Today is a BIG day. As of 10:50AM April 20, 2020, I have completed my last final exam and officially graduated from university. A journey that started in 2013 at the University of Alberta Biological Program has now 7 years later turned into a Business Administration Management Degree. 7 years of hard work, many hardships, and long sleepless nights have finally led to this moment of triumph. Though the ending wasn't as I originally expected, wearing my gown and walking across the stage.
Because of COVID 19 virus, all ceremonies and celebrations consisting of 10 or more people have been cancelled. Everyone has to stay 2m apart from year other and social distance or isolate themselves. Classes have been entirely cancelled and everything completed online. Class grades are now pass, fail, or honors. Many people have been laid off and many new graduates jobless. It is a bitter sweet moment for me. Partially I am relieved to finally reach the finish line but I also fear the potential repetitive, lonely, mundane lifestyle I am soon to encounter. The hours spent doing homework, volunteering, attending social events will now be empty slots. What was once such a busy lifestyle, constantly on the go has now suddenly come to a stop. As an extrovert, my greatest fear is boredom. Having little in the ways of distractions, it is difficult for me to come to terms with the new lifestyle I am to transition into. I will also have to consider returning to living with my parents. I lived away from home during my 6th and 7th year of university because of the 1.5hr commute it took to get to school in the morning and partially to gain some independence, away from my parents. Now that I have no reason to stay, having to transition back to a lifestyle where I am constantly under the watchful supervision of my parents was not a super appealing thought. I would also miss my two roommates, to which I have grown incredibly close to during my stay, very dearly. Because of COVID 19, Edmonton's economy has come to a standstill. Employers are laying off a majority of workers, stores are closing down, and job prospects are difficult to come-by. Staff are asked to work remotely from home while health officials battle the virus threat. But in times like these, I am glad I have my faith to lean into. Though situations are grim right now, I know God will open doors when least expected. I am looking forward to what God has in store for me in this new chapter of my life. Thank you so much to the love and support of all my friends and family for their unwavering help these past few years. Special shout out to Miya Villarena for always being there for me whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on or to vent. Shay Whelton for being one of the best friends and classmates ever. I wouldn't have been able to get through my classes without you. To Phillip Sun who has been a great support to me when times were rough. To Bessie Yang who from the first day of uni orientation till now has remained long and faithful. To Kristen Irwin who always cheered me up and always happily invited me over to stay. To Winston (William) who always was willing to spend time with me and taught me how to play cards. To my roommates Sara Lipp and Elizabeth Faerber who have taught me so much about living on my own and how to look after myself. Edith Faerber for your great hospitality and abundant grace while renting a room in your home. You have such a big heart. Thank you Janelle Fries and Jessica Wentland for all the fun shopping trips, sleepovers, and being my hair and make-up connoisseurs, making sure I look my absolute best for every event. To Mom, Dad, and Jassy, I could never could have gotten through without you. Thanks for all the little things that you do even though I'm not always the easiest person to deal with. To my church family both at UofA (P2C, Navigators) and off campus (McKernan Baptist Church, and EFC) for all the prayers and times of fellowship. This list honestly could honestly be endless and I know I have missed tons of people. There are so many people to which I am extremely thankful for who have made this journey possible and made a huge impact of my life.
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Say hi to my Capstone Team, Spider or AKA MMA Capstone Team. My team members are 4th year Alyson Howey from management, and 4th year Kina Lin from accounting. We have been working tirelessly for two entire semesters with Junior Achievement (JA), Enactus Pivot, and DMIT to research non-profit (NGO) industries and how they succeed, areas of financial revenue, created marketing material for them, and developed an internal database involving students, staff, and volunteers.
