The 2012 Alumni Retreat – Don’t Miss It!
Public Speaking Tips
by Alexandra Noland
Public Speaking Tips You Never Knew You Needed
The business-wise women in leadership conference at the Greenbrier was rich in inspiring and educational material, one of the most thought provoking sessions was performed by Amy Griggs Kliger. Amy is the co-founder of C3 Consulting and she coaches senior executives and CEO’s on speeches and panel appearances. Not only does she have a successful consulting business but she used to work as an actor in network television, off Broadway, stock and touring companies. She gave the women of this conference tips on speaking that even our most prestigious guests were surprised and excited to learn about. She went further in depth about respecting your audience as well as understanding them than I have ever even began to think about. I am going to share with you the tips Amy shared with us in attendance that were most thought provoking for me:
Starting with your entrance
Most speakers are worried about the opening line to their presentation but, that is not the first time the audience notices you. They notice you the second you become visible. When entering the area you are presenting in the audience will begin to judge you immediately and you need to be open to them the whole time. You want to keep your body positioned out to the audience as much as possible. Once you get to that podium or speaking area you need to take a breath and give the audience a second to accept you and begin to engage.
The Audience
Amy’s session included a discussion where she addressed how as a presenter you need to understand that the audience becomes one full entity was particularly interesting. While you are on stage they are no longer individuals. The audience is morphed together as one and you have the difficult task of pleasing them. You can’t address them the way you would in a normal situation because presenting is not a normal human situation. You have to realize that the second you walk onto that stage the audience members immediately transform into something else that needs to be tamed in a different way, and that way needs to be tailored for each different audience.
When you are presenting
Amy shared with us that emphasizing things in threes is very important. It is similar to the advice I was given once for making a speech: tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them. It seems redundant but people react better when they are given things in threes. Also a lot of people who present often are not allowed proper time to prepare so the most important parts of the presentation to practice is the beginning and the end. Those are the critical times that the audience will be judging you. If you mess something up in the middle they will forgive you but if you stumble in your opening or closing you will immediately lose your approval with them.
Alexandra Noland is master’s candidate in UC’s Master of Business Administration and Leadership (MBAL) program. For more information on the MBAL program, click here.
Learning the Business Ropes Abroad
Recent UC MBAL graduate Josh Tuck talks about his internship in Russia and how it has provided him for the business world.
For more information on the UC MBAL program, click here.
Getting Involved
by Betsy Wright
As an older student that has not had the traditional college experience, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) has helped me find a place not only at the University of Charleston, but also in life.
From the moment I met Professor Briana Cicero-Johns at a transfer orientation, she urged me to join SIFE. I had never heard of SIFE and was not sure what is was, but my interest was piqued. I went online to the SIFE website, but was still a little hazy about the exact concept of the organization as a whole. Not until the first meeting did I finally understand what SIFE was and how much impact it had!
That first meeting sold me on joining SIFE at UC. Sitting and listening to a group of people talk about what they did and what they continued to do all throughout the community was not only amazing, but also inspiring. This group of people care so much about the people of West Virginia. It was exciting to find a group of people who felt the need to address issues in the community and make a difference.
Since the first meeting, I have become more involved in not just my personal project working with the Kanawha Charleston Humane Association, but with the SIFE presentation team. Once a year SIFE teams from across the world are invited to compete in a regional competition, which continues to a national competition and then a world championship. Each team puts together a presentation of the projects that had the most impact in their community. Being one of the eight presenters for this year’s team has been quite an experience. As a whole, the team memorizes a 24-minute script along with a technology piece and presents this in front of a group of judges. This process is the final culmination of all the hard work done throughout the year.
This year our SIFE team has won our third regional championship and will continue on to nationals! The experience of seeing all the SIFE teams come together at the regional competition was a moving experience. Realizing that there are teams just like ours all over the world trying to make a difference was a uplifting thought. I can only image the powerful experience that our team will have at the national championship.
SIFE has changed the world, our community and me. Through my involvement in this remarkable organization I have found a path in life that I am excited to begin!
To learn more about UC’s SIFE team, click here.
Going the Distance
by Mary Beth Romine
The Inaugural UC Half Marathon is scheduled for this Sunday, April 29, at 7:30 a.m. The University of Charleston Sports Administration students have been working diligently on this event since early fall 2011.
Each week team leaders meet individually with our advisors, Michelle Wells and Anne Brackley, to see what tasks need to be performed. Some areas include event managing, logistics, sponsorship, volunteer coordinator, communications and public relations. This is a student-managed event. Every Sunday at 7 p.m. we then meet as a group to see how much progress we are making in each of the respective areas. These meetings help us learn what details are important to communicate to each group to ultimately create a successful event. The timeline we use for the event indicates deadlines we must meet. With multiple assignments we also learn how to delegate jobs to other students in our major.
The race day options include a 5k and half marathon. Both courses start on UC’s campus and highlight the capitol view across the river and the surrounding neighborhoods in Kanawha City. This course level is flat creating a great course to set a personal record in running, or for getting your first one under your belt. We will provide water, power gels and energizing food to make sure we handle our participants with care. Those finishing the half marathon will receive a tech t-shirt and finishers medal. Participants in the 5k will get a race day t-shirt. Other awards will be given out according to age and gender categories. We will also be offering kids races and a diaper dash located on UC’s campus. All participants will receive a child safe medal featuring our mascot, MoHarv. Come out and support UC for a fun-filled weekend of Govenor’s Cup and the UC Half..
