Jillian Sergi

All Abroad!

November 16th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

      This week has been very busy with 4 tests and a Consumer Behavior project. Sometimes I swear all my professors meet and purposely plan to give tests all on the same week.  I have been studying so much and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving break that much more.  On a brighter note, my application for New Zealand is completed and was sent in this week! I will hear back in 1-3 weeks whether or not I have been accepted into my program. The application process was relatively easy and the study abroad office helped me with any concerns I had. I had to get passport photos taken and make sure my transcript from Merrimack College sent, other than that it was simply filling out routine forms.  I'm now in the process of looking up classes I'm interested in taking while working with a Bryant Advisor to make sure those class credits will transfer back here towards my requirements. I have yet to hear of any other Bryant Student going/applying to any New Zealand Universities, which makes me a little nervous.  I was hoping I would be able to know at least one familiar face when traveling all the way around the world. I'm going to be 17-hours ahead! My mom told me that a rule of hers is that I can't fall in love there because New Zealand is too far for her. 

Last Wednesday the Bryant Marketing Association held guest speaker Patricia Enright, the Executive Vice President of Talent from the worldwide advertising agency Publicis. She gave a wonderful presentation about interviewing and resumes in the marketing and advertising field. It was great to see how different concentrations look at different aspects while reviewing candidates.  It also opened my eyes to how competitive the marketing and advertising field can be. It was a reality check and I walked out of the room thinking I needed to go join every possible organization on campus.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Three of my good friends from home are coming to visit! However, I need to get through all these tests first!

Happy Halloween :)

October 28th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

Today my Hall did our annual Halloween event with Greek Life on campus. This allows Bryant's faulty and staffs children to come for a Halloween party and trick-or-treating in our hall. We get to decorate our hall with halloween decorations and candy is supplied to us so the children go from door to door with their candy bags. They were all so cute! This is one of my favorite events I do at Bryant.

                           

 

  

 

 

 

Parents Weekend!

October 28th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

Turns out I didn't fail that finance test, but I most certainly didn't do too great. Little by little I'm improving my grade though! On a better note, I did get the highest grade on my statists' test, which I was extremely happy about. I was beginning to give up all hope. The last few weeks haven't been as hectic but needless to say have been busy and filled with work. I'm continuing to work on my big consumer behavior project which includes immersing yourself in a certain product. My group is doing videos games therefore we need to study, observe and interact with consumers who buy and play video games. We are still in the process of collecting data and will be presenting our findings at the end of next month.

 This past weekend was the carnival themed parent's weekend at Bryant. Saturday morning my parents came up and we attended the BBQ and football game against Central Connecticut. Although it was good game, we missed a field goal with 9 seconds left to lose 24-23. Afterwards my roommate Cristin and I went out to dinner with our families in Providence's Federal Hill district to a wonderful Italian restaurant named Zooma.  After dinner we walked to an adorable little Italian bakery for dessert. It was such a nice dinner and I really enjoyed everyone's company!  Although it was a rainy day, it was still good to spend the day with my parents.

Too Many Tests, Too Little Time

October 9th, 2009

Hi Everyone,

  These past two weeks have been filled with test after test after test. I have spent more time in the library the past two weeks than I did probably all year last year. My friend Lisa told me I should just bring a sleeping bag there and sleep there because it is my new home.  Last Thursday, I had a difficult accounting test which I knew was going to be hard. I went to my professor's office hours, and she gave me a workbook to borrow to help me review various exercises. I felt decently confident going into the test, but it was much harder than I expected. Before I do not feel I did well on the test, there is an extra credit opportunity to work with a Business101 project as a financial "consultant" in the preparation of their business plan financial section. My second test last week was in stats. I took a standard statistic course in high school therefore most of the early chapters in this class is somewhat of a review or refresher for me.   Yesterday I had a Consumer Behavior test and a Finance201 test today. Consumer Behavior is a marketing class which is within my major. I take interest in what I'm learning therefore this class comes easily to me and the test was tolerable due to the hours of studying I put in. Finance is the complete opposite; therefore, I very very strongly dislike Finance.  Not only am I generally bad at it but even with studying, I still do not understand the concepts.  The test went horribly this morning, and I'm lucky if I got a 10% on it. Factors other than being horrible at finance were that the test was not doable in the 50 minute allotted time.  Not one person finished on time and people, including myself, were not able to finish all the problems. Ugh, what a nightmare!

                Thank goodness it's a long weekend! I need it. Tonight I plan on going to URI to visit my best friend Kylie and to see her new apartment for this year. Tomorrow I will head home to Southborough, but it will only be my Dad and I this weekend. My Mom flew down to U. Tampa for my sister's family weekend.  A handful of my friends will also be home this weekend which will be fun. Hopefully we can plan an apple picking trip like we did last Columbus Day weekend. I was able to pick up a few hours at Uhlman's, the local ice-cream Farm I've worked at for the last six years. A little cash here and there helps out a lot!  

Helpful Hints!

September 30th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

   I know a lot of you are, or are in the process of, starting the application process therefore here are some helpful hints I found online.

