Saint Mary's University » Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog Tue, 08 May 2012 21:54:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Done! http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/done/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/done/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 21:54:50 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1160 More >]]> Its all over! My 4 year career at SMU has gone by so fast. I finished my last finals today, and I think everything went pretty well. The campus has a strange feel to it now that everyone is leaving for the summer. The school has a great tradition for seniors that I get to partake in this week. Finals finish up on Tuesday, and the seniors are allowed to stay on campus until Saturday. There are many activities planned all week for the seniors and their siblings that stay. The activity that I am looking forward to the most is a riverboat trip from La Crosse to Winona. Some other activities include visiting my freshman dorm, a kickball tournament, and a lunch with my professors. It should be a fun filled week that finishes up with graduation on Saturday!

Thank you to everyone for following me this year. I hope that it helped to have a student’s perspective about everything that happens at Saint Mary’s University. Good luck to the freshman next year! Have a great summer!

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/done/feed/ 0 Finals http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/finals-2/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/finals-2/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 00:06:27 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1156 More >]]> Today began the stressful time of finals for Saint Mary’s University. Classes wrapped up on Wednesday, and Thursday was a day off. It is really nice to have a study day in between class and the beginning of finals to be able to relax and prepare for tests. The schedule for finals at Saint Mary’s is based on the time of each class, and each class time is assigned a slot over the next four days. Finals take place today, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. It is always a relief once Tuesday rolls around! This semester I have a pretty balanced schedule. I have one test on each day, and 2 on Tuesday.

This time of year is always stressful, but there is always room to do something fun to get away from studying for a while. One of those activities for my friends and I is bocce ball. We always play a game that makes it all the way around the entire campus! It was a great way to take a break from the books for a while. A new fundraiser that is taking place this semester is a “plate breaking” fundraiser. Anyone can pay from $0.25 to $1 to smash a plate in a contained area. So far I have seen many students using this fundraiser to take out some of their finals frustrations.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/05/finals-2/feed/ 0 Busy Last Week of School http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/busy-last-week-of-school/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/busy-last-week-of-school/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:10:04 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1144 More >]]> The last week has brought some exciting events to Saint Mary’s. On April 21st, the 50th anniversary of Gaslight was celebrated. Gaslight is the spring music show that helps benefit the senior class. Since this year was a special year celebrating the 50th anniversary, there was an alumni Gaslight show held early on in the night. Performers from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s came to perform. Included was a performance from the original Oldie Moldie All-stars as well, which is the music fraternity’s band. Just like the Blue Angel show in the fall, the members of the show are all selected after a tryout process. It is always great to see your classmate’s talents on stage!

The Saint Mary’s baseball team is also making a late push for the playoffs. Today I was able to watch the team play two games against Augsburg. Heading into the game, Augsburg was ranked third in the conference with a 9-7 record. The first game was very close and ended up being a 2-0 victory. The second game was a back and forth battle, and it was tied 5-5 after 7 innings. In the 8th inning, the Cardinals were able to score and sweep the two game series. St. Mary’s is now tied for 4th in the conference. It will be an exciting finish because only the top 4 teams in the MIAC make the playoffs. Good luck at Hamline SMU Baseball!

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/busy-last-week-of-school/feed/ 0 Case Competitions http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/case-competitions/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/case-competitions/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:05:01 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1138 More >]]> Today was the end of the case competition for my production operations management class. My group presented our report on how a school could improve the operations performance of their football program. It involved things like deciding whether or not to expand the existing stadium, how to improve customer satisfaction, and improving the concession stand performance. As a second round to the competition, we were asked to add anything to “make our case”. Our group decided to create a website that described our consulting firm. I hope it went well!

The spring semester strategic management case competition is also under way. Today is the day that the cases were handed out, and the presentations will be on April 27. Good luck to everyone!

Another fun event was the Minnesota Twins bus trip last Saturday. The student activities group sponsors as bus trip each semester, and this semester it was the game against the Rangers. I didn’t have the chance to go, but I heard it was a lot of fun from my friends.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/case-competitions/feed/ 0 1 Month Left! http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/1-month-left/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/1-month-left/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:55:08 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1135 More >]]> The semester is cruising by and I can’t believe that there is only one month left! Today I returned from Easter break and it is going to be a busy week. I have a term paper to finish up this week on my director for Modern Movies, a test in auditing, a presentation on my report about the STOCK Act, and another case competition! This case competition is a smaller version of the Strategic Management competition I had last fall, but it is still a ton of work! Also, the fourth quarter intramurals are starting up. This semester I am participating in softball and basketball. I hope the weather is nice this spring because softball is one of my favorite intramurals!

