I originally posted this blog on my Kelley blog, but I thought it was worth sharing here as well. Enjoy! I could use this blog entry to write about all of the sights we saw in Russia, or about the business meetings that we attended, and I might do that soon too. But honestly, the entire experience of the trip had such an impact on me as a person that I'd like to talk about that first. It had an effect on me emotionally, personally, and professionally, and there are quite a few thoughts swirling around in my head about that now upon returning. One big reason I took the Emerging Economies: Russia class is because I love traveling and learning about and experiencing other cultures, and I saw this as one of the few opportunities I might have to learn about and visit Russia in this capacity. And now, especially after taking the trip and having that experience, I find it disappointing that more MBA students in our program weren't willing to do the same. Yes, it's a lot of money. But the trip and class as a whole really costs no more than a normal part-time MBA semester of credit hours here at Kelley. So, even if you have to take only this class one semester in order to pay for it, do it! It is well worth the expense many times over. And plus, there are also other ways to pay for it. Kelley offered a partial scholarship for it. I know that one of the other students that went used his work bonus to help pay for it, and I did that as well. But even if you think it's not affordable, there is always a way and I guarantee that if you make the effort to find it, it will be worth it in the end. The eight weeks in this class leading up to the trip were quite valuable. I really enjoyed taking the time to learn all about Russia - its culture, politics, food, history, etc - before visiting there. It made the actual trip and being there so much more valuable and meaningful. When we were ready to leave, we already had an idea of what Russia was like in our heads - now it was just time to experience it for ourselves. What I got out of the trip exceeded my highest expectations. I didn't really have too many expectations going in, honestly - I just tried to be open and take in whatever happened, which I think is the best way to go about it. Maybe it was just that attitude that caused me to feel differently than I might have thought that I would. One of the first things I felt the first few days of the trip was a sense of awe. I never traveled very much or very far in my childhood and even though I have been to a few different countries now as an adult, it was still kind of huge to me that I was in Russia. And on top of that, I was traveling with a group of successful adults and meeting with executives at huge multinational companies. It made my head spin just a bit. Once I adjusted to that feeling and accepted that yes, I was really there, I got quite a bit out of both the business meetings as well as the time spent out with people, both my fellow travelers as well as people we were meeting in Russia. The business meetings were very valuable and rewarding because we were getting to see the reality of doing business in Russia, what we had been researching for weeks. We saw both the perspectives of U.S. firms, some of which had been in Russia for quite a long time, as well as from Russian companies, both large ones and start-ups. It gave us a much more real sense of how things are accomplished there. It was also a really nice experience to meet the people that we had put ourselves in touch with in order to set up our meetings. That had been part of our challenges and preparation in the class leading up to the trip, to set up business meetings on our own in Russia to get information for our team projects. Spending time with those in our group and meeting new people in Russia was every bit as rewarding as well. Because the MBA program is part-time and most of the students either work full-time already or are full-time students in another program along with the MBA (we had both an MD/MBA and a JD/MBA along with us), sometimes that can make it hard to really spend time connecting with your fellow students. But there is no better way to connect than to go off to a foreign country with some of them for a few days! We all truly got to know each other very well and honestly, we really got along famously. I hope to continue to stay in touch with each and every one of the people on this trip and count them as friends for a very long time. I think that all of my fellow students that went on this trip would agree that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to both our professor, Marjorie Lyles, as well as our executive-in-residence for the class, Nate Feltman. You can tell that Prof. Lyles loves both doing work internationally as well as sharing her love of that with students. She truly has a passion for that which becomes very clear when you are on the trip experiencing it with her. Her fondness for her students and her pride in their dedication to the class becomes very evident and was a huge encouragement and support to us. And Nate brought exactly what we needed to our time in Russia. He has spent a few years over there as legal counsel and was just the link we needed to Russia. His love for the country is very evident as well and added so much to our trip. He was our translator and guide at times as well as friend. You tend to have professors and executives or professionals that are involved throughout every step of earning an MBA, but there are only usually a select few that end up being sought out as true mentors. I think Prof. Lyles and Nate should be warned that they have the potential to become that for any one of the eight of us students that visited Russia with them. I think that I could potentially say that all of us fell in love with Russia on this trip. The sights, meetings, people, experiences... all of it was enough to make all of us want to return at some point. A phrase that one of the executives in one of our meetings used that keeps coming back to me is "international American". I believe that is what is true about each of us on the trip that sparked us to go - a passion for learning more about other cultures and nations and wanting to make the world seem a bit smaller. I really hope that in our experience and in our sharing of it with others that we can prompt them to do the same and be international Americans as well.

