Ogden Museum of Southern Arts!

In our last mentor meeting, Joe and Meg Bonavita brought us to the Ogden Museum of Southern Arts. The objective of the meeting was to learn more about how a business operates. The Ogden Museum is a non-profit business founded by Roger Ogden. Roger Ogden opened the museum with the partnership of the University of New Orleans in August 2003. The museum is filled with arts of southern aspects. The arts comes in the range of broken woods collected in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina to colorful blown glass.

Even the ogden Museum is a non-profit organization, it still operates like any other business. The Ogden have a total staff of twenty-two people with the addition of a few internship students. Their revenue is earned through many different sources. It is earned through the entrance fee, memberships fee, earnings from the gift shops, and even donations from different sources. This non-profit museum operates like any other business, but with a different goal in mind. Their goal is to broaden people knowledge about the South, not to gain the most money.

I thought the musuem was very unique in many ways. From the moment I step in the musuem, there was a live band playing right by the entrance. There was people sitting listening to the band while drinking alcohol from the bar.Yes, there was a bar in the museum. I was amazed to know that the building was made to withstand hurricanes. The exterior was made out of sand stone, plaster, and steel, which is reinforce with thick blocks of glass. The building is made to be hurricane-proof. Another thing I thought was interesting was how the Ogden Museum setup workshops and classes for those who wants to learn arts. They would have painting classes, after-hour specials, etc. They also have activities throughout the day for the younger kids.

Our group was suppose to meet Roger Ogden, the founder of the museum, but due to his work conflicts he was unable to make it. Instead, we met up with Richard Gruber, the director of Ogden Museum. He gave us a tour of the museum and answered our questions about the museum. He told us that in any business we have to work our way up. Even if it is a non-profit organization or internship, we can work our way up to our goals.

Events in February!

On February 12, 2009, we had our second mentor meeting. It was very exciting. The objective for that meeting was get some insights about business communication from our mentors. For our meeting, we went to Frank's and Johnny's, a local restaurant with Joe and Meg Bonavita. We discussed about how to properly communicate in the business world. They told us to start off with a good handshake and eye contact. It is also a good idea to prepare some questions to start the conversation. Last but not least, one should end the conversation by politely saying "It was nice meeting you."

In the past week, we had to do our CareerBeam for our business class. One of the objective was to discover our interests and occupation. My #1 interests was scientific. I thought this was interesting because my first choice in Major was Pre-med/Dentistry. I changed it because I thought business would be more interesting. My #2 interest was Logical. This is where an Accountant comes in. My majors are Accounting/Finance so this fits perfectly with my results. I like to be an Accountant because I am very good with numbers and I also like dealing with financial budgeting.

Next week will be Mardi Gras! I know that it will be exciting and fun even though I don't like the heavy traffic. This year, I just want to have fun with all the people I met at Loyola. I want to go to the best parades and collect the most unique beads. I want to have fun and not worry about school. I want to have as much fun as possible but also would like to avoid any dangerous or life-threating situation.

New Orleans is known for the partying during Mardi Gras. Like people say, "There no place like New Orleans when it comes to Mardi Gras." Its true. From the partying at Bourbon street and the King Cakes, everything is what makes Mardi Gras in New Orleans Mardi Gras. It is just a time to have fun and experiences the culture of New Orleans. With all the kings cakes and creole food. There is no other Mardi Gras like the one in New Orleans.

Loyola's Networking Event 2009!

This was the first week of school and I was not prepared for anything for an night like this. The College of Business hosted a networking event for all the freshman in the CoB. I was very nervous about this event and so was everyone else. I didn't know what to say or didn't know what to wear. As the day approach to the upcoming Thursday, I was getting more nervous. The professors taught us everything they knew to prepare us for this event, but the rest was on our own.