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/04/1-month-left/feed/ 0 Delta Mu Delta http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/delta-mu-delta/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/delta-mu-delta/#comments Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:00:55 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1125 More >]]> This week I was able to participate in a luncheon to honor the new inductees to the Delta Mu Delta International Business Honor Society. Each member receives a certificate, pin, and complimentary subscription to Business Week. Also, each member will wear honor chords during the graduation ceremony. Having good academic standing is one of the main requirements for this program, and there are many benefits to joining. Being a member is a great way to build your resume, and another benefit is the opportunity to network with others. I have been able to meet classmates through this organization and discuss business topics with them as well as future plans. Delta Mu Delta also offers a networking website exclusively for members. Through this site, you can advertise your resume and see job postings that are available in certain areas. Overall, I have had a positive experience with this organization and I have benefited from meeting many future business leaders in the Saint Mary’s community.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/delta-mu-delta/feed/ 0 Spring! http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/spring/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/spring/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:48:43 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1122 More >]]> It has been a busy couple of weeks, but the weather has sure been great! I just finished the second wave of tests and papers for the semester so now I should be able to enjoy this weather for a while. I also should be able to watch more of the March Madness tournament. I have Kentucky winning it all so I hope they can pull it off! Last night I also participated in the 3-on-3 basketball tournament for the 2nd semester. Our team played pretty well and we managed to take 3rd place!

This week, I also used an online tool that some classes use. The product is called Blackboard, and the part that the class used was called a discussion board. The program functions like a blog because each member of my group was required to post once per day and respond to other group members. This is just one other way that Saint Mary’s uses technology for different classes.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/spring/feed/ 1 What happens if you miss something a professor says or miss a class? http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/what-happens-if-you-miss-something-a-professor-says-or-miss-a-class/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/what-happens-if-you-miss-something-a-professor-says-or-miss-a-class/#comments Sun, 04 Mar 2012 06:26:13 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1114 More >]]> Saint Mary’s uses a great system to help students study or catch up on a class that they have missed. The system that is used is called Tegrity. This is a recording system that almost all of my business classes provide. The audio of the class is recorded along with a video of the professor and any teaching aide they might be using. Tegrity has the ability to show the computer screen of a PowerPoint presentation, or it can be easily switched to display notes the professor presents on an overhead. I have used this tool many times when studying for a test. Sometimes I will remember a topic in class, but I don’t remember everything that the professor covered. When I want to review that section, I just pull up the Tegrity video on the internet and there it is! This tool is just one way that Saint Mary’s is using technology to help students.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/03/what-happens-if-you-miss-something-a-professor-says-or-miss-a-class/feed/ 0 Minnesota’s Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/02/minnesota%e2%80%99s-private-colleges-job-and-internship-fair/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/02/minnesota%e2%80%99s-private-colleges-job-and-internship-fair/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:47:11 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1087 More >]]> A unique opportunity for many students at Saint Mary’s is the Minnesota’s Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair which is coming up on February 21st. Approximately 1,800 students will attend this fair. The doors open at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, and students are free to visit different booths until 3:00 PM. Students can visit with the different employers to gain more information about a job posting for a company, and there is a possibility of being called back for an interview. Many companies host interviews from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Tuesday, and other companies hold interviews on Wednesday. The fair is open on Wednesday, but the day is reserved for interviews. The website for the Minnesota’s Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair is very helpful for students to view the companies that will attend the fair as well as submit a resume. This can all be done before the fair which can help students prearrange an interview time.

]]> http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/02/minnesota%e2%80%99s-private-colleges-job-and-internship-fair/feed/ 0 Becoming a CPA http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/02/becoming-a-cpa/ http://www.smumn.edu/blog/2012/02/becoming-a-cpa/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:13:42 +0000 Brian Dillon http://www.smumn.edu/blog/?p=1081 More >]]> The Certified Public Accountant license is something that almost all accounting majors consider at one point. This certification is extremely valuable and leads to many great career opportunities. I would like to become a CPA in the future, and I am going to share the steps that are necessary to do this. There are three basic requirements that need to be fulfilled: education, experience, and passing the CPA exam. The education requirement calls for 150 credits, and this requires many students to take an extra semester or extra year of classes. In some cases, CPA exam review courses and internships can be taken for college credit. In Minnesota, the experience requirement is one year of public accounting. Each state is responsible for setting standards for earning the CPA license, and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants is a good resource for information relevant to requirements in Minnesota. The CPA exam is a 4 part exam that requires a lot of preparation and studying. These are the three objectives I am trying to complete as I try to accomplish my goal of becoming a CPA.

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