With the end of school approaching quickly, deadlines are creeping up slowly. Do I feel overwhelmed? Yes! AP tests are next week, and I am having a hard time balancing my time. However, hopefully through my pacing, I can spend ample time studying for each test and still dedicate time to my final product and final presentation.
Over the past few weeks, I have been collecting results for my final product survey in order to get a more accurate idea of the public’s perception of Pizza Hut. It has been quite amusing to read some of the survey results because people really got creative while answering the open-ended question “If Pizza Hut were a person, how would you describe him/her?” When I met with Ms. Timea on Monday, she told me that my survey is doing a good job at channeling the creativity of participants. I look forward to analyzing all the results! On Wednesday, I also gave my rehearsal presentation to Ms. Bowling’s class at Pearson. Although the middle schoolers seem to be getting smaller and smaller each year, their enthusiasm and interest for the ISM program and presentation was unrelenting. It was so great to see Ms. Bowling again, and I couldn’t believe that it has been more than three years since eighth grade passed. And of course, in just a month I will be a senior!
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Greetings from Atlanta, Georgia! Currently sitting on my hotel bed as Shark Tank blares in the background, I am happy that I got the opportunity to come on this pseudo-vacation. In just a few hours, I will be making my way through the crowded streets and rain to compete for DECA. Unlike everyone else’s event, my competition is after lunch, so I have a few hours before I have to get dressed up.
Overall, these past few days have been quite fun. I have met many people from around the country (and even world), and we all continued the DECA tradition by trading pins, evidence of our encounter. Although I am going to be behind on schoolwork, this trip has been worth it so far. In terms of ISM, I got my invitations delivered! My parents sent me a picture of them, and they look great! I am happy with the way they turned out. Once I get some spare time, I will also start adding on to my presentation since we are giving our Final Presentation Speech on Friday. It’s amazing to see how giving a 25 minute presentation seemed so daunting in the beginning of the year, and now it just seems as if it part of our routine lives. Can’t wait to see how the rest of this week unfolds! As I currently jam out to my “slow” playlist on Spotify, I can’t help but think how fast the year has gone by. With just a month left until Final Product is due, I am anxious with how my project will turn out. I need to meet my mentor soon, but lately she has been busy with her responsibilities as I am with mine. This past weekend, I attended the HOSA State Conference, and I got 2nd, so I will be moving on to Internationals! As exciting as the trip was, I had to miss school because of conference, so I have ample make-up work. I am also leaving for the DECA International Conference this Friday, and this trip is even longer, so I will have even more make-up work to do (not to mention AP Exams right around the corner). Nonetheless, I look forward to creating more memories and networking with people who have aspirations to go into the business field as well.
In terms of my final product, I have made progress over the week, and I hope to continue working on it at a steady pace so that I do not get stressed out at the end. Unlike Original Work, the Final Product due date falls right after AP testing and Make-A-Wish fundraising, so I must do my best to stay on schedule! Just as I felt my life was falling apart, I made it through! On Wednesday morning, instead of heading to Reedy High School for AP Spanish with Mr. Vargas, I head over to Pizza Hut and met Ms. Timea Domokos, my new mentor, for coffee. Our personalities instantly clicked, and before we knew it, I was showing Ms. Domokos evidence of my limited ability to draw (as related to my ISM project). I also confided in Ms. Domokos how I often find myself confused with whether I want to pursue marketing or medicine in the future. Hoping that she would magically come up with a solution for my dilemma, I was instead left with a few wise words of advice: “ A hobby isn’t the same as a career. You’re not supposed to love your job all the time.”
Growing up, we are often told that we need to follow our hearts and do what we love. But there are people in the world that own quirky businesses and even they are perfectly happy with their life, “delivering cardboard boxes” wasn’t what they envisioned themselves doing in the future. Whether it’s delivering cardboard boxes, working as a marketing professional, or changing the world of medicine, I hope that my go-with-the-flow mentality and willingness to try everything will lead me to the right pathway. In terms of ISM, Final Presentation Night is rolling right around the corner. I was contacting my middle school GT teacher, Ms. Bowling, to see if I could rehearse my presentation with her class, and suddenly, nostalgia hit. How had I gone from being the fourteen year old kid watching ISM students giving presentations to being the student presenting, herself? Time is flying! This past week was quite eventful. Although in the beginning of the week, I was quite stressed due to all of the homework I had, I was able to manage it all. In addition, I also found a mentor! Ms. Timea Domokos has agreed to guide me in the field of International Marketing, and I am meeting with her for coffee on Friday to tell her more about the work that I have done so far.