1. Start as early as possible. October may seem like it's a long way from January and senior year far from junior year, but regional interviews and information sessions, fall preview days, and scholarship competitions are happening now. And so are homecoming, Thanksgiving, exams, holidays, your great aunt's surprise visit (whoops)… Trust me, you do not want to spend your breaks at your computer. For those of you who do have your college applications ready, get ahead on the decision-making process. Continue to research schools when you have time so you won't be spending the end of the year (when you'll have just as much stress and far less motivation) visiting campuses and comparing colleges.
2. Keep in touch with the college. Make sure you take as many opportunities as you can to get information from the admissions office, especially if it involves meeting someone in person. Not only will this help your decision-making process, but you'll get more info on special programs, scholarships and other ways to make your college experience personal. Plus, it might help if the person reading your application has a face to put to the name.
3. Ask for a lot of help. I wish my college application essay had been reviewed by a few more pairs of eyes. Your teachers, friends, parents, counselors, and neighbors down the street all have valuable perspectives and the college application process is even tougher if you go it alone.
4. Practice makes perfect. Make sure your essay goes through at least a few drafts and ask your school counselor or parents to help you out with a mock interviews.
5. Commit to good time management. This skill will certainly carry over into college and beyond. Get used to putting deadlines on a calendar, planning out daily agendas and assigning yourself personal deadlines. Work ahead and don't cut it close, in case anything comes up unexpectedly.
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New Zealand!?

September 25th, 2009

Over the last few months, I have gone back and forth as to where I was to study abroad. I couldn't decided amoung Greece, Australia, Rome, and New Zealand. I'm happy to report I have finally chosen New Zealand! The University of Auckland to be exact! I have started the process by meeting with a study abroad peer advisor who discussed the process that will happen over the next 3 to 4 months. This included pricing, mandatory meetings, and general helpful information Today, I met with my academic advisor, Aaron, and we discussed the classes and requirements that I will have to fill when I'm chooing specific courses to take abroad. Becuase New Zealand is not a popular study abroad desination and not many student have taken courses there, the hardest part of this process will be getting the courses approved by Bryant so my credits will transfer over. The next step now is to set up a meeting with Beth Engwall, the study abroad advisor, to discuss in depth the university, its offerings and class options.

      Many people have asked me why I chose to study in New Zealand. I feel that I will never get the opportunity to visit New Zealand, or that general vicinity of countries. When I was looking into different parts of Europe, I felt that I would be able to go there sometime in my lifetime. I will have to admit that I am nervous because I will be going alone without anyone I know, however it will be an experience of a lifetime!

Junior Year!

September 22nd, 2009

Hi Everyone!

  We've now been in classes for two weeks and so far, so good! I have a really hard semester ahead of me, which consists of Managerial Accounting, Finance, Consumer Behavior, Astronomy class and lab, and Statistics. I had to overload my schedule in order for me to be able to go abroad and still graduate on time. Finance and Managerial Accounting are by far my hardest courses and I seem to get lost very easily. I have made appointments with my professors to go over some topics. I found that the professors are very easy to talk to and will schedule times that work around my schedule. I took Statistics in high school therefore most of the topics covered in class this far have been a review for me. Astronomy just reinforces why I chose to be a Marketing major. I have zero interest in science and the only reason I'm in that class is because it's a core requirement to have a science lab.  This semester will be a lot of work but as long as I keep up with the reading and work load I think I'll be fine.

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Workaholic

September 20th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

It's been so long since I've blogged! This past summer was so crazy. I had three jobs and was working 60+ hours a week. It was so tiring but totally worth the experience. I had two paying internships, one for McGrath Companies which is a local finanical broker in Westborough, MA and another with Shields MRI Healthcare as a clinical secretary. I also worked nights and weekends at a popular local ice cream stand, Uhlman's Ice Cream, where I've worked the past 5 years.  At McGrath Companies, I was given a big project which entailed switiching over every account in the business because the company was changing broker/dealers. It was not the most thrilling task in the world and often involved  little or no interaction with people but it was definitely a learning experience and gave me insight into what type of job field I will aim for in the future.  At Shields MRI I was busy with patients and doctor's offices and it heavily depended on people interaction which kept the day interesting and fast-paced. I'm currently still working at the Providence location which allows me to get hours in during the course of the semester. One thing I noticed at Shields was the work environment they create. It was a positive and encouraging work ethic and my co-workers were so nice and welcoming.

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Spring Weekend

April 30th, 2009

Hi Everyone

This past weekend was Spring Weekend and it was by far the best weekend at Bryant yet. Besides the beautiful weather, there were activities happening all weekend long. Fabolous and Mims performed, cookouts throughout the day and a Midnight BBQ, Bulldog Games (field day), Bingo and a magician, free outdoor movie etc. It felt like the whole campus was outside lounging around or playing games like Frisbee, volleyball or wiffleball. On Friday night at the Magician I got called up on stage to have a sword "put through my throat". I still have no idea how the magician did it and it freaks me out! Saturday and Sunday were perfect beach days so my friends and I headed to Narragansett Beach to start working on our tans. The beach was covered with college students. I usually love to go in the water even when it's chilly however this water was by farthest the coldest water I've encountered at the beach. It was painfully numbing and there was no way I was going in, however a few of my crazy friends drove right in. The Fabolous and Mims concert was pretty good.  There was a big stage setup and it was outdoors which made it more comfortable with all the students.  Although both performers were good, next year I hope they get a band. Overall, this weekend was such a good weekend!

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Study Abroad Fair

April 28th, 2009

Today my suitemate, Ashley and I went to the study abroad fair. I originally thought I wanted to go to Australia next year 2nd semester however Bryant is not longer offering the university I was hoping to go to because they believe it's not "culturally diverse" enough. Therefore, I'm researching new places I may possibly want to go to. The three new places are Greece, Amsterdam and Rome. It's so hard to decide because everyone at the fair had such great experiences whenever they went and there are so many factors that go into making a decision, whether it is language, classes, weather, location, culture etc. I have the whole summer to decide and do research so hopefully by the time we begin Fall semester I will know exactly where I want to go and it will make the process that much easier. At the study abroad fair, I entered some raffle to win a travel book to the country of my choice and I won! I think that's a positive sign that wherever I choose to go will be a good choice!