Belle Isle

Two days ago, I went to Belle Isle for the first time (since a middle school field trip, at least)! I can’t believe it took me nearly halfway through my college experience to finally go. I had so much fun–there was a ton to see, lots of rocks to climb around on, and so many good opportunities for taking pictures. I wasn’t able to go in the river, because I was wearing sneakers, shorts, and a t-shirt, but I will definitely try to go again this summer so I can get in the water.

Here are some pictures–I’ll add a few of them to the “photography” page, too.

  

 

Business Honors Society’s Study Break

The other day, Business Honors Society hosted a “Study Break,” where we reserved a large room for members to come and study, get some coffee or lemonade, and Sugar Shack donuts! It was good to get away from the craziness of the library this time of year, and donuts are always tasty. I had a s’mores donut, which was pretty good, though the graham crackers weren’t super crispy. I also split a Girl Scout Somoa-inspired donut with my friend, Kirby, which was very tasty. As for studying, I didn’t get all too much done (who can concentrate when there are donuts around?), but it was still a fun event!

  

The Business of Baseball

A few weeks ago, I attended an event in Snead called “The Business of Baseball.” Parney Parnell, the Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, along with Camp Peery, a Group Sales Executive, of the Richmond Flying Squirrels came to speak about how they run our local sports team. Though I’m not a huge baseball fan, I figured it would still be an interesting event to attend–and it was!

Parney Parnell started out by talking about his background: how he became interested in working in baseball, his previous work experience, and what his job is now–to get people to have fun (which is no easy job)! He explained a bit of the Flying Squirrels strategy, including what days are busiest, what he does to attract people on the slowest days, how they decided to start doing fireworks, what kind of merchandise they find sells best, how they otherwise engage people, and how they started the team from scratch.

It turned out to be a really interested event, and I’m glad I went! I might even go to a baseball game one day.

Richmond Women in Business: Stories and Strategies for Success

Last Friday, I attended an event titled “Richmond Women in Business: Stories and Strategies for Success,” hosted by the Office of Student and Alumni Engagement.

The speakers were:

• Linda Warren: Retired Vice President and Controller, Altria Group/Philip Morris
• Daphne Maxwell Reid: Aunt Viv from “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”; Host of “Virginia Currents on Richmond PBS; Producer; Motivational Speaker
• Judy Pahren: Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Capital One
• Kimberly Trentham: Vice President, Talent and Leadership Development, Altria Group, Inc.

The event was structured as a panel, so the four speakers were at a table at the front of the room, while everyone else was sitting at various tables facing them. They started out by speaking about a bit about their background, and then moved onto questions prompted by the two organizers of the event. Some of the questions asked them about how they got to be as successful as they are, what struggles they’ve encountered, who inspires them, and how they balance work and a personal life. The last fifteen minutes were for Q&A from the audience, and afterwards, we were able to go up and meet the speakers. I was able to speak with Kimberly Trentham and Daphne Maxwell Reid, who gave me some great advice about moving forward with my internship and career goals. I even got a picture with Daphne! (Can I call her by her first name?) It’s not the most flattering picture of me, but it’s still fun to have!

Overall, it was a really incredible event to go to, and I hope they offer it again next semester!