Senior Thesis

Every senior has to create a thesis. Usually this is a research paper but some majors have other requirements. In the business department, we need to create a business plan.

My exciting news of the week - I finished my thesis! I handed in my business plan last week & ended up getting an A on it! I'm so happy to have that big project done.

However, we have an awesome alumni who contributes money every year for the "Enterprise Plan Competition." Every student can choose to submit their business plan to the competition. The finalists present their plans to a panel of judges & the winner get a prize of $5,000.

So, even though my business plan is done for my class, I have a lot of editing to do before the competition deadline on April 1st.

Here's the almost finished copy!

I'm really excited about my business plan. My plan is for an online magazine, named South Station. It's all about celebrating the extraordinaries of everyday life. I want to create a magazine that is less about negative news & celebrity adoration & more about positive, fun, empowering, & funny content.

I've actually wanted to start my own magazine for some time now & plan to start this business after graduation. My mother is a writer and works in advertising & is just as excited about this idea. We plan to start this business together, starting this summer.

I had been planning to go to law school, but I want to eventually work in the district attorney's office, which wouldn't pay enough to pay back the loans required. For now I'm happy - I'm moving home to Boston, finding a job in politics, & starting this magazine. I'm so excited!

Feel free to email with any questions!

Weekend Plans

Every weekend is different at Saint Mike's. Sometimes I have big projects to finish, maybe I'll have work do to as Online Media & Communications Coordinator, usually I'll find time for friends & for going out to dinner.

This weekend was a blast. It's still chilly here, but spring is definitely coming & it is not longer bitterly cold, which is a huge relief. Since it's warm enough to walk around Church Street, my housemates & I decided to finally head to American Flatbread for dinner on Friday.

I've wanted to go here for a while because I've heard amazing things. Let me tell you - they did not disappoint! I would definitely recommend that everyone go try this place. The pizza was just out of this world!

American Flatbread also had an awesome, cool, warm atmosphere

Saturday I was up early for an admissions event for accepted students. These events are always fun because students already love Saint Mike's & are just deciding whether to commit. I got to interact with families all day & I got to be on a student panel, where prospective students could ask us anything about life at Saint Mike's. It was an exhausting but fun day.

Early morning selfie with some of my fellow coordinators

A packed house with about 1,000 people!

Saturday afternoon & relaxed & saw some friends. Now on Sunday, I'm busy with homework! I've got some basic work to do & I have a few big projects coming up that I need to start.

Feel free to email with any questions!

Spring Break

Last week I had my last spring break of college. Lately I've been noticing how close we are to the end of the semester. I'm so close to giving my last tour, blog for the last time, go to my final class. It's crazy to think that college is almost over!

So last week was spring break. I had an awesome time - I got to see my family, relax, & do some adventuring. This is how my week went-

We stayed at Hotel Vermont - a very cool & new hotel!

A very frozen Lake Champlain

A treat at Ben & Jerry's

 My parents visited me in Vermont for the weekend. It was so lovely to show them around Burlington. Usually it's difficult to visit on the weekends because I have so much homework to do for the upcoming week. It was cool to have time to just chill with my parents & not worry about assignments being due on Monday.

Hipster coffee shop in Williamsburg

Lunch at a German-style Brat & Beer Garden

Views of Manhattan from Brooklyn

I drove home on Sunday with my parents & traveled to New York City on Monday to visit my brother. He goes to school in the city so it's always fun to visit him & do some exploring. We also got in to see a taping of Seth Meyers' show, which was so fun!

To end the week, I came home for a few days & relaxed with my family. It also happened to be my grandfather's 89th birthday, so we all celebrated & I got to see my aunts & cousins.

Over all, it was a fun & relaxing spring break. Now it's time to work hard to finish out this semester!

Feel free to email with any questions!

Accepted Student Programs

Every spring we have awesome events for students who were accepted to Saint Mike's but who are still considering whether or not to commit. I love these programs, because they really give students the chance to spend some time at SMC & to understand what we're all about. Furthermore, these accepted students are usually very excited about Saint Mike's & it's fun to have that energy around.

One of the dancers at Arts Riot

Prospective students at Arts Riot

This past weekend we had a big accepted student events, where prospective students spent a night at the college. The event was so fun - students spent time on campus, talking to professors, & seeing dorm rooms. Then students went to arts riot, an art & event space downtown, to eat, talk, & see some live performers, including dancers & some singers from Saint Mike's. The students ended the night with bowling & pizza.

President Neuhauser came to Arts Riot to visit with prospective students

My friends & fellow seniors Mary & Bizzy

I loved this event - it really showed some of the perks of SMC, including our awesome community & our cool location outside of Burlington. It was also cool to see the students who might be coming here next year. As a senior, it made me sentimental & a little emotional.

The founders coordinators, Brian, Bizzy, me, & Erin

Feel free to email with any questions!

Free Enterprise Olympics

One thing that I love about being a business student at Saint Mike's is that we have access to a bunch of business competitions. These competitions vary in style - some require presentations or speeches while others require writing a paper or creating a video. They're always a great way to get involved, hone your business skills, & win some money.

It was a cold morning on the Plattsburgh ferry

Jake, Ryan, Meg, Isabelle, & me

Yesterday I got the chance to go to the Free Enterprise Olympics, a competition put on by SUNY Plattsburgh. I actually went to this event two years ago and I had so much fun. The competition has two parts - a speech portion & a creativity contest. One of our team members, Isabelle, competed in the speech contest. I competed in the creativity contest, along with four other teammates.

The competition was a day-long event. The day started with getting picked up by Professor Letovsky & Professor Popovich at about 7:30am. We drove to Plattsburgh, New York via the ferry & made it to SUNY Plattsburgh by about 9:00am.

Professo Popovich, me, Isabelle, Ryan, Jake, Meg, & Professor Letovsky

At the competition, we checked in, grabbed some breakfast, & waited for the speech contest to begin at 9:30am. Once that ended at around 11:30am, it was time for the creativity contest to begin. The Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York pitched us this year's problem for which we needed to find a creative solution. They wanted us to come up with a new product that would fit with their existing cookie program & would appeal to health-conscious people.

We had a half hour to work on the problem in the morning. Then we had an hour for lunch and two more hours to create a presentation. At 4:00pm we had to pitch our product, then we listened to the rest of the presentations. Finally we had dinner at around 6:00pm, had the awards ceremony, & headed home at 8:30pm.

After our win!

Jake, Meg, Isabelle, me, & Ryan

For our pitch, we came up with a new cookie made from oats, honey, dark chocolate, & raspberry. We called them Bright Bites & pushed the fact that their ingredients were wholesome and healthy. We packaged them in hundred calorie packs inside the existing cookie boxes.

Our pitch went so well. Our team really worked well together & we had a lot of fun throughout the day. We were excited to hear that the judges also liked our idea - we won second place in the team competition!

Overall, I had such a great time. We won a little money & got to spend a day away from school, focusing on solving a fun business problem. Plus, I got to know some other business students outside of class & I got to spend some time with two of my favorite business professors.

The ferry on the way home - those lights are Burlington in the distance

Feel free to email with any questions!