News @ Smith

►Smith Student Starts Organization To Aid Tsunami Victims

►An Interview with Ben Cope, outgoing MBAA President

►Alan K. Grantham Receives Dean’s Leadership Award

►Smith Student Appointed Student Regent

►Wireless Network Project Led by Smith Undergrad Transforms Life in UM’s Cambridge Community Center

►Lance Corporal Xi Xiang Reports for Duty

Interview with Ben Cope, Outgoing MBAA President

SMG: Please give us an overview of your experience as the MBAA president.
The most powerful lessons in teamwork and leadership I will take away from my MBA experience have come from being president of the MBAA. I have learned a great deal from my colleagues in the organization about effective teamwork, project management, and leadership. I have also grown in my own understanding of what it means to be a leader through managing the team and overcoming challenges as a team.

SMG: What would say were your team's team’s biggest achievements?
They would be:

• Working for the removal of the communications mastery course requirement.
• Implementing a point system for club funding allocation. Although this was not a huge step in itself, it is the first step in reforming the club budget system.
• Pushing for greater accountability for high quality instruction in the classroom through student surveys and lobbying the administration

SMG: What was the hardest part of being the MBAA President?
The primary challenge is working as a team. It was simultaneously the most challenging part of the experience and the best opportunity for learning. It was very difficult to lead a group of peers with disparate backgrounds, work styles etc., but it was incredibly rewarding at the same time because it was so challenging.

SMG: What other challenges did your team experience?
I think that like every new organization we set out with some lofty goals. While the reality of b-school, intern/job searches, GA's, etc. made it difficult to accomplish all of them in the space of a year, I would have like to have executed more of them and to have done better on some of the ones we implemented.

SMG: What is your advice to the incoming team?
I feel it is crucial that the new administration continue to push forward on a number of fronts:

• Complete a useful centralized calendar. Our administration made significant steps in building the school's first centralized electronic calendar, but there are still many issues to be resolved and groups to be brought in to use the tool.
• Our team began pushing for greater accountability in instructional quality. I feel it is of the utmost importance this effort continues.
• We have worked with the administration recently to think about ways to build upon Smith's strong sense of community. I would urge continuation of efforts in this vein.
• We endeavored to make MBAA events more welcoming to all and less focused on drinking - I would also recommend this.

Alan K Grantham Receives Dean's Leadership Award

Alan Reflects on His Smith Experience…
Coming into the Smith School of Business in my junior year was a new world. As a former UM football player I had limited experience with the Smith community. As soon as I got here however, I began to gain a better understanding of what Smith had to offer me and what I could offer in turn. As soon as I began to become more familiarize with the faculty, students, and staff, I was immediately embraced into the entire Smith family. Since then, I haven’t looked back. Smith has exceeded my expectations in many areas; the interaction between faculty and students is especially remarkable. Professors are willing to do whatever it takes in order to ensure their students are successful in and out of the Smith School. Also the student organizations have played a major role in my development as a leader. The organizations within Smith provide an enriching addition to the in class learning all students receive.

Becoming president of the Black Business Association (BBA) was my most memorable experience at Smith. This position allowed me to incorporate more of my ideas and talents into the direction of the Smith School itself. I was able to work closely with Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies Patricia Cleveland on various projects that affected all Smith students. Also, being the BBA president, I was able to execute my vision for the organization through a variety of events especially in the mentoring area. Our goals as an organization are to help promote both entry and retention of African and African-American students into the Smith School of Business. I believe that through our efforts this year we have taken a positive stride toward achieving our goal.

I had the great honor of being awarded the Dean’s Leadership Award by my peers and I am truly thankful to all those whose help enabled me to qualify for the award. This was a testament to Smith’s family atmosphere

While the Smith School of Business does very well in many areas, I think that the one area that could be enhanced is the interaction of undergraduates with both full-time MBA students and alumni. This will foster a means to create a stronger community not just when at the Smith School but afterwards as well. It will also ensure that when students graduate they will know the benefits of being dedicated alumni of the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

As I leave Smith to join J.P. Morgan Chase Asset Management in Manhattan, New York, I plan on becoming a distinguished alumnus and give back in any way I can to the Smith School of Business.

