Semester Summary

I would first like to apologize for not posting anything recently. Finals this semester were honestly CRAZY!!! I am so happy to be finished and home for the holidays although I do miss USD. This picture is from my fall semester banquet for Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity. This is the Beta Nu pledge class, some of my best friends in the whole world!

USD does a good job of spacing out finals (even if it means we get home two days before Christmas). I never had a day when I had more than two finals. Most of the professors are very speedy about grades and all of our grades should be posted on mysandiego within the next few days. Just for a heads up, next semester I will be studying abroad in Oxford, England so look forward to a change of scenery on "A Day in the Life of a Torero". Happy Holidays!!!

Interesting Facts About International Business

Recently I was presented with some facts about the best classes to take for International Business. Follow the link to look at the opportunities. This article shows how the IB major at USD is an excellent path to take to "make it" in the global economy. http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/11/16/100-excellent-open-courses-for-international-businessmen/

First Place at the International Politics of Economics Forum hosted by Student International Business Council on November 14, 2009!!!

Last weekend I travelled to Benedictine College in Kansas to compete in an interscholastic debate for SIBC. The team from USD won first place! This picture is of me and my three hardworking teammates. USD students clearly not only excel in the classroom but out in the world as well. Next year the debate will be hosted at USD and hopefully we can bring home the trophy again!

Sophomore Year

It has been more than three months since my last post to "A Day in the Life of a Torero". I changed my major this year to International Business (from Business Administration) and added a Spanish minor. The major declaration process is fairly simple in the business school, all you have to do is set up an appointment with your advisor, attend the scheduled appointment and he/she will walk you through the steps to make sure you are able to graduate on time. I declared in 2008 and was just changing my major this fall and so the process was even more simple for me. I am very excited about my new major and I very happy USD decided to create this new major this year.

My extracurricular involvements have really picked up this year. Alpha Kappa Psi (professional business fraternity) is taking up a great deal of my time but I absolutely love it. My brothers are some of my best friends at USD and I am excited to attend and participate in every event. If any incoming freshman are at all interested in careers in business, I encourage you to rush Alpha Kappa Psi. I am also the Director of Membership this semester for the Student International Business Council, another organization through the School of Business Administration. In SIBC I work with others to promote "peace through commerce". In two weeks I will be presenting a project to a panel of judges at Benedictine University in Kansas. Without the support of the SBA I would never be able to have this opportunity.

This week is class registration for the spring semester. I am also in the midst of applying to a study abroad program in Oxford, England. Right now I am waiting to hear back on my acceptance, hopefully all goes well and I will be studying at St. Clare's in the UK next semester!

Adios Madrid

The Madrid Summer Study Abroad Program has come to its end. After six amazing weeks in Spain us USD students are finally returning to the US. Last weekend was the highlight of my Spanish excursion. The administration hosted a weekend trip to Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya. I fell in love with this picturesque Mediterreanean city. The weather, architecture and people were so beautiful. Gaudi's work is absolutely breathtaking, especially his world renowned Sagrada Familia Church. Tomorrow is the last day of finals and then I will be going home. Thank you USD for offerring such an amazing trip!

Computer use in Spain, is it the same?

I feel blessed being a citizen of the United States of America. Although Spain is a magnificent country to say the least, the technological opportunities available to students are far behind those in the United States. For example, all of the computers in the lab at the school I am studying at in Madrid are ancient machines. I sense that all of them were made prior to 2000. Picture this - a room full of gigantic monitors that displays in Windows prior to Windows XP. On another note, everyone must supply their own printer paper and the public printer is no larger than the one I keep on my desk at USD. In the United States it would seem ridiculous to have over 150 students printing from such a small, inefficient printer. The largest difference is the internet capabilities here in Madrid. Although there are internet cafes, it is very rare to see WiFi around the city. At my host home I must use an ethernet cord to get access to a very slow and tempermental Broadband Network. The wireless network at the school crashes if someone is trying to upload pictures and is hence "hogging the network". Clearly, there is a difference between internet use in Spain and in the United States and I am extremely grateful that I am even able to access the web.

Halfway Finished with Study Abroad

I am more than halfway finished with my study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain. I have thus far traveled all around Madrid, the capital, as well as the towns of Segovia, Toledo, El Escorial and visited the sites of La Granja and The Valley of the Fallen. In less than two weeks I will be going to Barcelona! This pictures is from the Monastery del Escorial. It was beautiful!