Archive | March 2011

An Investment That Pays Dividends

By Cheval John

 In the current financial crisis, business schools are looking for ways to revamp their curriculum and to make it better, so when the students graduate, they will be even more marketable.

The same can be said about the College of Business Administration at Sam Houston State University under its current dean, Mitchell Muehsam Ph.D.

Muehsam received his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Texas A&M University. While he was a graduate student, he was a partner of  Tourism and More, a touring consultancy firm in College Station.

He started teaching at Sam Houston in 1989 in the College of Business Administration and was promoted to Dean of the Graduate Programs in the College in 1995. Then, he became the Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2003. Finally, he became the Dean of the College of Business Administration in 2009.

He believes that the reason why they are so successful is because the faculty and staff are dedicated to their work and that they are committed to seeing their students succeed. An example of this would be when they do a thorough review of the curriculum every five to 10 years to make sure that the curriculum is top quality and that the students are prepared for the business world.

“People who are not afraid to make mistakes will be successful,” Muehsam said. “It shows that they are willing to try something new, and it gives them the courage to face the fear of failure and to achieve their goals.”

He credits the late James Gilmore, Ph.D., David Payne, Ph.D. and Dean Lewis, Ph.D. for mentoring him during his time here. “They did their jobs with integrity and passion,” he said.

He has the following advice for undergraduate or graduate students:

  • Learn how to learn
  • Pursue knowledge, not grades (even though they are important)
  • Learn how to ask questions
  • Learn how to work as a member of the team and as an individual
  • Everything you do sends a message, so treat people with respect
  • Set high expectations for yourself and follow your interests

You Are What You Eat

Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are. – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Everyone at some point in their lives has heard this phrase “you are what you eat”. Some have not really thought about the quote because they don’ t really understand it. But in reality, that saying rings true both directly and indirectly.

On Thursday, March 11, Xue (Sherry) Zhang, one of the 16 students from Zhejiang Police College, presented a movie “Eat Drink Man Woman” as part of “A Night in Chinatown” series in the Olson Auditorium at Sam Houston State University.

The movie is about a father named Chu, a senior master chef with three daughters who cook a meal for his three daughters every Sunday. Though they were adults, the daughters lived with their father because they felt that he needed company after the passing of their mother. As the movie goes on, each one of the daughters found their true love and left home.

As the movie progresses, Chu begins to feel that he’s losing his taste for  food because he’s  getting older and believed that he had needed to retire. But in reality, he was keeping his emotions inside,  causing him to lose the “instinct” that goes into cooking.

At the close of the movie, Chu went to the home of one of his daughters for dinner and she had prepared the meal for him. As he tasted her food, he regained his “instinct” for cooking because he had finally released the emotion of love for his daughter.

The movie was excellent because it explains that humans will always have a need for food and relationships and that when the family gets together for a meal, it allows them to express their feelings that they have toward each other.

Here’s a clip from the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs5WiddD7i0

For more information about the different type of foods in the world, visit this website:

www.foodbycountry.com

And here are the final two movies that will be shown next week:

March 22: The Equation of Love and Death

March 24: Dream Weaver: Beijing 2008

A Weekend Not to Remember

by Cheval John

While students are either heading for home, South Padre or Mexico for Spring Break, the Sam Houston State University Bearkats’ baseball and softball teams hosted the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas State University-San Marcos, respectively this past weekend.

The Bearkats’ softball team had a three game series with Texas State with a double-header on Saturday. They were coming off a 15-7 road win against Texas Southern University on Wednesday night.

The first game did not have much offense. With a scoreless game going into the second inning, Texas State’s Jenna Emery single to start the inning and then advancing to second on a sacrifice. Macie Hair hit a line drive that went over the head of centerfielder Tayler Gray that brought home what would be the only run of the game.

It was all that starting pitcher Chandler Hall needed as she throwed a no-hitter against the Kats.

The second game got worse as Texas State scored 7 runs in the first inning with a pair of RBI singles and a 2-run homerun by Jenna Emery. In the second inning, it seemed as if the Bearkats had a chance to make a comeback when Tayler Gray blasted a 2-run homerun that hit off the scoreboard.

But in the end, it was too much as Texas State added 2 runs in the third and 2 more in the sixth that led to an 8-run rule win.