Wireless Network Project Led by Smith Undergrad Transforms Life
in UM’s Cambridge Community Center

The Cambridge Community Center (CCC) in University of Maryland’s North Campus area, is today the only center in that part of campus with a wireless network thanks to the efforts of Smith undergrad Jesse Chen.

Chen says his inspiration was his tech background. “Being an information systems major, I recognized the potential the network represented to the many students living around the building and those who have in classes in it during the day,” he says. This led him to prepare a proposal to install a wireless network in CCC and present it to the Executive Board of the Resident Halls Association (RHA), which he sits on as vice president of public relations and outreach. Chen has a history of student involvement having served as a student body president in high school, a community advocate representing the Bel Air, Chestertown, & Cambridge Area residence halls here at Maryland and a legislator for the RHA General Assembly.

“My first action was to write a bill outlining almost every possible reason why the RHA should support the installation of a wireless network in the CCC,” he explains. His winning argument was that the wireless network access would enable both students and teachers utilize laptops during class, making it an excellent research and learning resource. The CCC has a large amount of human traffic that includes residents of nearby halls and commuter students who attend classes there. It is also a popular study lounge in the evenings, he says.

CCC President Melissa Gardner approved the bill for presentation to the RHA General Assembly. After it was passed by the General Assembly, Chen worked with various UM officials including Resident Director Mike Fried, College Park Scholars Associate Director Martha Baer-Wilmes and Dr. Jeff Huskamp president of OIT on implementation. On November 15, 2004, a record five weeks from the date the idea was initiated and at a cost of only $2,000, the network went live.

Chen is justifiably proud of this achievement. Students in the College Park Scholars’ Business, Society, and the Economy program are now able to utilize the Virtual Business Information Center (VBIC) Web site directly from the classroom when carrying out research on businesses, he says. All students and faculty need to do to access the network is to follow the same log-in/security procedure that is required for WAM accounts. “This is a great example of how small ideas can have a large impact when related departments work together,” Chen concludes.

Interview with Jesse Chen

Tell us about yourself, who have been the main influences in your life?

Without a doubt, my parents have served as my major influence. Luckily, my parents guided me without pushing me and advised me without being overly demanding. As an immigrant from China, my father grew up the hard way, but somehow managed to build a life that’s been able to support my mother, my sister, and I. He worked in the World Trade Center for Cantor Fitzgerald for over 20 years before retiring from in 2000. He is now an independent financial consultant/planner and owns his own business.

My mother is a 5’2 blond Irish woman and a first grade teacher at an elementary school in my hometown of Ocean City. This interesting mix between Chinese and Irish has resulted in my friends and me nicknaming my ethnicity as “Chirish.”

Why did you choose the University of Maryland?
I get asked the question “Why did you choose Maryland” a lot, but my answer is different every time. I received “full rides” to two respectable schools in Pennsylvania, but I ultimately chose Maryland because it has a better business school and a better Information Systems program. The University of Maryland is a dream come true for me. I milked my high school for all it was worth, but the opportunities and possibilities at Maryland are seemingly endless. We’ve got a great campus, a great student body, fantastic athletic teams, excellent academic programs, and a huge multitude of extracurricular activities. This place is awesome!

Another reason I chose the University of Maryland was because of its College Park Scholars (CPS) program. It presented an opportunity to live and learn with people who were just like me. The program can almost be compared to a University operated academic fraternity because it creates connections and relationships among people who are somewhat similar in the college environment. When our class (I’m in the Business, Society, and the Economy program) discusses something controversial (doesn’t have to be political), the atmosphere just lights up with enthusiasm

Describe to us a day in your life.
The day in the life of Jesse Chen has all sorts of weather (stormy, sunny, cloudy, rainy – you name it, my day’s got a weather term for it). I wake up an hour before my first class of the day and take my time in getting ready because if my morning is rushed my whole day just gets progressively worse. For first and second semesters, I have scheduled my classes without gaps so that I can get them over and done with in one solid period of time. After classes, I go to work at the Undergraduate Admissions Office as a freshmen counselor’s student assistant. Immediately after work, I try to hit the gym at least every other day of the week. Following my workout, I eat dinner with my friends and floor mates.

