Beijing 北京

Nǐ hǎo! After leaving Hong Kong and heading to Shenzhen to visit the Walmart China headquarters and a distribution center, the group headed to China's capital city - Beijing. Tonight is our last night here before we get up early to travel to our final stop on our Chinese tour in Shanghai, but we've done a lot during our time here. We focused primarily on cultural excursions here and have seen Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven. I've learned so much in such a short time here about Chinese culture. I also have to admit, I have a newly heightened sense of respect for the international students in our program. Being unfamiliar with the language and facing daily challenges communicating with those around you is even more challenging than I could have imagined. Most of my time here, I have felt very dependent on other people - which is not in my nature! During our time at Walmart China, we had the opportunity to meet and speak with their CFO MJ Medina who talked with us about seeking out these experiences to stretch ourselves and overcome the pain of culture shocks, and I am so grateful to have been able to come to China and experience this firsthand. I feel that I have already grown so much in these two short weeks, and I am confident that it will only benefit me in the future. I would love to work for a multinational corporation and spend several years over seas in another country such as China to further develop myself as a business leader and professional - and I have this trip to thank for opening my eyes to these opportunities. Anyhow, enjoy some of my photos of Beijing sights below, and I'll try to check in one more time from Shanghai before I return stateside. Then I'll give you a full update on my trip when I get home. I've been taking lots of notes and pictures that I can't wait to share with you! Zài jiàn!

- Tammy :o)

HONG KONG!

I made it to Hong Kong tonight! After a long 15 hour flight from Chicago leaving yesterday at 1:30pm CST, we touched down at Hong Kong International Airport 5:55pm HKT. Shockingly, the flight didn't actually seem that long. I had made sure to download plenty of entertainment onto my new handy dandy iPad (the whole first season of 'Hart of Dixie'...) to keep me occupied. When I arrived, half of our group was already here as the undergrads spent a week in Zhuhai studying Chinese culture and met the grad students in Hong Kong. My roommate, Lily, is actually from China, and she has already proven to be a marvelous resource as she took me to dinner tonight and showed me the ropes. Tomorrow we have a free day in Hong Kong and then the next day we visit Li & Fung for our first business visit. So far, all is well, and I'm absolutely loving China. That's all for tonight, but I will keep you posted as the week goes on. For now, here's a photo of our view from our room. Ciao!

- Tammy :o)

End of Term 1

Well, the first semester has officially come to an end. It's definitely bittersweet as I worked harder this term than I ever have had to in school before, so it's definitely a relief to be able to say that I survived (with all A's at that!). Nonetheless, I'm sad that I won't be in class everyday with my classmates. Our class has gotten so close over the last few months, and I'm going to miss them over the summer. We did have an end of the year bash at my house after finals finished up, so we were all able to let our hair down and say our farewells before everyone went there separate ways this summer. My summer agenda includes the beginning of our Entrepreneurship course, interning full-time at Kellogg, and jetting off to China! I'll be sure to keep you posted as I go!

-  Tammy :o)

MBA Women International

Today I officially kicked off my term as the National Student Director for MBA Women International - formerly known as the National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) and Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) before that. During my term, we will first be conducting a feasibility study to evaluate our recent name change and how best to serve our student chapters through membership dues, benefits, chapter governance, school partnership, and international expansion.

I'll also be serving this term as the Region Director for Region 2. My responsibilities will include reaching out to the student chapters in my region over the summer and finding ways to best serve our student organizations. I'm excited that as a member of the National Student Leadership Team I will also have the opportunity to attend the MBAWI Leadership Retreat and National Conference in Phoenix this October as well.

We held our first National Student Leadership Team conference call this morning to get acquainted with one another and start work on the project plans for our initiatives for the year. Our feasibility study is just our first project, and I'm so excited about working with the high caliber women on our leadership team this year.

Check out our website here to learn more about MBAWI: http://www.mbawomen.org/.

