and experience everything possible. Currently I am in the process of planning a trip for fall break. Already we have cut it down by at least half because we are feeling the financial strain. Things are not cheap over here and the exchange rate is far from favorable. We are not even halfway through the experience and some people have already blown through all or most of their saved money.

Here is where we as future moguls start to get creative with our money. Going out at night can easily rack up a hefty bill which may discourage some people from going out. I suggest only bringing a small amount of money maybe 10 or 20 pounds to cover the whole night and leave the debit card at home. If you don’t have the money you can’t spend it. Also people spend a lot of money on going out for food. However, the local grocery stores have decent food for a fraction of the cost. I also know some people write down how much they spend on what every week so then they can look at where they can cut down on money. Give yourself a weekly budget based on how much money you have for the whole trip.

In the future, people will trust us with their money whether in stocks or investments or company assets. Before we can handle that kind of responsibility, we can practice with our own money, and where better to start than with a place full of temptation like Europe?

The Beginning of My Adventure

It feels like I've been here for more than a month and I love it here! There is so much to do here in Richmond. Besides visiting the historical places that all tourist visit, there is something that just invites you here. It gives you a feeling of warmth and an invitation to unlimited adventure. There is adventure anywhere but when you are in a completely new and different environment, you suddenly become a different person. I've become more open to new things here than I've ever been at home. Throughout my stay here I've seized every opportunity that are outside the norm for me. For example, I went to Rome last weekend and had a great time. I don't know what made me go but I'm glad I did. I also went to Central London with kids from my school just to go and hangout. Stepping outside my box allowed me to make new friends and kept me from be so isolated from everything. Aside from that, the people here are amazing and incredibly nice. So many students here are from different places and cultures. This makes my trip even more exciting, meeting different people and learning a little about them and where they're from is pretty cool. We are all adjusting and trying to find our comfort zone. Traveling the streets of London and getting lost together creates unforgettable memories with unforgettable friends.

I don't miss home that much but I do wish that some of my friends could enjoy this experience with me. In a weird way, I'm glad they aren't here though. I think that if they were then I would just limit my own experience and stay in my own circle. I would also be wasting a trip and an opportunity to discover a world outside of my own. I plan to create as many memories as I can and enjoy every single one of them.

Home Away from Home

Soon after my arrival in Richmond I knew that I would feel right at home here. There are kids from all over the world here, and we all have the same common experience of adjusting to life in England. Although the food here makes Aramark look gourmet, the school itself is beautiful. There will be some nights when I’m walking back to the main building and I’ll look up at the castle like building (see picture) and be somewhat amazed that I’m here right now. If I can recommend anything to anyone considering traveling abroad to England, it would be to make sure you’re in shape before you do. I’ve done more walking in the past month than I did all summer. If I need anything, it is at least a ten minute walk. My mom always used to joke about how she walked to school, uphill both ways (which she has actually proven that she did). Being at the Richmond Hill Campus puts me in the same situation. Another thing that continues to amaze me is how small this school is. The campus consists of the one very large main building and a library. There are also about 500-600 freshman and sophomores, combined, on this campus. The upperclassmen are on another campus, but there are about the same number of them as well. When I explained to some of the kids here that my school at home is much bigger than this school they are somewhat amazed, but at the same time I know that WNEC is a small school. Although the campus here is very small, I do feel like I could come back here at any time and still feel welcome. Richmond will always be considered my home away from home and I will never forget this experience.