I usually begin my homework after dinner. If it’s a Monday you can find me watching West Wing on TV (this is the day I reserve for myself, no partying, no studying, nothing). However, if it’s the second half of the week, you probably can’t find me since I’m out and about with my friends on or off campus. Soon you may see me giving campus tours with the Maryland Images club. All in all, my “day” ends by 2 a.m. on school nights – I figure it’s a good idea to get some sleep in college. My days at school are not nearly as hectic as they were in high school, but I’m glad because I think that college is a growing stage and I don’t want to miss it by being overly involved.

What has been your best experience as a College Park Scholar so far?
My best experience in College Park Scholars has easily been the Strategy Board Competition. At the university level, it has been being a part of the on campus student government. It was in my role as vice president of public relations and outreach on the Resident Halls Association (RHA) that I had a chance to lead the installation of a wireless network in the Cambridge Hall.
 

Lance Corporal Xi Xiang Reports for Duty

Xi Xiang is outstanding even in a fine school like Smith. A dual major in business logistics and operations and quality management, the 22-year-old is currently serving as a Lance Corporal with the United States Marines in Iraq.

“I am the person I am because of my father,” he says “My father instilled in me the work ethic I have and that is what keeps me going.” Life for Xi started in a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles where his father, an immigrant, was working on his doctorate in physics from USC.

While in high school, he was a somewhat of a troublemaker but after a few run-ins with law-enforcers, he realized that life was going to be very short unless he made a complete 180-degree turn. He did this by immersing himself in schoolwork and he left high school as an honor roll student, president of his class and captain of the wrestling team.

These successes, however, did not quench his desire to excel. As he puts it, “I kept asking myself, ‘What will separate me from the rest? What would give me a competitive edge?’” And that is what led him to enroll with the United States Marines. As a reservist, he is allowed to go to school on the side, and he chose to attend Smith.

“I chose Smith for its diversity. I am not only gaining academic excellence here but I am also learning about other people and their cultures,” he says. Co-ops at Johnson and Johnson Care Systems as well as Global eXchange Services have helped flesh out his professional experience. He was deployed to Iraq in August 2004, for one year.

Right under the United States Marine Corps shield are the words “The Few, the Proud” but sometimes it does not feel that way, says Xiang. “Scared - very scared - and afraid of dying” is how he describes his feeling as he boarded his flight from the Marine base in San Diego for Iraq. True to his feeling; reality has not been much different. “When people around you start dying, you wake up to reality real quick. We are mortared every few weeks and complacency can get you killed.”

The Marines serve as an all-purpose, quick-response task force, suitable for quick insertion into areas requiring emergency intervention. In Fallujah, a large town forty miles west of Baghdad, they are playing this traditional role. As Xiang explains, it sometimes means walking around in 115-degree heat in a flak jacket embedded with 10 to 15 pounds of metal plates to stop shrapnel. When the fighting gets heavy, an area can be hit by up to seven mortars in one night and even the sand-bags fortifying the tents are sometimes not enough to keep the shrapnel out, he says. In a discussion with a fellow Marine, he identifies the enduring reason that keeps them going as the desire to ensure that every other service man gets back home to their families.

“I have learned to harness the warrior within me, if I do not make my first move, my enemy will make his, and he might just kill me.” He sums up his experience saying, “To be a successful Marine you need to learn to think independently and act collectively, obey your superiors and be displined and of course you have to be tough, both mentally and physically.” These lessons will definitely serve him well in the business world.

Xiang completes his tour in August 2005, after which he will return to Smith in fall 2005 for his senior year.

For ongoing updates on the Marines currently based in Iraq, visit the Official Web site for the United States Marine Corps (http://www.usmc.mil/).
 

Spring 2005 News