Global Engagement

I believe global engagement is the most important thing I could ever educate myself on. America is the most powerful country in the world. As such, we need to understand that the things we do and businesses we support often affect the rest of the world. I believe to be a well-educated person, you cannot be ignorant to what is happening in the rest of the world. I know for a fact that in almost all of our careers we will have relations with other countries. As a marketing major I intend to interact with different businesses and markets all over the world. I intend to be both fluent in Spanish and Mandarin as my 3rd and 4th languages because I can see as of now how various countries are competing with us in all types of fields. Throughout the diversity section we spoke of the importance of the knowledge of other cultures and races. Those concepts fit directly into global engagement. Accomplished author Marrianne Williamson once said, “Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.” Each one of us is a part of the same home, the same planet, and because of that we should be involved , and learning about each other. The more we learn about one another, the better off we will be. Also, the more we reach out to other countries, the better our relations with them will become. We will learn to respect one another much more if only we understand each other. This cooperation between people will benefit our businesses, economy, and bring us one step closer to the world of peace we hope for. Building positive relationships will increase safety for our country. The way things are progressing, knowledge on the world’s cultures and interaction with them is a necessity. A great way to begin to get involved in global engagement is to study abroad. ASU offers a variety of programs in different countries. I fully intend to participate in the studies offered in Germany. I know it will benefit me because I know the language, and I am looking forward to hopefully making it happen, creating memories to last a lifetime. My main goal in life is to travel the world, so global engagement will not only be something I interact with in my career, but also in my personal life. I think everyone should experience new lands, because they will be educated in a way a textbook could never show you.

Entrepreneurship

I believe that anyone who comes up with something new and beneficial that they would like to share with others can be considered an entrepreneur. The world needs entrepreneurs because they think outside the box in a crowd of people thinking alike. These people want to make a difference in the world, they want to come up with new concepts that we can appreciate and use to our advantage. It takes a lot of drive to take a dream and make it a reality. It takes more to pull off a venture from scratch than more than just raw intelligence. To be a successful entrepreneur you have to know what it is you want, and you have to commit to it. You must give this idea 100% of your efforts because that is the only way you will make it. We live in a land where we have the chance to create anything we set our mind to. Italian Prime Minister/businessman Silvio Berlusconi once said, “The link between my experience as an entrepreneur and that of a politician is all in one word: freedom.” America gives us the freedom to take our ideas and soar with them. Why not take advantage of that? If any one of us has an idea that we wish we could share with others, I firmly believe we should take action on that. It is better to see how far you can take your dream, even if it never makes it off the ground. It would be far worse to live life repeating, “I wish I would have done it.” A lot of people are scared of the risk of launching something from scratch and hoping it will make it. I understand that a lot of money goes into launching a business or organization. However, I also firmly believe that if you are passionate about it and want it bad enough, you’ll stand behind it no matter what. I do not think dreams should be thrown away because of fear. We all have the opportunity to do whatever it is we set our minds to, whether we take on entrepreneurship or not.

Diversity

Diversity is a key component in the environment at ASU. You can come to school every day and see all different kinds of cultures represented. It’s fascinating to know that students come from all over the world (141 countries) to be here at ASU. Award-winning writer Maya Angelou once stated, “We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” We have so many opportunities as ASU students to meet all kinds of people from different cultures, which I consider a great advantage. Each one of us is different, with different backgrounds, but we all come together because we chose this university to help make our goals a reality. ASU connects diversity with both representation and inclusion. Representation helps allows us to realize that there is more to diversity than simply skin color. There are many things to consider, such as nationality, religion, social class, and ableness. Allowing ourselves to learn about these various cultures, interacting with different types of people will educate ourselves more than a textbook ever could. We’re all part of one human race, and I see it a necessity to learn, and be able to take advantage of what we can teach one another. This is where inclusion comes in. Inclusion is the acceptance and openness of new ideas and experiences. It is more than simply appreciating the diversity both on campus and anywhere else we may be. We must also be open to learn about these new cultures. As times are moving forward, it is becoming more and more important to educate ourselves on different cultures. There is a good chance any of our careers will involve international relations, especially business-related careers. There is also a good chance that the people sitting next to you in your classes or in your career will be of different races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, social classes, etc… We must all learn about each other, and ASU realizes this. ASU promotes a strict anti-discrimination policy to ensure that even if none of us appreciate the diversity on campus, that none of us will ever act against diversity. The policy states: “Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and veteran status.” Times are progressing and it’s time for all of us to realize it. We interact on a global level every single say, whether we’re in the workplace, school, or running to the store. We’re all interacting, which is a perfect step in the right direction.

