Martha and Spencer Love School of Business

Business Fellows News

First-Year Business Fellows Experience

the Developing Economy of the Yucatan Peninsula

The Elon Business Fellows class of 2011 traveled to the Yucatan, Mexico, during Elon University’s 2008 Winter Term. On January 8, the freshman cohort of 25 students, accompanied by Professor Brian Nienhaus and Associate Dean Scott Buechler, flew out of Charlotte to Cancun and then immediately headed off on a four-hour westward drive across the peninsula to the colonial city of Mérida, also known as “the white city.”

During their first four days in the Yucatan, the students and their chaperones, now also accompanied by Professor Nienhaus’ wife Blanca, stayed in Mérida, touring the city and making daily excursions to local businesses and historical sites. The students first traveled to the archeological site of Dzibilchaltun (pronounced Tzee-beel-chal-toon), which, translated, means “writing on the flat stones.” There, they explored the Museum of the Mayan People, climbed atop an ancient astronomy temple, and had an opportunity to swim in the crystal aquamarine waters of a nearby cenote (a natural sinkhole filled with water from underground aquifers).

The freshman Business Fellows also toured several businesses and organizations while in Mérida. Carlos Muñoz of ASERCA, a government organization wittily titled to sound like the verb acercar (to come closer), spoke with the students about the Mexican government’s policies and programs to support local farmers. Since NAFTA recently lifted tariffs on corn (a staple of the Mexican diet) ASERCA is using government subsidies and working proactively with Mexican farmers to help them become more competitive in the international market. The students also visited a Jabeñero pepper factory – started five years ago by Emilio, an entrepreneur from Mexico City. The students toured the factory, gaining insight into the growth of a new business in a niche market, and courageously sampling some Jabeñero paste.

On their final day in Mérida, the Fellows toured the headquarters of El Diario, a prestigious newspaper in the Yucatan. There they were introduced to the process of producing the daily newspaper, from reporting to editing to printing.

For the next four days, the students and their professor-chaperones made their way back east across the peninsula, resting each night at a different location. The students toured the famed Mayan ruins of Chichen-Itza, swam in an impressive cenote at Ik Kil, slept in hammocks with host families in the Mayan village of Tinum (see the next two stories to learn more about this unique experience), and finally arrived in Cancun for a final day of relaxation before flying back into Charlotte.

From the rich culture and colorful history of Mérida to the grandeur of Chichen-Itza and the lasting traditions of the people of Tinum, the Fellows’ incredible experience in Mexico is surely one they will not soon forget.

Katie Dirks, Business Fellows class of 2011

What I Learned From Mayan Culture

Stepping off the bus in Merida, I had no idea what to expect from the Mayan culture other than what I had read in The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads. I suppose I expected a society that only cared about getting by and surviving to the next day. I was mistaken; these people were farmers, storeowners, builders, carpenters, bakers, and entrepreneurs. They were all in all very similar to the type of people you would find in a small American town. The Mayans and I are similar in that we both want to create a livable, enjoyable society in which to live, raise children, and prosper. They, however, have a different way of going about it and I soon learned I had a lot to learn from them.

The bare essentials in life are food, water and shelter. In all three elements, Mayans live off of the land.

Their primary source of food is the Milpa system, a system focused on using the land and allowing it time to replenish. Our farmers today can learn that patience can improve their output because they do not leave the land barren and destroyed after repetitive, multiple harvests. Their Milpa crop is usually corn which is the base of their diets. This allows them to be self-reliant as opposed to going to town and buying the corn at whatever price it is that day.

We were introduced to Mayan technology by our hostess, Lisa. As we sat down to meet talk with her, I heard a strange noise behind me. The source of that noise was a man cranking a lever connected to a pulley system. The man explained that the contraption was built using various items from the trash, a form of recycling. To find a good location to build a well all you have to do is look for depressions in the ground and start digging. Add his home-made rigging, and you have a clean and replenishing source of water.

As for shelter, one man, with the occasional help from a friend, constructed the house I stayed in. It was made of sticks and plants from around the area. Once again, the source was self-replenishing and did little to no harm to the environment. The labor was free and the only material that cost anything was cement. These primitive houses provided the families with shelter from rain, warmth in the cold, and privacy and protection from the neighborhood surroundings.