On the very night of this networking event, I was nervous as I approach the St. Charles' room. As I got to the door, my body unexpectedly became calm as I was greeted with some familiar faces. I saw the familiar faces of my mentors, Joe and Meaghan Bonavita. As the time passes by, the event was getting better. I met five successful business people and got each of their business card. These are the following people I have met:

1. Daphne Main - She is a Associate Professor of Accounting at Loyola University. At first, she attended Universoty of Vermont and obtained a Bachelor in Botany. Then, with a change in career, she graduated at Western Michigan University with a Masters in Accountancy. Later on, she got a Ph.D. in Accountancy and Management Information System. She worked at many universities before settling in at Loyola.
2. Brian A. Gueniot - Mr. Gueninot attended Nicholls State University and graduated with a Bachelors of Science Degree. After that, he coached and taught for 10 years at an high school. For the time period of twenty-two years, he was a sales person, instructor and instructor trainer at Dale Carnegie Training. The next nine years, he was the Director of Human Resources and Development at The Standard Companies, Inc. Currently, Mr. Gueninot is the founder of a comsulting services.
3. Joseph L. Bonavita - Josesph Bonavita started with a Bachelor Degree in Finance and Marketing from Fairfields University and then continued his education at Boston College for a masters in Finance. Mr. Bonavita is currently the Senior Vice President in a Investment Banking group, Capital One Southcoast. He had many titles before this one which consisted of working in a private placement group at Lehman Brothers and the head of transaction origination for North and South America.
4. John J. Zollinger - Mr. Zollinger attended Spring Hill College and obtained his Bachelors in Finance. He continued his education and received a Masters in Business Administration with Finance Concentration at University of New Orleans. Then, he graduate from the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. Mr.Zollinger holds many titles of Vice President at various banks, which consist of Whitney National Bank and Parish National Bank. Currently, he is the Senior Vice President and Marketing Manager at Regions Bank.
5. Meaghan Ryan Bonavita - Mrs. Bonavita is a origin of New Orleans. She attended Isidore Newman School. She recieved her undergraduate degree in Communication at Villanova University. After college, she got a job as a account executive at Lafayette 148 New York, Inc. Afterwards, she decided to obtain her Masters in Business Administration at Loyola University. Currently, she is a sales associate for Carlisle Collection.

It was exciting meeting and talking to these people. I am very surprised at myself for doing so well at this event. I did well at introducing myself, but I need to work on my conversation skills. I need to prepare some questions to start the conversation.

If I were to emulate one business person. It would be Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple.
He used his intelligence and skills to make the world fall in love with his Apple's products.


Here is a useful website that help one on networking skills : NETWORKING.

Executive Mentor Program Fall 08!

What is the objective of the Executive Mentor Program for College of Business Freshmen at Loyola University New Orleans?

The objective to the Executive Mentor program is to give the CoB freshmen students a real-like experiences in the business world. We had this program so that we can learn the basic of business from a professional view. This program gives us a great opportunity to meet with successful business people. It teaches us how to network with other people and to go behind-the-scene of a developed business. It is a great program for freshmens. More information can be seen at the Loyola website.

What experiences resulted in the most value for you and why?

I had a great time doing this program. Every meeting was a great experiences for me. The meeting I valued the most was the one that took place at Ole College Inn. This was the climax for this semester program. Everyone got to know about each other and was comfortable going to this dinner. We got to know the mentors and an insight of their career. I was amazed at the things they do and they places they traveled to. It was a very interesting and delicious dinner.

Did your expectations of the program change after your semester long experience with your mentor?

At first, I thought this program was strictly business and nothing but lectures and powerpoints. But this changed very quicky once the first meeting was over. I realized immediately that this will be a fun and exciting program that includes free dinner and meeting successful business people. That is exactly what I got this program this semester. Free delicous meals and insight of the business world.

What advise would you give your peers at other universities in seeking an executive mentor?

There is not any particular advice that can be given. A good executive mentor should be intellectual of the business world and also be fun at the same time. They should have a common ground with the students to hold the students attention. They should give the students good advice and a great experiences with this program.

What do you most look forward to next semester both in the Executive Mentor Program and at Loyola University New Orleans?

In the spring semester, I am looking forward to have a great experiences just like this semester. I am excited to learn more about the business world and maybe a few more dinners. Haha. But most importantly, I looking forward to my business classes. I will be taking my first Accounting class. I am excited to learn more about accounting. I know that it will be a great class and that I will learn a lot from it.

Which websites to you recommend to the readers of your blog who want to stay connected with business current events during the winter break?

A good website to look over the winter break is businessweek.com. This website gives all the new and updated news about the Wall street, the stocks, and even the newest technolgy. It is a great website to obtain more occurances from the business world. So read up and get ready for the Spring semester!

