Artifact: Carlson Leadership Academy (SigEp)

CLA 2016 Schedule

Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp), my fraternity, is a values-based fraternity that believes in building Balanced Men. SigEp revolutionized the fraternity movement by unveiling the Balanced Man Program (BMP), a concept of single-tiered membership and continuous development that begins the day a Brother joins. The BMP offers an experience focused on scholarship, leadership, professional development and life skills. Brothers learn to live their best lives through unique, rewarding programming tailored to fit their needs and prepare them for the journey of life ahead.

The Carlson Leadership Academy (CLA) provides interactive officer training to over 2,600 SigEp undergraduates and volunteers annually. Many undergraduates run for executive board positions because they have great goals and visions for their chapter. Attending an Academy ensures an officer will have the skills to manage a committee and follow through on those goals. The program also helps executive boards work together to ensure they all have goals consistent with a unified vision for the chapter.

CLA is held in February, soon after most officer elections, and chapters are encouraged to bring all new officers, rising chapter leaders and engaged volunteers.

CLA provides education for each specific officer position, as well as strategic planning and goal setting, and chapter leadership. The program emphasizes the use of each officer’s individual strengths to build a complete team. Participants spend time on chapter analysis, large and small group sessions and informal interactions with other chapters. Participants will enhance their skill sets and leadership abilities to help them as chapter officers, in other leadership roles, in group projects and eventually in the work force for the rest of their lives.

Chapter officers and campus leaders will return to campus with a better understanding of their position and ambitions, as well as a holistic strategy for moving their chapter forward.

Having attended CLA this past February, I have learned various new and impressive leadership methods and styles. The lessons which I have learned go far beyond the extent of SigEp; they are applicable to general community and life dynamics, and I strive to implement what I have learned and experienced at CLA to my everyday life operations, whether on campus, in the community, or anything in-between.

 

Artifact: S.T.E.P.

S.T.E.P. Budget Proposal

StefanSpanuSTEPProposal

Ohio State’s Second-year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) was developed as a continuation of the university’s effort to redefine the student experience. STEP is a year-long commitment, having met regularly with our cohort and our cohort leader during AU15 semester, and completing the proposal in the SP16 semester, which can be found above.

STEP has helped me truly challenge my aspirations and vision for myself. In other words, by making me think about my future, in particular my career path, STEP has pushed me to learn more about myself so that I may realize the dynamic of a businessman that I see myself being in the future, and figuring out what I can do in the short-term future in order to prepare myself for the long-term aspirations I have.

My final proposal consists of my internship experience that is to happen this summer in Columbus, through working as a Financial Representative Intern with Northwestern Mutual. Although I am possibly interested in other fields and industries as a career, such as the consulting realm, I aim to expose myself to different business dynamics in order to gain a good understanding of the career options that are available to me in the future and as early as upon graduation. I am greatly anticipating my internship this summer for I think it will prove an insightful experience into the financial services industry, and this is a direct result of the realization STEP made me had that the best thing to do whilst in college is to explore my career and professional options through various internships, co-ops, and programs. The only way for me to know what career options are out there for me is to experience them myself, and STEP has instilled in me this professional maturity.

Artifact: Marketing for a Better Tomorrow

Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations Marketing for a Better Tomorrow

Marketing for a Better Tomorrow was an event I had attended AU15, on Thursday, December 4, 2015. This event was located in the US Bank Theatre Room in the Ohio Union. This event is put on by the graduate student organization from Fisher, Fisher Association for Marketing Professionals (AMP).

This event is unique in its goal to bring together those who are dedicated to marketing, service, and bettering the Columbus community. The event featured keynote speakers who discussed the challenges and triumphs of integrating business with corporate social responsibility, as well as interactive workshops. These workshops were designed to bring together diverse teams of Fisher MBA students, Fisher undergraduate students and organizations, Fisher faculty members, business professionals, and non-profit professionals.

Being part of the undergraduate Fisher student organization, Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations, we collaborated with AMP for this unique event due to our commitment to working with local Columbus nonprofit organizations and companies pro-bono.

The first part of the event was spent in smaller cohorts, working representatives of various nonprofits in and around Columbus and attempting to help them with their particular needs and challenges that they were facing at that time. Afterwards, the rest and the majority of the event was spent listening to various representatives from a diversity of companies. These professionals were: John Rush from CleanTurn, Liz Geraghty from Wendy’s, and Dianne Radigan from Cardinal Health.

Having been abel to hear what these individuals had to say about corporate responsibility and marketing for good, it left with an inspiring sense of motivation to eventually sport a career path that is for the greater good of various communities and peoples, for at the end of the day we are supposed to help one another as human beings, and being a caring professional and global citizen, this is the most important aspect of a prosperous carrer.