Yes, I know... there are already about a million reviews of the iPad out there already. Heck, it's almost to the point you can find a review for the iPad 2 already. It's not released yet, but every news or tech site out there seems to think they know exactly what it's going to be, feel, and look like as well as do. Even the Wall Street Journal has put their two cents in. But at this point, they are all still rumors. (Which by the way, as I tweeted earlier today, I'm kind of sick of not seeing any "real" news on tech sites. Everything is so full of rumors about products yet to be released that it seems like we're writing the news before it even happens. Can you say "irrelevant"?) But I digress. I actually purchased an iPad late last year. And yes, I was a huge skeptic when it first came out, so feel free to call me an Apple fangirl. I even have the sweatshirt to go with that role. (I bought one at Apple when I visit their headquarters last fall. So I guess I am a fangirl, having even been to the Mecca itself.) I do find a lot of things to like about Apple. Today, though, I'm just going to discuss the iPad. When it first came out, I found a lot of things wrong with the iPad. It was missing a lot of the things that my less costly netbook had. A LOT of things... a keyboard, a USB port, a full operating system, upgradable storage capacity - the list goes on. And really, isn't it just a big iPhone? So what made me change my mind? Well, I'll be honest. It was somewhat a frivolous purchase. I'll admit, I probably don't NEED half of the tech things I spend my money on. But it's kind of a hobby of mine. If you saw my Google Reader feed, you'd realize what a gadget geek I really am. And Apple has kind of started to fascinate me. Part of the reason for that is my major as an MBA. I've started to kind of turn into a marketing geek lately as well. Logos, branding, companies and how they market themselves... I find it all very interesting. And I've really kind of wanted something portable that I can carry with me as my "go everywhere" computer - something I can just always have with me in my purse. Sure, my iPhone is sort of that. But it's not quite enough. And carrying a laptop with me everywhere becomes a bit much. I carried my netbook with me all the time for a while, but was still finding it lacking. And after having a MacBook for a while, I started to see how the iPad really was the bridge between the iPhone and notebook computer. So I caved and made the purchase. Now, let me admit that I still get my own and others' skepticism about the iPad. There is a lot that it doesn't have. There are times I wish it had an easier way to type up papers or blogs, which pretty much requires a keyboard. I do have a bluetooth keyboard, but I don't want to carry it around all the time. That kind of defeats the purpose of how portable the iPad is - who wants to carry/buy an extra accessory? Same goes for the camera connector kit. If I'm taking my iPad on vacation, shouldn't I be able to easily upload my photos for people at home to see? I have yet to find a good way to do that. And all of these things add up to a lot of extra accessories to purchase, so that your $500+ piece of equipment ends up costing you even more once you get that cover, camera connector, and keyboard. And don't forget headphones, of course you'll need those. But in spite of all of this, I have to say I pretty much love my iPad. If you travel much at all, I highly recommend it as the ultimate travel device to have. On a plane, it is the perfect size to fit on your tray table, especially if you get the right cover/stand. I have a cover that doubles as a stand, and it's perfect. I wouldn't want anything else on the 11 hour flight that I will have back from Moscow next month. With it, I can watch movies that I put on it, read the Kindle books I have downloaded, play an almost unlimited number of games, listen to all my music, or even check my email and surf the web if the plane has wifi. It really is a solid go-to device. And the battery life is amazing. I watched a two-hour movie on it on a bus to Chicago a few weeks back and only used 4% of my battery life. If you have an iPhone, you know how astounding that is. As far as the argument that it's just a giant iPhone - well, yes. And no. Sure, it uses iOS just like the iPhone. But there are a lot of apps that have a very different iPad version from their existing iPhone app. There's a lot of new things you can do with 6 more inches of screen space. I don't know about you, but I honestly don't do a lot of web surfing from my iPhone. A lot of sites take me to their mobile version, which usually has a lot less functionality. And let's face it, normal web sites aren't designed to be viewed on a phone. But on the iPad? Sure - because the screen is the size of a small computer, basically. Another thing that's less than ideal on the iPhone - watching videos. Whether it's movies I've put on the device myself, or streaming Netflix (which is a whole other level of awesomeness in itself), I'm not particularly fond of watching much of anything on a 3-inch screen. I rarely use Netflix on my iPhone if I want to do much more than just listen to a movie or TV show. One convenience that the iPad has over a netbook or laptop that is almost as understated as the battery life is the "always-on" functionality. You can literally leave it on the same way you do an iPhone. No boot time, just press a button and you have everything at your fingertips. And especially with the use of syncing apps such as Dropbox and Evernote and the ability to have my Google Calendar and email on the phone, I pretty much have everything I need for school always with me, which is huge for a grad student. Apps such as DocsToGo enable me to view and edit papers for school even, which I wouldn't even really dream of doing on my iPhone. My goal here is not to sound like an Apple commercial (Apple does a fine job of that on their own). I just wanted to share my own experience as an iPad convert. It may not be worth the money or even be the device for you, but it works well for me, and I'd highly recommend it as a beneficial device for everyone, especially my fellow travelers out there. Revolutionary? Maybe not, but it's a win with me.