As you can probably tell from the description of this event, the Sports Administration program at UC is very hands on. We take the initiative to conquer big projects and learn how to effectively run multiple types of events. One of my favorite quotes that Professor Michelle Wells emphasizes is, “ Learn, Do, Teach.” This engages students to take the initiative to learn something, implement it, and then teach others what you have learned. It works quite well in my opinion. We also are advised to read Sports Business Journal weekly to see what is going on globally in the sports industry. It is interesting to see sponsorship opportunities and new ways to market an event through this common read. It also helps us brainstorm to create unique attributes for our events we put on as a major here at UC. As students, we come out on top and our program makes us stand out in the crowd!
For more information, or to sign up for the race, visit uchalfmarathon.com.
Walk the Red Carpet
by Garret Listo
It’s finally here! The night to celebrate getting through your first year of college, the 1st Annual UC Red Carpet Event! Every year all freshmen look forward to this end of the year award show put on by the school. But this year things are going to be a little different. For the first time a handful of students are going to run the show. There will be live performances, surprise guests and free giveaways in this Grammy-style event.
Ten awards will be given out. Freshman of the year, Welch Documentary Award, Service Learning Award, Most Likely to be President, Mentor of the Year, Most Intellectual Freshman, Most Involved Freshman, Male and Female Peer Educators of the Year, Mr. & Ms. Moharv, Most Likely to be Famous, Funniest Freshman and Social Butterfly. All of the nominees were voted on by freshman students. A surprise celebrity guest will even make an appearance to give out a few words of wisdom. A local Montessori school will be performing, “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer in sign language.
The event is definitely going to shake things up so don’t miss it! Anyone is now invited to walk the red carpet with us. So put on your sharpest suit or dress and come feel what it’s like to be a celebrity on the red carpet!
Why we chose UC – the English Connection
by Harry Machacha
The University of Charleston men’s soccer team’s “English Connection” shares how they found the University, and why they love it.
Harry Machacha is a senior communications major at UC.
Learning at UC from Outside the Classroom
By Aspen Echelmeier
Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is unlike any other organization on a college campus. The University of Charleston SIFE team has provided me with the opportunity to work with successful entrepreneurs as well as children from low-socioeconomic homes. I know the qualities I have gained through my involvement in SIFE have made me a better, more well-rounded and mature young adult. This experience has truly transformed me!
Our team has worked on a wide variety of projects throughout the year; each project or program has the goal of creating a better quality of life and standard of living for people in need – economically, socially and environmentally.
I worked on the “Triple Play” program at the Boys and Girls Club in St. Albans, W.Va. My teammates and I planned games and activities to get the children up and active three days each week this year. Since West Virginia is known for having a very high obesity rate, our SIFE team knew we needed to help these children learn healthy habits now for their long-term futures.
Aspen (left) helped Maggie's Salsa make several environmental improvements to her company.
SIFE is about identifying needs in our community, implementing necessary changes, and working towards positive, measurable outcomes. That is our purpose and what we worked toward with every project we took on this year. Through my work with the Boys and Girls Club, I learned a lot more about myself as well as developed greater patience.
The project that I have worked on the most would have to be with a local entrepreneur, Maggie Cook-Garcia. Maggie is the founder and owner of Maggie’s Salsa. Firstly, we helped Maggie develop a “Pound 4 Pound” trademark which allowed her to donate one pound of food to hungry children around the world, for each pound of product sold. Once my SIFE teammates helped her establish a trademark, we still wanted to work with Maggie. Since we had the opportunity to apply for a Sam’s Club Step Up for Small Business grant through SIFE USA, our team conducted an environmental audit of Maggie’s facility.
As part of the environmental auditing team, I learned that Maggie already had a lot of environmentally friendly business practices. Since many of the ways in which I thought we could assist her were already in place, I discovered we were going to have to be very creative in finding way to make Maggie’s Salsa greener! I researched more environmentally-friendly business practices related to food packaging and distribution, and came up with several ideas to which Maggie agreed: installing recycling containers, replacing the incandescent lights with florescent ones, and caulking the refrigerators where air was leaking. Although some of these changes were simple, this experience gave me the opportunity to work with an inspirational, successful entrepreneur, a chance I would probably not have had if I wasn’t in SIFE. This hands-on experience has helped me become a better-rounded person and is assisting me in my quest to learn what I want to study and what I want to do upon graduation.
My freshman SIFE experience was helped me develop skills and uncover qualities I didn’t even know I had! Being a part of several work-teams within the SIFE team and a member of the 2012 SIFE Regional Championship presentation team has been one of the best experiences I have had – and it’s only my first year at the University of Charleston! I know I made the right choice in both selecting UC for my education, and joining the UC SIFE team for the service-learning experiences!
For more information on UC’s SIFE team, click here.
To learn more about SIFE’s global impact, click here.
Why I Chose UC – Melissa Reyes Angulo
By Harry Machacha
Melissa Reyes Angulo from Peru discusses why she chose to attend the University of Charleston. For more information on UC, visit www.ucwv.edu/admissions.
Harry Machacha is a senior communications major at the UC.
Story of a Three-Peat: UC SIFE
If you are new to the University of Charleston, you will quickly find out the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team is a big deal on campus. Students from many different backgrounds and majors come together to improve local businesses and provide community service to organizations throughout the community. The group also competes on a national stage, and does so very well. The SIFE team captured it’s third consecutive regional championship in Charlotte, N.C., on March 27, 2012. This video chronicles the team’s journey.
