So, whether you know me or not, my name is Jordan Ball and I am in the Business, Entrepreneurship, and Society program. This BES program is a very innovative approach to an "study abroad" concept where we are going to be taking classes in an office right next to the Chicago Theater, and where our classroom will be, well...anywhere! We will be going out into the "field" of Chicago and learn in the creative way of immersing ourselves in the business world!
So, for all you skeptics and naysayers, let me give you a run-down of our curriculum.
Part I: The Chicago Core Course is an interdisciplinary course examining the city of Chicago by exploring how business, arts, and socio-political issues intertwine. This course has all the groups of students involved and will be much more multi-faceted because the Urban Studies, and Arts programs will be involved.
Part II: The Seminar course is taught by Robyne Hart, and is absolutely amazing! She is one of the most interesting and fun to be around teachers I have ever encountered. Robyne has a lot of real-world experience to offer to our class and has created this VERY innovative approach to "studying abroad." This course has been focuses specifically on issues related to business and entrepreneurship, including opportunities to meet with innovators and entrepreneurs around the city.
Part III: The Internship is one of the most exciting part of this program and a unique opportunity for students to work for small start-up companies that are entrepreneurial in nature. My internship is a small start up company that I'm extremely excited for. The company (LLC) is e-One which is a environmental business consulting firm which helps businesses make strides to become more profitable while also reducing their carbon footprint (if you know me, this internship is PERFECT for me). The office I am working at is on 123 north Wacker Drive, right on the 7th floor. I EVEN GET A WINDOW VIEW! Nothing like the dreaded Office Space atmosphere (if you haven't seen that movie by now, shame on you. Go see it!)
Part IV: The Practicum is the course where we will be learning all the "in the field" knowledge. Our "professor" is named Tom Cassell, who has worked as a small business consultant and has helped many companies become more profitable and develops new and innovative ways to reach out to customers. Networking anyone?? This is one of the most exciting about both the Seminar and the Practicum section of the program because we're going to be exposed to SO many people who are on the rise and is an excellent to network. YAY!
The move in day last two days ago was extremely nerve-racking and exciting. My mother, sister, and I set out from Cuba at 6:00 in the morning to head to Chicago and the traffic couldn't have been better. We got to the apartment at 9:30 and got completely moved in by about 11:00. We had a little time to chill out and then get groceries after that because our first meeting about our individual programs was at 2:00 pm. When we looked for groceries, I was very shocked that Target was the preferred store to buy groceries. In central Illinois, Target stores are mainly filled with consumer goods, but nothing like it is here. MOST of the small, local, grocery stores are extremely over priced and surprisingly Target is cheap.
At our meeting at 2:00 pm, I met with all the other people in the BES program. There are a total of 11 students in the program, which was a little weird to have the "class" be so small. In the whole program there are 28 students (11 BES students, 11 Urban Studies students, and 6 Arts students) so it is a very nice transition to come from a small school (either Knox or Cuba High School) to be in a big city like Chicago.
So, for all you skeptics and naysayers, let me give you a run-down of our curriculum.
Part I: The Chicago Core Course is an interdisciplinary course examining the city of Chicago by exploring how business, arts, and socio-political issues intertwine. This course has all the groups of students involved and will be much more multi-faceted because the Urban Studies, and Arts programs will be involved.
Part II: The Seminar course is taught by Robyne Hart, and is absolutely amazing! She is one of the most interesting and fun to be around teachers I have ever encountered. Robyne has a lot of real-world experience to offer to our class and has created this VERY innovative approach to "studying abroad." This course has been focuses specifically on issues related to business and entrepreneurship, including opportunities to meet with innovators and entrepreneurs around the city.
Part III: The Internship is one of the most exciting part of this program and a unique opportunity for students to work for small start-up companies that are entrepreneurial in nature. My internship is a small start up company that I'm extremely excited for. The company (LLC) is e-One which is a environmental business consulting firm which helps businesses make strides to become more profitable while also reducing their carbon footprint (if you know me, this internship is PERFECT for me). The office I am working at is on 123 north Wacker Drive, right on the 7th floor. I EVEN GET A WINDOW VIEW! Nothing like the dreaded Office Space atmosphere (if you haven't seen that movie by now, shame on you. Go see it!)
Part IV: The Practicum is the course where we will be learning all the "in the field" knowledge. Our "professor" is named Tom Cassell, who has worked as a small business consultant and has helped many companies become more profitable and develops new and innovative ways to reach out to customers. Networking anyone?? This is one of the most exciting about both the Seminar and the Practicum section of the program because we're going to be exposed to SO many people who are on the rise and is an excellent to network. YAY!
The move in day last two days ago was extremely nerve-racking and exciting. My mother, sister, and I set out from Cuba at 6:00 in the morning to head to Chicago and the traffic couldn't have been better. We got to the apartment at 9:30 and got completely moved in by about 11:00. We had a little time to chill out and then get groceries after that because our first meeting about our individual programs was at 2:00 pm. When we looked for groceries, I was very shocked that Target was the preferred store to buy groceries. In central Illinois, Target stores are mainly filled with consumer goods, but nothing like it is here. MOST of the small, local, grocery stores are extremely over priced and surprisingly Target is cheap.
At our meeting at 2:00 pm, I met with all the other people in the BES program. There are a total of 11 students in the program, which was a little weird to have the "class" be so small. In the whole program there are 28 students (11 BES students, 11 Urban Studies students, and 6 Arts students) so it is a very nice transition to come from a small school (either Knox or Cuba High School) to be in a big city like Chicago.