As a marketing major, I have noticed that I now have a tendency to pay a lot of attention to what companies are doing in relationship with their customers - i.e. their marketing campaigns, logo or advertising design, new policies or sales, etc. And one trend I have noticed quite a bit of lately is major companies going through some pretty major logo changes. I've also noticed some similarities or trends in what they are choosing to go with for their new logos. Here are some examples... Last May, Seattle's Best Coffee, owned by Starbucks, completely renovated their logo and branding. They switched from and older looking style in favor of something more sharp and modern: While I didn't like the new logo at first, I am starting to see it pop up in action at Seattle's Best (best known locally for their presence in Borders bookstores) lately, and it's starting to grow on me. And of course, we have all probably heard about Gap's attempt to change their logo last year. That's right, attempt. Their new logo was so badly received by the public (specifically through social media) that they decided to go back to the old logo. There's something you don't see happen every day - a company deciding to scrap what was probably a very expensively researched decision and design process in favor of public opinion. Just goes to show the power we have as consumers and the power we are starting to acquire with social media sites and blogs nowadays. Finally, we have the most recent foray into logo change, and probably most widely noticed - the coffee powerhouse themselves, Starbucks. The Starbucks logo is pretty widely recognized, as I think the company is aware of. However, I think they have made a mistake. They did away with the border and name around their logo and went with just the lady (they call her the siren) in the middle. Was it lost on them that the most recognizable part of their logo is not her, but the name STARBUCKS written around the outside of the circle? The font used matches their signage on all stores and is the part of the logo that catches your eye. I have never really paid much attention to the inner part of their logo at all, honestly. Has anyone else? Will their logo be as recognizable without the outer circle with their name around it? Not in my opinion. With one color and no name, I think the new logo looks rather cheap. Does anyone else recognize what all these new logos have in common? I'd say minimalism. It seems to be the new trend. People like clean and easy. Or so these companies seem to think. With the reception these new logos are getting, I'd say people are choosing their dislike of change over minimalism these days. At least that's the lesson Gap seems to have learned.

I bet you were hoping for part 2 of my Memorial Day weekend trip, right? Well, you'll get it - eventually. Just not right now. Patience, my dear readers. This week my mind is elsewhere. I've had a request to talk about my MBA experience. (Hi Tom!) Well, as of yet - it's only a pre-MBA experience. But I can talk about that. If you've been reading my blog long enough, you probably remember a couple of years ago when I said I had decided to go to grad school to get my MBA. Well, a trip to Florida, a short-term romance, and lack of funds kind of deterred all of that for a while. But after some conversations with co-workers and my own decision that I needed more direction and goals in my life, I have decided to pursue this effort once again. To me, the most logical choice for which school to go to to obtain my graduate degree in business administration is IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, for the uninformed). This is where I got my undergraduate degree. There are a few reasons why I say it is the logical choice for me. One, is just that - it's where I obtained my undergrad. I also worked there, and I am very comfortable and familiar with the school and the way they do things. Two, is that the degree I would end up getting would be from Indiana University. My undergrad is from Purdue. How cool would that be, to have a degree from both schools? Silly reason, maybe. I do have a better one. Obviously, IU is a great school anyway, but then there's the fact that the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University is ranked #22 in the country among business schools for an MBA. Sure, it's not Harvard or Yale or anything, but that's not a bad ranking for a school in Indiana. So that's why I'm trying to get accepted into their evening MBA program. So, there are quite a few things I need to get accepted into this program. One is a good undergrad record and GPA. Check. My undergrad GPA at IUPUI was a 3.8. Not too shabby, huh? Number two is a couple of recommendation letters from people that can vouch for me and why I should be accepted into this program. I've got good friends and business contacts - no problem. I sent in my resume, which shows that I have had a few years of full-time experience in the working world, not only in I.T. after I received my undergrad, but also some years as an administrative assistant and also in the banking industry. I've also submitted an essay about why I want to get into this program, as well as registered for a prerequisite class online this summer. There are actually two prerequisite classes I need - statistics and accounting - but if I can manage to make it into the fall semester, I can bypass the statistics class. I took three statistics classes as part of my undergrad program, and I aced them all. Here's the thing. The usual deadline for having everything in for the fall semester is April 15. Obviously, we are way past that. But they have had low enrollment this year, and have extended the deadline until June 30 or whenever the classes fill up. The evening MBA program has a group that will be meeting in Carmel, which is where I work. This would be much closer than the group that will be meeting downtown. However, the Carmel group only starts up in the fall semester, not spring. So there's that. Also - if I don't make it in for fall - I will have to take the statistics prereq as my undergrad classes will be over 5 years ago and will not qualify. So you can see why it is kind of important for me to get in for the fall. I have been in contact with someone from the admissions office, and she tells me that they do have a few spots left in Carmel for fall, so if I get accepted, I should be fine in getting a spot. What do they still need from me to get accepted? The clincher - the GMAT. The GMAT (or Graduate Management Admissions Test) is a required part of getting into the program as well. I am registered to take it this Saturday, May 30. So - for the rest of this week, studying I will be. I've studied some and gotten decent scores on practice tests, but this test covers math skills that I acquired in high school and early college. Meaning - skills I've pretty much lost since then. And trying to re-learn all of that in a short period of time is not easy. But try I will. So there's where I'm at. The GMAT is this Saturday, and my score on that is probably my biggest determining factor to whether I'm admitted into the program or not. The average for students in this program is 620, and I was able to get a 660 on one of the practice tests I took, so let's hope I get around that on the real test. I'll keep you updated... until then - wish me luck!