One Year Business Degree | Catholic University of America

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

MSBA graduate at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Former MSBA student Melissa Guay is now a permanent employee at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Since her graduation in 2014, Melissa been a temporary employee for the Chamber, working on marketing for their events team. Ms. Guay rolled over into a permanent Chamber employee in a new position in February.

She currently serves as an associate manager at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where she maintain financial and legal records and works closely with the Foundation's events team. She still work closely with the events team (managing registration, providing support for the program managers for each event) but also manages the financial requests, processes legal contracts, and works on the budget for the entire Foundation.

Congratulations, Melissa!

MSBA grad has new position at CEB

2014 MSBA graduate Logan Scott has started a new position as an account management associate for CEB (formerly corporate executive board). We spoke to Logan last week about his new position and here's what he had to say:

Logan Scott, MSBA class of 2014

The experience has been really educational, challenging, and overall really great. To be honest I see myself staying with the organization for a while. I am part of a sales and service development program - SSPD for short. I am on the service and account management (not sales) side. I have a lot of interactions with members, which is CEB language for clients. Since we are a board, we consider our clients to be members, as they renew their membership on an annual basis. We make phone calls, send emails and do a lot of things members might need such as research required resources and tools and things of that nature to help them do their projects.

I work solely in the legal practice. For example I may interact with a general counsel at American Express or a chief compliance office for Williams Sonoma. In working with them I am learning about legal, risk, and compliance. I'm working with really intelligent, nice people, and it's refreshing to be in an environment where I am able to work with people like that. It’s the core of who these people are. The services we provide our clients we can't do without research and product teams.

We also asked Logan how he thought the MSBA program prepared him for a job in his field.

Having an internship in the spring and a full time workload plus the field team study forces you to prioritize things and to really manage your time wisely. Some people are better naturally but we all have to work at it. Just because you earn another degree doesn’t mean you can manage time better which is something you need having a full time position. My experience in the MSBA program helped me learn to manage my time effectively. Transferring that lesson into the role I have now has been so helpful. I have been able to meet each deadline I've been given. Going through such a rigorous program helped prepare me. I can do my job well because of this program.

From: Stew McHie

Hi! How are you?

Have you seen this http://sixfigureshingle.com/part.php before?

Oprah had been using it for over a year!

Stew McHie
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Hire God as the CEO of Your Life

The MSBA class was grateful to have Amy and Dan Smith join as guest speakers for last month.

Amy Smith of Amy V. Smith Wealth Management, LLC is dedicated to helping clients invest with purpose and plan for the future and has 17 years of experience providing customized solutions for individuals and couples seeking pre- and post- retirement plans. She also specializes in financial planning for those who find themselves unexpectedly single due to unforeseen circumstances or as a result of their spouse's death

Amy and Dan Smith

Mrs. Smith shared with us the story of how her own life took an unexpected turn after the sudden death of her husband and she was forced to learn firsthand the difficulties faced by someone who is not prepared for life’s unexpected events. In order to provide for herself and her young daughter, Amy decided to pursue financial planning as her profession.

We won't give away her whole story and all of her tips for success, but here are a few snippets from her talk:

Mrs. Smith related many of her points to CUA’s vision of Reason, Faith and Service, stating that it is a simple and correct mantra to live by.

"I found I could have it all but not all at the same time and all the way and the way I wanted."

Have at least three strong mentors throughout your life.

Networking is critical and joining service organizations and being involved in the community is a great way to network.

If your goal is to make a million dollars you won’t be successful even though you may make a million dollars. If your goal is to help people, you will make the million dollars AND be successful.

For example: Amy leads bible-based financial management seminars at churches, asking nothing in return. Her husband Dan offers free estate planning advice to potential clients with no fee or obligation.

Focus on the idea of “being” instead of “doing”.

Sir John Templeton of Franklin Templeton fame, when asked what his greatest investment was replied, tithing.

In advising students on how to manage their personal finances as they start their careers and grow:

Start a savings discipline early in a IRA or Roth IRA. Contribute regularly and often because company funded or matched retirement plans are disappearing

Diversify-unless you have time to do your homework, invest in a mutual fund or a financial advisor. The market is driven by fear and greed and none of us have a crystal ball to predict what will happen

Be mindful of the “total Return” on an investment. A total return takes into account appreciation, and taxes on gains and inflation. Just because an investment’s price went up 10% doesn’t mean you put that in your pocket.

BOTTOM LINE: Fire yourself as CEO of your Life and hire God. If you want to see God laugh, show him YOUR plans.

Dan, Amy and Stew

The MSBA class and faculty thank you both for coming to speak to the class!

Words from Business Reporter Tom Heath

The MSBA class enjoyed an evening with Washington Post business writer Tom Heath, a local business reporter and columnist, who writes about entrepreneurs and various companies (big and small) in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Tom Heath of The Washington Post

Tom shared his experiences interviewing some of the biggest icons of the business world like Louis Gerstner Jr., IBM, Mort Zuckerburg, CEO of Boston Properties, Time Inc.'s Norman Pearlstine and others. Mr. Heath talked about the traits he thinks separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest of the pack. He also shared his advice for cooperating with the press when the students are in a position to grant interviews at a point in their careers.

Mr. Heath previously wrote about the business of sports for The Post’s sports section for most of a decade. He has also covered local news, including the Maryland General Assembly and investigative work in Fairfax county, and served as a correspondent for Newsweek and The Post. Heath was born and raised in Syracuse, N.Y., where he attended Catholic schools.

Jobs, Jobs Everywhere!

There's a reason why the MSBA program boasts 100% of our students gain employment within three months of graduation. Take a look at the amazing strides some of our past and present students are taking!

2014 graduate Logan Scott is now working for in the account management/customer service field on the Legal team at CEB.

In January, Jenna Antos, class of 2011, began working as a senior account manager for Snow Companies in Williamsburg.

Winfred Amoako will be working on the Microsoft team as an associate digital media planner. Winfred graduated in the class of 2013 and is from Ghana.

The MSBA class of 2015 is also doing great things!

Kendall Swenson recently started an internship at Trees for the Future.

After graduation, Tiba Tavassoli will start as a full time employee at FEMA, where she is currently interning as a Program Support Assistant.

Our MSBA students and graduates continue to amaze us and make us proud. We admire all of your hard work and dedication. We love to do posts that feature our past and present students, so if you have news of any kind you would like to share, please email caseye@cua.edu.

MSBA Open House

A little ice and a delay can't bring us down! Our heads are still reeling from the turnout at last week's MSBA Open House. Over 50 prospective students, alumni, current students and faculty attended the event on Tuesday of last week. Prospective students were able to talk to current students and alumni about their personal experiences in the program and ask MSBA professors any questions they had about the program.

A newspaper article covering the event can be found in last week's edition of The Tower.