Although not having a mentor for a month or so was stressful, I do not regret that my ISM journey took such a path. I am glad that I had the opportunity to have Ms. Regina Borda as my mentor for the former part of the year, and now I get to end the year with Ms. Timea Domokos. I have gotten the pleasure to have two mentors this year, and I am excited to see how this will shape my final product. In terms of my final product, I am more confident that my idea will be seen into fruition because Ms. Timea can help me find a time and place to present my research to the marketing team of Pizza Hut. I have also started creating the survey, and I am excited to see how it will turn out. The first week back from spring break was hard, to say the least, but because I was able to finish some of my work over the break, I had a light load of homework. As a result, I was able to spend ample time on my final product, researching and creating a more modified plan.
On Thursday, I called my former mentor who is all the way in London, England, and we had an hour long conversation about my final product. Ms. Borda told me that instead of hosting a seminar at the library, I should just give a presentation of my research to the Pizza Hut Marketing Team. Ms. Borda said that this would be more impactful, and I would also be less stressed out because organizing a seminar and marketing it is a lot of work, and it can be quite disappointing if I get a small audience. Ms. Borda really gave me a reality check on the amount of work that is needed to organize a seminar, and I am really happy that I talked to her and got her input. In addition, I have also conducted a lot of research about survey bias, and this week, my main goal is to make the survey that tests the different types of questions. I hope to send the survey out to people during the long weekend by posting it on social media and texting my friends and family. April showers bring May flowers. To the natural world all around us, this hold true in many ways, for we have all seen how spring brings it all: from drizzles and thunderstorms. However, diverging from the phrase’s literal denotation, I know that the remaining month of March and and the new month of April will be a downpour of hard work. State and international competitions, AP testing preparation, are Final Product work are just some of the responsibilities that I have over the next few months. May will be the month to enjoy the fruition of my hard work.
In terms of my ISM journey, I have been hard at work in researching about market psychology and learning about ways to avoid survey bias. I ran into some problems along the way since many of the academic journals were not available for free to the public. I have ordered some books from online and they should be getting here this week. By the end of the week, I plan on finishing writing my research paper over ways to eliminate survey bias. Hopefully I can get everything done in time. Slightly stressed, but I shall make it! A one-day school week: probably gives ample insight about my level of productivity. However, contrary to what the facts allude to, I had quite the time working on my goals and aspirations in the field of business.
After the three-day long weekend, I packed my bags ready to make the arduous journey all the way to Downtown Dallas, a whopping 30 minute bus ride. What was I doing so far away from home? The Annual DECA State Development Conference was happening! After advancing to the state level during the regional competition in January, I had the honor to compete in my event, Human Resources Management. Although competing and showcasing my knowledge was fun, the time right before competing was actually the most enjoyable for me because I got to talk to other competitors and learn more about them. After all, there is nothing like fellow Texans bonding over competition anxiety. To make the trip even more great, I advanced to the International Level, and I look forward to sipping a refreshing coke with my literally name on it at the International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia whilst networking and, of course, competing. In terms of ISM, I recently gave my original work presentation, and overall, I am proud of how it came out to be. I have noted points of improvement in terms of using filler words, and I can’t wait to continuing working on my presenting skills. After all, better now that I improve than never. This week, my mentor told me that she got a promotion and she would be moving to London next week. I couldn't be happier for my mentor, but to say the least, I was shocked. Ms. Borda and I has started to get along so well and I had learned so much. I didn’t want to start the entire process of searching for a mentor when I should be focusing on my final product.
To be honest, I felt quite discouraged. After having a good 3-4 months with my mentor, I would have to start all over again. But I figured it was part of life: starting over and trying again. To my luck, Ms. Borda gave me the contact information for Ms. Amelia Riba, the new Chief Brand Officer who would be taking over for Ms. Borda. Now, I’m back to get started on my final product! In terms of my final product, I am researching how to solve a pervasive problem in the marketing field. Usually, large companies gain information about the market by sending out surveys to customers. However, often time, customers respond to questions with what they think is the generally correct answer. For example, Ms. Borda told me of how on many surveys, Pizza Hut customers would respond by saying that they would love to see more salad options. However, after adding more salads to the menu, the sales for such healthier options remained stagnant. As a result, it becomes apparent that the way in which customers respond to surveys significantly influences a business, so it is important to make sure that survey data is actually accurate. As a result, I hope to develop new types of survey questions that penetrate into the subconsciousness of participants, and therefore report more accurate results to businesses. I look forward to seeing where this project takes me! |