Libraries

The use of ASU’s libraries plays a major role in success at this university. Many students do not realize the advantages the libraries can bring to them, rather than opening their laptop and “Googling” everything we need to know. Although the internet can be helpful in acquiring information, the issue of accuracy must always be considered, no matter how accurate the facts sound to you. Popular research sites such as Google and Wikipedia present information written by people all over the world. There is no way of knowing whether the people writing these words are experts on the topic, or simply typing words. These websites also tend to be very biased. When you click open an article on a topic, you are going to get that specific author’s feelings on the topic. It is important to acquire information that states only facts, not biased opinions. While out promoting the importance of libraries earlier this year, the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation stated, “Libraries are essential institutions in a democratic society because they play a non-partisan role in providing the information that allows citizens to make informed decisions.” They also stress the importance of “just the facts” research so you as a student are able to form your own opinion on important issues, not the beliefs of a stranger. The ASU libraries have something called library databases in which you can acquire articles on a variety of topics that are non-biased, and present all of the information you need. To many students, this method of research sounds like more of an effort is demanded, and therefore will gravitate away from this option. However, obtaining access to the ASU databases is as simple as research done from Google. Best of all, you know that this method of research is 100% accepted by all of your professors. I’d think that professors would be more impressed by research through these databases rather than the average Google. This research method is like a V.I.P. pass we’re entitled to, because we’re all part of this university. All of our years of schooling before this was about Google and Wikipedia, the same as the hundreds of other students researching right next to us. It’s time to take advantage of this resource, impress our professors, and reach success.

Success at ASU

Success at ASU goes above and beyond the responsibilities we held in high school. There are no bells screeching at us to get to class. The university won’t call your parents if you skip class or get yelled at by your teacher. Your professors won’t baby you by reminding you of every little thing that needs to be done. Everything is up to us as adults now. We chose ASU because this is the place we wanted to gain knowledge from, planning our studies and careers to be with us the rest of our lives. Coming to class and getting our assignments done is fueled by determination and the will to be here. We chose our different majors because this is what we are each passionate about, these studies are the foundations for the careers we will hold for many years to come. Time management is definitely the key to success at ASU. This balance is extremely important in college because if you do not master it, everything that should be simple will become that much harder. We need to prioritize coming to class and completing our assignments above all, while also incorporating the right amount of sleep and work hours to create that perfect balance. We all believe that our jobs and social lives are important and want to make enough time for them as possible. However, we need to remember that we came to this university to make our studies our first priority. We all want to graduate within 4 years, and we want to land a successful career that we will be satisfied with for many years to come. Mary Dawes, Ph.D, stated in her presentation, “The Power of Passion”, that following our dreams and passions will lead us to be successful, whether it be having a lot of money in the beginning or not. Coming to school every day because we love what we’re passionate about what we chose to study is the determination that will create future success. When you come to ASU, remember why you’re there. When I remember why I come everyday, because I’m passionate about my major, that is all the encouragement I need to come to class and get my work done. I want to make something of myself, and my success at ASU will lead the way.

Academic Integrity

I believe that integrity is one of the core foundations to not only being successful in college, but throughout your whole life. This idea was highly emphasized in the presentation entitled “Academic Integrity.” One of the authors, Leslie Shell, quotes, “This is the time to establish a habit of ethical behavior that will guide your personal and professional life.” Shell stresses the fact that integrity will always be a part of us; it goes much farther than cheating on a test, or cutting corners on a homework assignment. We’re in college because we want to make something of ourselves. We as students strive to do the best we can so we can get to the top. When we chose our majors, we chose a specific field to go into because that is what we are each uniquely and individually passionate about. Being dishonest whether it is academically or in the workplace, shows that we aren’t being serious about what we come to school or work every day to do. We are adults now, and as Shell said, it is time to set ethical standards we will follow for the rest of our lives. To be truly proud of anything you accomplish in work or school, that final result must come from 100% of our efforts. There are no benefits of dishonesty. The work wouldn’t come from you, and the consequences are far greater than anyone would expect. We choose to come to ASU everyday because we know what we want out of life, and we’re willing to make it happen. At the end of the day, I would much rather be proud of my efforts because I know I had put everything I had into my work, I made my goals and dreams happen because I wanted them, not because there was an easy way out. Honoring academic integrity and ethical standards is the best way to reach success. We’re adults now, it’s time to show everyone what we’re capable of on our own.

About Me

My name is Alex
I'm a marketing major at Tempe
I live and work in Gilbert
I moved here from Chicago 6 years ago
Traveling is my absolute favorite thing
When I'm not at school or working, I'm with my friends/family
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