Finals week!
I’m really going to get a lot better at posting on a weekly basis. Last week was insane and I feel like I didn’t really have time for anything! It’s now week ten and students are . . . well, tense may be an appropriate word to describe everyone right now. Stressed out, frustrated, angry and short-tempered are also probably appropriate. We all have papers, group projects (which, everyone knows, are by far the most stressful), presentations and tests. We haven’t even thought of looking at the syllabi for our spring quarter classes or purchased any books.
Last week was insane because I had a presentation and a paper due, but I also wanted to get everything done last week so I wouldn’t be quite to stressed out, tense, and short-tempered! I turned in my final paper today for Education and Development, so I am officially done with that class. For my Financial Management and Fundraising for Non-Profits class, I have a final paper due Thursday and a short group presentation. Professor Dorsey asks groups to come up with current event articles in the non-profit world. My group is presenting on the role of celebrities in philanthropy, specifically their involvement in HIV/AIDS causes. And finally, stats test number two. This is, to everyone’s surprise, a take-home exam. She gave us a data set and is asking us to run several models and type up our methods, results, and an executive summary. Not being the best test-taker, I was absolutely thrilled to have a take-home exam. Hopefully I will get everything done tomorrow.
A lot of Korbel students choose to stay in Denver for spring break. Some students have finals due that week, and many don’t want to deal with the stress of traveling. The other three admissions assistants (Cliff, Kiela, and Liz) will be in the office over break. I think I need a break from school and form Denver, so I’ll be driving to Albuquerque on Friday or Saturday (weather permitting) for the week. My plan is to apply for as many jobs as possible over the break.
Also on Friday I attended a day-long workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility, hosted by the MDP program. This was really interesting and useful, especially since my independent study class next quarter is on CSR. We went over the La Oroya, which is a city in Peru that is considered one of the most polluted places on earth due to mining. We discussed the responsibility of Doe Run, the company that purchased the 75-year old mine, in reversing decades of pollution. Another session featured Korbel Professor DeMartino and his book, The Economist’s Oath. the last session I attended was on the partnership between Starbucks and Conservation International, which was very interesting. I’m really excited to start my research for the CSR independent study class next quarter.
Joanna Miller, MA candidate in International Human Rights