Wolves on the Prowl 2008!!

It is the time of the year for the exciting event, Wolves on the Prowl! This is a national community service directed by the student organization, LUCAP. It was November 8, 2008 on a nice Saturday morning. I wake up bright and early to be in time for this community service. Everybody met in the Peace Quad and sign up for their desired community service. And also, we all got a free t-shirt! I choose the Cubs in the Den. Our task was to coordinate games for the Good Shepherd school. It was really fun and exciting although it did wore me out. We first divided into four different teams. We were the Red Badgers! We played a series of games, tournament style. The first game was the "Team race." The task of the game was for the team to cuff arms to arms in a circle and complete the race. The rule of the game was we can't break the circle. Unfortunately, we got in third place. The next game was called "Break the Egg" or I should say don't break the egg. We had to walk forward and back with a egg on our spoon. The object of the game is do not let the egg break. Then we took a twenty minute break. We ate fruits and punch and took all the kids into the St. Charles Room for some music. The kids sang and dance until it was time for the next game. The next game was called "Capture the Flags." Like the title stated, the object was to capture and collect the most flags from your opponent and bring it to your base. There was so many kids running around, one would not know where to start! The next game will get you dizzy. It is call "Dizzy Race." In this game, we had the kids put their head on a bat and spin around five times. Then they had to walk or run back to the starting point. The kids was going in all kind of direction! Last but not least, we had a friendly game of tug-o-war. Our group consisted of 2nd-3rd graders and our opponent had mostly 1st graders but they still won! I forgot to mention, they had a little help from one of the Loyola students. In the end, the Red Badgers came in second place. We lost by one point! It was fun though. And I am pretty sure the kids had fun. After, it was time to clean up and get ready for the after party.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the after party because I had to go work. :[

I found and recently joined a local organization that does a lot of community service. It is a Vietnamese group that help out our community in many ways. Its main target is the youth. This organization's mission is "to reach out to the larger community to create a voice and organize to address the needs in the local community." This organization tutors and train youth to be a leader and for them to have a higher education. This organization is called Vayla (Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association)

A Night at Ye Olde College Inn!!

On the 23rd of October, we had our third mentor meeting. This meeting was a very special one. I have been eagerly waiting for this meeting because we had the choice to go to any place. On this exciting night, we was brought to a local family restaurant on South Carrollton Avenue called Ye Olde College Inn. This was quite an unusual but interesting place. I have passed this street many times but have never noticed this restaurant. This was a average size restaurant but with a old English environment. It is a comforting and nice place. The food was very tasty. I had a Carrollton Tchoup, which consisted of a large porkchop covered in a deliclious sause with a large side of sausage and duck jambalyla. This was a very satisfying meal and I would like to thank Joe and Meg Bonavita.

During the dinner, everyone started talking and started to learn more about each other, but I was most interested with Joe Bonavita stories. I learned that he has a very exciting job. He has traveled to Paris, Austria, London and many other places that one can imagine. It was very exciting and inspiring to hear these stories because it is my dream to travel around the world. The fact that it is for business makes it even better.

At the end of the night, I came home full and happy. I also came home with a little snack from my leftover.

Credit Dot Com!

What information was discussed during the presentation and executive mentor group dialogue with respect to personal finance and credit?

This couldn't be a better time to talk about one's credit during this financial crisis. This week, the CoB had a special guest speaker from Regions bank. He came and informs us about the Do's and Don't of credit use. The information was very helpful! One's credit report can haunt one everywhere. For example, credit reports can be used to determine whether or not you will get your next loan or even your next job. Having a good credit report is significant in one's future. It can make one's financial life so much easier. Here are some of the things I learned :

Good Credit Report:
- Get Loans
- Lower interest rate
- A complete car
- Own a House
- Become a Bank Officer

Bad Credit Report:
- Loans Declined
- Outrageous interest rate
- Half a car
- Rent a House
- Becoming a Roadkill Collector

...and lastly, a good credit report can prevent you from being the next Matt Foley!!

Overall, this presentation was a good idea for us (college freshmen). We are at a stage in our life that most of us are just starting to get credit cards and using it freely. If one wasn't satisfied with this presentation, then here is a site that can help prevent financial problems. >>>Need Help?<<<