JA is an organization that gives jr high and high school students the opportunity to create their own businesses from scratch with a team, sell a product, earn potential revenue, as well as close the business. They offer both a competitive and non-competitive stream that students can participate in. It has definitely been a bumpy road. It took us initially 3 weeks before our project was fully defined because we were the first team to take on this project. JA was also going through a lot of internal organizational changes which made it difficult to contact them, there were also a lot of problems and narrowing the scope of the project proved challenging. However, our team persevered. We were able to set up ambassadors, submit a DMIT team proposal, and ultimately provide the support they needed to successfully run the program this year. My responsibility was being the leader of the capstone team, taking charge of meetings and delegating work. I also was the Enactus Ambassador, having worked with the organization before with NextStep. I also got the opportunity to compete with them this year as a Regional Presenter for the Enactus Pivot team. More information can be seen in my previous blog. I have learned a lot from my experience. Alyson and Kina were also a joy to work with. Both are very diligent and skilled in their respective fields. Our semester has come to an end with the completion of our final report (60+ pages) and final presentation, though it was not as we expected. I will never forget the relationships and connections formed through this class. All the best in your future endeavors. So fortunate to get the opportunity attend Enactus Regionals again! This time represent NAIT at Enactus Regionals in Financial Literacy Competition as a part of PIVOT. Such a pleasure working with Shadiat my co-presenter, Daryn our tech, Patrice the project manager and our loving and supportive team members. Couldn't have done it without you.
Never have I felt so nervous and frazzled but also so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort to take on this challenge. The weeks spent writing, editing, practicing, and memorizing paid off for this one moment. It's definitely a weekend I won't forget. This weekend U of A Enactus competed Vancouver at the Enactus Nationals Competition. With the help of our amazing presenters, we competed against 69 various other teams from around the country. Coming on top, we won first place for the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge and the Spirit award.
Going to Enactus Nationals was one of the best experiences of my life. I have never been so inspired by the work of other young entrepreneurs across the country and seeing how they are making an impact in their local and global communities. Great job NextStep and Hempact. I can't wait to see what is to come. So happy to be able to experience regionals with all these amazing people. I'm so honored to be working with so many talented and passionate individuals and teams. Congratulations everyone for all your hard work this weekend.
Our team hit a milestone this past Friday - we placed for the first time ever at the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition - Western Canada, bringing home 3 wins for UAlberta: • Runner-Up for the Financial Education Challenge • Recipient of the RBC Future Launch Accelerator Grant • Regional Champion for the Youth Empowerment Challenge We are so proud and appreciative of the countless hours all our members have put into making this happen, and we're excited to be representing the University of Alberta and Western Canada at Nationals in Vancouver this May! I went to a Converge Retreat with McKernan Baptist Church Jan. 12-14. It was the most fun weekend I've had in a very long time. It was an entire weekend about honoring, and worshiping God. I wished it lasted longer. I loved the worship times, the speakers, the free time, my roommates, and especially the food. This is kind of a mix between event and spiritual.
The retreat was located at Camp Caroline. I carpooled with two of the nicest young ladies every, Rachael and Karlina. The introduced me to Peters, which is a smoothie restaurant. The smoothies were amazing and the variety is infinite. I chose mango, butterscotch and mint. I loved it. The first thing I realized is that I could actually see the stars. It's something so simple but because of the city lights, it's been impossible to see them so clearly. It really shows God's wonderful creation. I got to know Karlina and Rachael really well. I guess that's what happens when you are in a car for 2.5hrs. I learned both of them like partner dancing. They've done rumba. waltz, cha cha, and two step before. It was so fascinating. I learned that both of them are musical. Rachael sings with the worship team at church. They are from out of Edmonton. We got to Camp Caroline, there was some confusion about cabins and rooms. Jess was in the nicer cabins with Luisa, Maria, and another girl. I ended up in a different room than them. Strangely enough I ended up in a room with Sabrina, one of my childhood friends, Susan, Michael, and some other girls I had just met earlier when arranging rides. I really got to meet new people during this retreat. I met Daniel, the cello player in worship team. Kevin brought a bunch of board games. I