- Tammy :o)

Heifer International Global Passport Program

I'm so excited to learn that I have been accepted to participate this summer as a Walton MBA Student in the Heifer International Global Passport Experience where I will travel to Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas August 13-16, 2012. The Walton College sponsors funding for 15 students each summer, which covers the full program cost of $155 per student. From the Career Development Center's website, "the Global Passport Program is a half educational and half service-oriented 3 night experience where students will be exposed to a variety of activities and educational experiences, including educational workshops and team-building exercises that explore the causes and effects of hunger and poverty throughout the world. The program also consists of overnight stays in Heifer’s Global Village, providing participants a better understanding of the complications of hunger and poverty by living the lessons first-hand. Participants will sleep outdoors throughout the program and participate in various outdoor activities."

When Heather Sprandel came from the Career Development Center during orientation earlier this semester and mentioned the Global Passport Program, I immediately knew that I wanted to participate so I began working on my application right away! I'm ecstatic to learn that I have been selected, and I can't wait for August! This is going to be a really exciting summer for me! :o)

You can read more about the global village and Heifer International at their website here: http://www.heifer.org/visit/global-passport as well as the Walton College Program here: http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/career/passport.asp.

- Tammy :o)

Mock Interviews

One of the fantastic opportunities offered by the Career Development Center here in the Walton College is participation in Mock Interviews. Real employers volunteer to come to campus to help students improve their interviewing skills by conducting real face-to-face interviews. These experiences are incredibly valuable to identify strengths and weaknesses applicants have before they get to the actual interview for a job they really want. Practicing interviewing also makes the process much more familiar and helps you to be able to relax. This semester, I have been able to participate in mock interviews with Nielsen, AT&T via Skype, Saatchi & Saatchi X, and Consolidated Electrical Distributors. The Skype interview was a new experience, and one that I am definitely glad I practiced with now since it is becoming more and more popular with employers. In fact, I will probably try to practice with this format once or twice more.

As for feedback, generally, my overall feedback was very positive from all of the employers. Some of the tips that I received were:

- More relaxed and conversational
- More specific about career goals
- Let more personality show
- Strong resume; improve by
- Great experience and skills
- Practice more behavioral questions with the STAR method

While I have interviewed before, I learned a lot about my interviewing style, and by the time I got to the last one, I certainly began to feel more comfortable with the process. This program is just one of the many assets students have access to in the Walton College through the CDC, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage and get in some practice!

For more tips on interviewing and to watch for more mock interview opportunities, visit the Career Development Center's website here: http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/career/interviewing.asp.

- Tammy :o)

Study Abroad

I'm going to China! I recently found out that I have been awarded a scholarship from the Center for Retailing Excellence to make my study abroad program in China for 2 weeks this summer possible. Studying abroad is one of the amazing opportunities that students in the Walton MBA program have access to - Brazil, China, Greece, India, Japan, or anywhere else you can find a program and want to go! The GSB website has more details here to learn about the different programs: http://gsb.uark.edu/stab.asp. 

Specifically, the China program is designed for "MBA and MMBA students [to] investigate the economic, business, political, and cultural environment and trends in China and are introduced to the key issues in the Chinese/American economic and business relationship." During our two weeks abroad, we will have the chance to visit Wal-Mart, China and other multinational companies such as Li and Fung, Kantar Retail, Unilever and various organizations such as the US Embassy. In addition to the corporate visits and learning, we will also get to tour cultural sites such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Hangzhou Gardens, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and Mao's Memorial Hall. See our tentative and basic itinerary below:

Tentative Itinerary

May 20: Departure - USA

May 21: Arrival - Hong Kong

May 22: Shenzhen - Business Visits

May 23: Hong Kong - Business Meetings

May 24: Hong Kong - Free Day

May 25: Travel - Beijing

May 26-27: Beijing - Sightseeing

May 28: Beijing - Business Meetings

May 29: Travel - Shanghai

May 30: Shanghai - Cultural Visits

May 31-June 01: Shanghai - Business Visits

June 02: Shanghai - Free Day

June 03: Return - USA

I'm really excited about this opportunity to learn about a new culture and experience firsthand the realities of international business as it continues to become more and more prevalent in today's global economy. We have had a few chances to meet the other students traveling to China, and although I didn't previously know any of the students in my program, I have already formed fast friendships. I am particularly excited to be able to travel with Lily who happens to be the only other girl on the trip and also a student from China. I know that she will be a great travel companion and an invaluable resource to help me with the language and culture. I'll be sure to post my finalized itinerary and about the trip while I'm abroad and once I return. It's going to be incredible! :o)

- Tammy :o)