Artifact: Project Manager – German Village Society (SCNO)

SCNO-German Village Society Final Report

Students Consulting for Nonprofit Organizations (SCNO) jumpstarts nonprofit community involvement through pro-bono semester long consulting projects. The primary mission of SCNO is to examine and administer to the most pressing needs of our clients to further their welfare via strategic consulting engagements. By partnering with nonprofits and social sector organizations on short-term projects, SCNO strives to serve as a vital resource to the nonprofit community in Columbus.

I was honoured to serve as a Project Manager for a consulting project last semester, AU15. As Project Manager, I spearheaded a team of four associate consultants in aiding the nonprofit organization of German Village Society (Columbus, OH) with their sidewalk repair initiative by constructing and conducting two field studies, utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk for survey purposes, creating a cost function, and recommending a repair methodology, including a marketing plan, as part of our final recommendation to the nonprofit.

This experience was highly valuable and beneficial to my personal and professional development. By heading a team, I was given a large responsibility to ensure that everyone felt comfortable being part of the team dynamic so that they put their best work forth. In particular, my delegation skills have improved as a result of being Project Manager, and that is a skill that contributes to my being a leader.

Additionally, by holding this position, I was able to learn how to construct a final consulting report for a client, which can be found in the link at the top of this post. This is a highly valuable skill to have in the business world, and it is a direct strength in my arsenal that makes me stand out amongst my peers as a highly professional individual.

Artifact: P&G Sophomore Leadership Immersion

PG Sophomore Leadership Immersion Event 2016 Flyer

Attached is a flyer to Proctor & Gamble’s 2016 Sophomore Leadership Immersion event.

I attended this event just earlier this afternoon, held in the Rosa M. Alibouni room in the Ohio Union. I was honoured to be selected as one of 30 participants for this four-hour event (3:00-7:00 PM). In this event, we talked about and discussed several various topics.

We began by hearing about Proctor & Gamble as a company, followed by walking through a live case in order for us students to gain a realistic grasp of the work Brand Managers do at P&G. Afterwards, we discussed our StrengthsQuest results; my number one ‘Strength’ is Discipline. After digesting our various strengths with those around us, the representatives from P&G talked to us about what makes a good resume/memo and a good interview. We ended the event hearing the various career opportunities P&G has available for OSU undergraduate students like myself, most focused on internship opportunities for the summer of 2017.

This event proved to be highly informative and applicable. Being a marketing specialization within the Max M. Fisher College of Business, the Brand Management processes that P&G undertake are of high potential interest to me in regards to a future internship and possible career path. By attending this event, I was not only exposed to the details of this industry and the company itself, I was also able to network and get the contact information of the various company representatives in attendance.

Additionally, this event proved to be very helpful in regards to the caliber of my resume, LinkedIn account, and general interview skills, as we talked about many different dynamics and experiences about these categories. The valuable and experienced insight that we were able to absorb from the P&G representatives are extremely helpful and welcome as I strive to sharpen my professional skills moving forward.

Artifact: International Affairs Scholars SP16 Toronto Trip

Toronto 2016 Itinerary

The link above is of the itinerary of my Scholar’s group SP16 trip to Toronto, Ontario, CA. As a member of the International Affairs Scholars program at The Ohio State University, I am dedicated to experiencing and participating in activities that help to develop a robust understanding of internationally themed topics and concepts, while simultaneously expanding leadership qualities through both local and global community demonstrations. In line with the yearly programming this Honours & Scholars program upholds, a spring trip for an extended weekend to Toronto has become a tradition in the International Affairs Scholars community.

Through this cultural expedition, I engaged in original inquiry and acquired a greater understanding of how local cultures and peoples promote service and volunteerism function. Given Justin Trudeau’s newly election as Prime Minister, Canada has been re-instilled with energy of inclusion and acceptance. I had a desire to perceive this cultural standard through interaction with Toronto natives and bring back this demeanor to my home communities. Additionally, this excursion proved a means of professional development, as I am on the Programming Committee of International Affairs Scholars, meaning I have and worked to make this trip a caliber experience.

I was blessed to experience and understand the difference in cultural norms that are apparent throughout Canada, in particular the attitudes projected towards immigrants given the refugee epidemic in the Middle East and Europe that is heavily affecting both Canada and the United States at the moment. I was enlightened by this distinction in demeanor, and now I strive to bring it back to my communities of Ohio State, the city of Columbus, and my home community of Cleveland. Through direct interaction with others and exemplarily leading by character, I aim to rally a cultural approach of sensitivity, inclusion and love towards others.

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]