Sean's Blog

Independent Study Course

christianburk@creighton.edu — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:39:00 GMT

Fall is finally here! It seems like school just started and now it is almost October. So far classes are going really well and I am just getting ready for my first wave of tests. One of the classes that I am really excited about is an independent study course with my advisor. An independent study course is basically a course that you and a professor can customize to a topic that you are interested in. My independent study course is looking at three philosophies (libertarianism, egalitarianism, and communitarianism) and their definition of justice in the context of economic markets. Right now I am reading an anthology of excerpts from different philosophical works including works from Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas More, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and many more. It has been great so far and is definitely interesting to read. The book was compiled by a Creighton professor, Dr. Patrick Murray, and assembles a wide variety of economic philosophies pertaining to many different facets of economic and commercial life. After I finish this book I will move on to reading works specific to the three philosophies that I mentioned earlier. The entire semester I am meeting with my professor one on one to talk about what I have been reading in the books. It is definitely a cool experience!

LSAT

christianburk@creighton.edu — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:11:00 GMT

This semester has began is already proving itself to be my most difficult semester to date. This past Saturday I took the LSAT. It took 5 and a half of the most stressed filled hours of my life. I have been studying for it for the past 4 months and have been trying to squeeze as much studying in for it as possible since school started. My classes began with a bang with 500 pages of reading before the semester even began and they have not let up since, but I am enjoying them all.

My most interesting classes would have to be the combination of Macroeconomics, Business Ethics, and Global Poverty and Development. The Global Poverty and Development shows the impact of decisions made by governments and multinational corporations on the micro-level rural villages around the world. It really paints a clear picture of how even seemingly insignificant decisions in business can have major impacts on tiny rural villages half a world away. Business ethics then tries to figure out how to make decisions that are not only have positive ramifications within the company, but within local and global communities. The classes have given me a lot to think about and a well-rounded picture on how interconnected the world is. Even though my homework load can be a little overwhelming at times, the interesting and challenging material makes it worth it.

Business Symposium

christianburk@creighton.edu — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:53:00 GMT

I have been meaning to post for the past week and finally have found some time. This past week was one busy week with my time being occupied mainly with registration planning and another wave of tests. All went well in the test sector and as far as registration went, I was just struggling with that epic dilemma of whether or not to build a schedule that will allow me to sleep in or to start early giving me more free time in the afternoon. (The early starts won out)

However, my original intention was to write about last Friday (11/7). Every year Creighton’s College of Business hosts an event called the Creighton Business Symposium. This event occurs every year in the beginning of November and the business school cancels all of its classes in order for students to attend. The event brings in business executives from all over the country to come talk to the students about leadership skills, personal experiences, and a variety of specific topics for the year. The symposium helps give students access to leaders for learning purposes as well as for networking and internship possibilities. The day is divided into blocks with a morning and an afternoon keynote speaker, as well as the opportunity to go to two panel discussions. This year’s morning keynote speaker was Ms. Mary Pat McCarthy, Vice Chair of KPMG. She talked to us about the accounting field and her successes in her career. She shared tips on how to succeed in any field and how to maintain a balance between your family and your career. She was also a Creighton alumna and she discussed how our Creighton education prepares us for the “real world.” The panel sessions focused on a variety of subjects including Legal Careers in Business, Economic Benefits of Going Green, Globalization, Sports Marketing, and tips on how to get noticed in a corporate environment.

Our afternoon keynote speaker was a Creighton alumnus, Mr. Jayme Martin, Vice President and General Manager, Nike Inc. He talked to us about a variety of things, but first just to get our attention he showed us the first ad he ever made for Nike and with that the importance of taking risks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGIq1X7_RZk
Beyond that, he talked about the ability for a corporation to affect change in the communities it operates in. For example, he talked about Nike’s backing of the LiveStrong bracelet campaign (they actually produced the bracelets with all the proceeds going to Lance’s foundation) and the organization of a run in Mexico City to protest the rampant child abductions in Mexico. He talked about Nike’s relationships with its athletes, its rise to the top in its field, and how following his dreams got him to where he is today. At the end of his presentation he called up one of the Accounting professors up to the stage and presented him with a pair of Nike Air Force 1’s that were engraved with “Dr. Lewis” on one heel and “Jays” on the other. This token was out of all that Dr. Lewis had done for him, not only at his time at Creighton, but past his undergraduate career through his time at Harvard earning his MBA to being an executive at Nike. I think this is one of the things that is extremely unique to Creighton: the ability for students to form lasting relationships with professors as mentors and friends that persist long after their time at Creighton. The office hours that Creighton professors are required to keep and the small class sizes (avg. size of 24) only encourages the professors and students to know one another.

Below, I have included a variety of pictures from this fall that I have not written about (I will provide a caption beneath each one with a brief explanation); they show a couple aspects of student life and campus. Enjoy!

Members of Creighton's Freshman Leadership Program (FLP) before one of the men's soccer games. Creighton is ranked 2nd in the nation according to the latest coaches poll.

Member's of the Cortina Living, Learning Community in front of Morrsion Stadium. Cortina is a program that is open to all sophomores. The community focuses on: Service, Faith, Justice and Community.

View of the East Side of campus.

The Billy Statue in front of Morrison Stadium. According to Creighton legend, it is good luck to rub his beak before walking into watch the game.

The Inter Residence Hall Government (IRHG) puts on tail gates before the men's home soccer games.

Creighton's annual golf cart parade during homecoming week.

Students hanging out on the mall.

Drummer from the pep band performing during homecoming week.

Creighton has an annual fun-run/race to raise money for scholarships for low-income families to Jesuit Middle School. Here is Billy crossing the finish line.

Billy congratulating one of the run's youngest participants at the finish line.

Creighton's president Fr. Schlegel during the race.

Women's soccer during warm ups.

Around Campus:

Creighton's mall is completely wireless and Creighton was ranked in the top 5 as a Wired Campus out of all universities by PC magazine.

Creighton Student's painted and ready for the game.

Mason Apartments

christianburk@creighton.edu — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:23:00 GMT

This past Wednesday I finally had a little bit of a break from my studying and my sister asked me to go with her to the Mason Apartments. The CCSJ (Creighton Center for Service and Justice) sponsors a different service site every day that is open to all Creighton students, they can vary from helping at a homeless shelter to tutoring kids after school. The Mason Apartments is an opportunity to tutor and play with kids after school for two hours every Wednesday and now has been expanded to include Monday as well due to the large turn out of Creighton students at the site.

I had always wanted to volunteer at one of these sites, but had always been distracted by studying. My sister (she is a freshman) managed to finally give me that little needed push and I was so glad she did. At the apartments we tutor kids after school through the apartments after school homework club and then play with them for an hour. The kids had so much energy and were so happy. Tutoring ranged from helping kids with their reading skills to basic math to helping with reports on skunks. After about an hour of tutoring every one went outside and we had a massive game of piggy back tag (the pictures below should explain). It was my first time volunteering at one of these sites, but it definitely won't be my last!

Here are some pictures of CU students volunteering with the kids:

"Strong Man Poses"