On Sunday, the men’s baseball team hosted UT-Arlington with the series being tied at 1-1. The game would be played down to the wire with missed opportunities and questionable calls.

UT-Arlington’s Ryan Walker led the game off with a walk. Then he stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch with Preston Beck driving him home on a ground out to make it 1-0. Chad Comer made it 2-0 with a solo homerun.

The Bearkats scored a run in the bottom of the inning and in the second inning, Daniel Nottebart drove the first pitch over the right field wall to tie the game at 2-2.

It would be deadlock going into the ninth inning. Before the inning began, former SHSU baseball coach John Skeeters said, (This game will be decided by mistakes and errors). The Kats retired the side and in the bottom of the inning with one out, Mark Hudson drew a walk and then advanced to third when the first baseman missed the ball as they were attempted to pick him off. Braeden Riley was intentially walked and with runners on first and third with two strikes, Kevin Miller struck out on an attempted bunt trying to drive home the winning run and in the process, Hudson was caught in a run down and was tagged out to send the game to extra innings.

UT-Arlington took advantage and scored two runs and the Bearkats came up short in the bottom of the inning and lost the game by the score of 4-2.

Both the men and women played very hard, but it was not meant for them to win. Both teams will redeem themselves because they have two great coaches that know how to motivate and drive them to succeed.

Haga que le encanta y el dinero le vaya a seguir

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.-Confucius

Cuando un persona entra la universidad, sus metas y aspiraciones son graduarse con sus titulos y conseguir un trabajo con el sueldo mas alto. Pero si estos personas consigan esa trabajo y mas tarde, dan cuenta que no es para ellos?

Carol Shaw, foto abajo en el version de ingles, asistente al decano de la Facultad de Administracion de Empresas en la Universidad Estatal de Sam Houston, cree que cuando un persona encontra un trabajo en que le encanta, va a ser extradinario para ellos.

Shaw se graduo con una licenciatura en Ciencias de Consumidor y Familia de la Universidad Estatal de Sam Houston en 1974. Su primera trabajo fue una secretaria en el Departamento de Justicia Criminal de Tejas en la Edificio de Ferguson. En 1978, aunque le encanta su trabajo, el destino la cambio.

“Yo fue para una entrevista en la Departamento de Cuenta en la Facultad de Empresas”, dijo Shaw. “La jefa en esa epoca era Rita B. Huff y ella necesitaba una secretaria porque la sesion de escuela iba a comenzar en una semana”.

Ella conseguio el trabajo y ha sido alla desde entonces. En su puesto actual, ella organiza la Ferrera de Carrera de COBA y recentemente, conjunto con el Servicio de Carrera, conducta entrevista de ejercicio con companias de areas en orden que preparen a los estudiantes para las entrevistas verdaderas.

El consejo en que ella compartir con ellos que asistan la universidad:

  • Trabajar en sus talentos de comunicaciones
  • Siempre mantener contacto con personas importantes
  • Tomar ventajas de las oportunidades que esta presentado

Y para ellos que van a graduarse

Comenzar desde el bajo, trabajar duro para avanzar porque en el fin, vale la pena.

Do what you love and the money will follow

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. –Confucius

By Cheval John

When a person enters college, their goals and aspirations are to graduate with their degree and get that job with the high salary. But what if those individuals get that job and realize later that it does not fulfill them?

Carol Shaw (on the left) assistant to the Dean of the College of Business Administration (COBA) at Sam Houston State University, believes that when a person finds the job that they love, it will be their masterpiece.

Shaw graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics (now Family and Consumer Sciences) from Sam Houston State University in 1974. Her first job was as a secretary at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the Ferguson Unit. In 1978, though she loved her job, fate intervened.

“I went for an interview at the accounting department in the College of Business”, said Shaw. “The chair at that time was Rita B. Huff and she was in need of a secretary because school was about to start in a week”.

She got the job and has been with the college ever since. In her current position, she organizes the COBA Career Fair and recently, in partnership with the Career Services, conducts mock interviews with area companies to prepare students for job interviews.

The advice that she shares with those that are in college:

  • Work on your communication skills
  • Always network
  • Take advantage of the opportunities that are given to you

And for those that are graduating:

Start at the bottom, then work your way to the top and in the end it will be worth it.