Archive for the ‘The College Days’ Category

graduation.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2003

graduation day

challenges.

Friday, March 14th, 2003

During my International Marketing class yesterday, Peter and Ruth Thomas came to speak about life in the corporate world. Our professor had told us a few things before their arrival and one of those things was that they are exceptionally wealthy and have 50+ combined years in high-level management. Ruth was one of the few women who reached the upper level management when women were told they should stay at home. This couple quickly made it to the top of the corporate world in no time.

Unexpectedly, Peter began having heart problems and found himself in the hospital with chest pains. Triple bypass surgery was scheduled. He said, as he was lying naked on the steel table, covered in a green sheet that he suddenly realized all he had been pursuing would not satisfy. The last thing he remembers is the nurses frantically leaning over him as his heart rate dropped suddenly. He woke up with a friend of the family presenting the Gospel to him. The tears poured down his face as he told of accepting Christ as his Savior. All of the sudden, everything that they had been living for didn’t matter. Peter spoke with his boss and informed him that there were new rules now. No longer would he leave on Sundays to jet to Australia (to be gone for five days and then return for a weekend relationship with his wife) but he would leave only during the week. He made it clear that he would be in church on Sunday and that if he was out of the country during the week that the company must pay for any phone calls he made to Ruth. The final straw was broken when Peter overheard his CEO bragging that he hadn’t attended the high school or college graduation for any of his daughters. It was clear that this corporate world was nothing that Peter wanted to be a part of any longer.

He now works as a cross-cultural developer for team management. A few days ago, he returned from Kuwait City, where he’d been mending relations between two companies. Apparently, the CEO of a company in Spain was in Kuwait City to meet with a South Korean CEO of a company based out of New York City. The Spanish CEO didn’t go to the airport to meet this man and the South Korean man became horribly offended. Peter traveled to Kuwait City to mend the situation. After many talks and open-ended discussions, he made the Spanish CEO take the other gentleman to the ritziest restaurant in downtown Kuwait City…and it saved a $1.5 billion project!

This couple said so many things that challenged and sobered me. In just a few months, I will be leaving this bubble to enter the business world. Maintaining my testimony is essential and as a woman I will be faced with the issues that could damage it within seconds. Ruth spoke of business trips she had to take and facing the realization that she was the only woman there. She received many propositions from high-level management. Listening to her warnings unleashed something that I have hidden inside for sometime. I love business, especially marketing, but I would throw that away in a second to be a wife and a mother. The choices that I would face as a career woman truly scare me. I know that the values I hold deep within my heart aren’t going to change but the fact that I would have to choose between values and money is sad. Ruth warned us to never put ourselves in a situation that would clash with our values. The corporate world thinks nothing of lying or flirting to win a contract. Everyone has a price at which they can be bought…but as a Christian I don’t want to choose dishonesty to gain $20,000 even if I have a child who is in serious need of surgery.

I know it has been God’s will for me to be a business major and I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. However, during the board meetings- when the CEO of the hospital system would rant and rave only to subtly compliment me on my dress…I would get chills. The job fair that was held a few weeks ago disgusted me as well. There were more than 50 companies present but I had to leave just after speaking with two. I couldn’t handle the large hovering groups of leering businessmen. My heart just fears the corporate world. Part of me wants to appreciate my business education and then do something entirely different. The other part of me says that I must prepare myself to interview with these companies no matter what.

rossini’s la cenerentola.

Wednesday, March 12th, 2003

Three lovely hours of La Cenerentola…and I can honestly say that I saw my favorite opera tonight. My opera glasses came in handy even though the people I was with teased me about them. Only with my opera glasses did I discover that Richard Holmes (played Dandini) is a Colin Firth look-a-like. During the intermission, Kerry tried to convince me to fly to Europe with her on May 9. We would be in Scotland for 2 weeks and then two days in London. I honestly don’t see how it would work…but she certainly did her best to persuade me otherwise. I could ramble on about how fun the night was…but I am way too sleepy. Opera is lovely, no?

technology sucks.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2003

About 20 minutes before my International Marketing class, I decided to take my disk (with my lovely presentation inscribed on it) to the Mack Library labs and just run through my presentation one more time. When I reached the third slide – PowerPoint simply froze. This happened four times. Needless to say, I was annoyed but thought it must have been related to that computer.

15 minutes until class: I am dashing to the business labs to test it there. The whole thing crashes. It’s obvious now that the third slide has some sort of problem. When I try to edit or delete it…PowerPoint rants, raves and dies.

10 minutes until class: I am banging on my professor’s office door. He was really kind and listened to my breathless explanation. I offered to give the presentation without any visuals as long as he understood why I wouldn’t have any. He muttered for a few minutes and then his eyes lit up. Bellis Copy Center!

8 minutes until class: I burst through the doors of the Bellis Copy Center and franticly explain that I need them to make overhead transparencies from the tiny printouts of my PowerPoint presentation. The lady raised her eyebrows and informed me that it would take probably 20 minutes.

I got to class nearly ten minutes late but I had visual aids. Transparencies are so irritating but I learned to adjust quickly. The actual presentation went well and everyone told me they enjoyed it. It’s a wonder they did…with the annoyance that I’m sure was etched on my face.

setting sail.

Tuesday, March 4th, 2003

I was thoroughly disgusted tonight. After I took my Entrepreneurship test, I scurried out of Mack Library and headed for my car. I was completely repulsed when the guy in front of me hacked up a bunch of who knows what and spit it all over the grass. It took every ounce of common sense in my head to keep my comments to myself. He was practically five times bigger than me and entirely dressed in camouflage.

Then I dashed to the G’ville Shack (I was too scared to go to the Easley Shack…seeing as I would run into he-who-must-not-be-named) and bought Andrew Peterson’s Love & Thunder (recommended by Jason) and Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown (recommended by Amber). Both albums are incredible. I wove in and out of downtown traffic…crying. Good music makes me want to just keep driving up through the mountains. Windows down. Radio up. Tears flowing.

It’s been one of those nights.