met Sabrina's boyfriend. I think his name is Stephen but I decided to name his Ben. I guess it's because Julia and Sarah's boyfriends are both named Ben :P. The first night was just worship and dessert and sleep. Day 2 had worship, two break-out sessions, lunch, free time, dinner, more worship, and bed. I went to a session called God's will for my life and Boundaries. I liked the former better than the latter. I learned that it doesn't matter which way I might deter from God's will, every plan is Plan A. On Day 2, during my break I tried to study Finance for a quiz on Sunday. I gave up after 1.5hrs. I decided to give volleyball a try. Never played before but I guess why not. Now that I've tried it, I don't regret it. It was an interesting experience, painful experience, but experience all the same. I played on the team where everyone was experts. I was the only newbie. I've never played volleyball before. I know the rules because of Haikyuu but that's about it. The good thing was that everyone covered for me cause I suck. The bad thing was that no on could save in serving. The first couple times, I was short of the net and barely made half the court. As the game progressed, I started at least hitting the net. My team sometimes cheated and pulled the net down so the ball would go over :P. By the end, I could usually get it over the net, not every time, but generally I could get it over. The result of my experience, very red arms and later purple spots and bruises. Given the opportunity I'd definitely try it again. Next time however, someone please teach me. I would definitely be open to learning. The most amazing part about Day 2 was that after singing the songs, they just simply played music and we could worship God however we wanted. It was amazing to see just how many different ways people can worship God. Some pray at the cross, other people paint, some people pray with others, others sing, I folded origami. Inside I wrote everything that was on my mind. My regrets, my pains, my sins I wanted to leave at the cross. I opened it and laid it before the cross. I wanted it to symbolize that I'm leaving my sins, worries, regrets at the cross, and I will grow. New life will grow from that. With letting go, I can be renewed and bloom again. I asked Pastor Daunavan to pray with me. I revealed to him some of the things that have been plaguing the inner thoughts of my heart. It was so nice to be set free. It doesn't mean I told him everything, just what I had thought of a lot of during the fall semester. Day 2 ended with some board games, apples to apples, coding game, and dutch blitz. Jess and I went to the hot tub. I went to bed at 3:00AM. I was trying to finish my journal. I met some new people like Kevin, who actually brought all the board games. I got to meet Stephanie who braided my hair. It almost felt like I had an older sister, The trip ended with a moment of reflection, packing and I came home back again with Karlina and Rachael. I ended up sleeping in the car. I finished my finance quiz when I got home. Overall, I loved it. P.S. I will never forget Jess and her guy hunting. Today is like Christmas to school bookstores. All the products arranged nicely on shelves and row for students to find when the store opens at 9:00AM. On the other hand, students are battling to find their proper textbook, recommended by their Prof, to guarantee the A+ GPA at the end of the semester. Let the textbook war begin.
Much of the war actually isn't battled on the physical front, with students standing in the trenches to get to the cash register. No the most aggravating battle is held behind the scenes. It's the battle of the price bargains, the adequate amount of time for the exchange, the quality of product. No, this is the secret battle. As a 5th year student having studied at UofA and NAIT. I'm fairly immersed in the ways of the secret battle. It's a battle of superior cunning and marketing skills, used and orchestrated by students. On the surface, bookstores may be offering your textbooks for $100-$300. The smell of new textbooks, quality paper, unopened pages may be enticing to many but veterans of the battle know better. On a much quieter front, students are placing orders for high quality merchandise for a far greater cost. Sometimes it can be even more than half the original price. A $200 new textbook could be yours for $90. Obviously UofA and NAIT have ways to combat their foes by placing regulations of profs saying that they must indicate a textbook or upgrading the edition of the book every 2-3 years. But most students would take the risk if it could save them a few $100's. Average each textbook costs $100. A regular full time student takes 5 classes (5*100 = $500) Tuition for the classes ($6,500 + $500 = $7000) Living expenses for rent and utilities ($700/month + $7000 = $7,700) Food expenses ($150 + $7,700 = $7,850) This is the bare minimum possibly of expenses. You can see very quickly why students resort to cheaper alternatives. So though using Facebook chats to make deals may be a bit risky at times, maybe the cause is worth it.
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Jane HaoHi. I'm Jane and I'm a recent graduate. I wanted to record some fun events and memories on my blog. Archives
April 2020
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