On January 6, most of the Hispanic world celebrates El Dia De Reyes, the Epiphany, remembering the day when the Three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem, arrived bearing their treasured gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the Baby Jesus. As it so happened, we stayed in Tinúm, that night and my family went to the festival. Here, I noticed there was a great sense of community as a portion of the town watched piñatas fall to their demise at the hands of children, men, and women. One picture, however, stuck in my head. When there was a problem with the rope of the piñata a man scaled a ladder to fix it. The ladder, however, was vertical. I saw a man twenty feet in the air on two legs of a ladder with ten men helping support him. His life was clearly in the hands of ten men but he didn’t seem to care. He trusted his neighbors.

description

Elon Business Fellows and Tinum soccer team

Dan Schulman, Business Fellows class of 2011

The Future of Milpa

One of the highlights of the Yucatan experience for me was staying with a family in the village of Tinúm, a traditionally Mayan village that participates in the Milpa system practiced by the Mayan Campesinos of the village. I came to see the Milpa system not only as a way in which a family gets food, but also as a cultural tradition.

While in Tinúm, we visited a Milpa and saw first-hand how the system works. We heard two differing opinions on the Milpa system from two different generations, first from Don Ildefonso and second from Don Juan Hau. Don Ildefonso, the older of the two, took us to see the Milpa and explained to us the way of life of a Campesino. While at the Milpa, we saw two plots of land – one planted according to ancient tradition and one planted with enhanced seeds provided by government agencies. Don Ildefonso was partial to the traditional fashion. On the morning of our departure from the village of Tinúm, we listened to a lecture by Don Juan Hau about what he thought the future of the Milpa system was. He was the product of many years of education and was able to recognize the cultural significance of practicing Milpa. However, he also understood that in order for the villagers of Tinúm to progress in the modern world, there must be a change in the Milpa system. They had to develop ways to enter the world market and better their living standards. Don Juan Hau favored the new, enhanced seeds.

During my stay with my Mayan family, I was also able to hear and see how a modern Mayan family participates in Milpa. I stayed with a multi-generational family including a great-grandmother, a grandmother, three sons, one having a wife, and multiple grandchildren. They explained that the three sons had real jobs but nonetheless still participated in Milpa. They were able to balance their outside jobs with working on the Milpa, and I see this as the first step in the modernization of the Milpa system. The family was able to realize that in order to better their living standards, they must work jobs that involve cash income, including working as a police officer or working in a hotel. However, they also work the Milpa because of the need they feel to continue to grow their own food. The family I stayed with was living the vision that Don Juan Hau had for the Milpa system – a traditional practice that will continue even as the villagers begin to participate in trades and professions other than being primarily a Campesino.

Based upon what I saw and heard about the Milpa, I think that Milpa will continue to be practiced, but will slowly become more modernized with fewer people participating in it. I see economic progress moving the people away from subsistence farming into industry, tourism, and agricultural exports. As Mexico continues to grow economically, the Milpa system will not dwindle, but instead transform into something that can be balanced with other economic activities.

description

Dr. Nienhaus and Don Ildefonso at the Milpa

Matt Verboon, Business Fellows class of 2011

Senior Business Fellows take on the "Big Apple"

The Elon University Business Fellows made their annual trip to New York City during the weekend of October 4^th – 7^th. Accompanying the twenty-one fellows were three of the Koury Business Center professors, Dr. Scott Buechler, Dr. Wonhi Synn and Dr. Earl Honeycutt.

Upon early arrival to the city, the fellows and their professors made their way into downtown Manhattan where they made their first stop of the day at the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street. After a high-security entrance, the group was given some background on the exchange including their recent technology update to the hybrid trading method. From here they made their way down to the trading floor where they were able to talk with individual specialists from Kellogg.

“It was great to have an opportunity to be on the trading floor and talk to a group of specialists about the changes the exchange is going through via globalization and the advancement of technology.” – Dr. Wonhi Synn

After the New York Stock Exchange the group journeyed over to 5^th Avenue where they met with a few law representatives from Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. The presentation consisted of the legalities and logistics of many of the major U.S. Airline companies. The next stop for the Elon business fellows was UniCredit, a markets and investment banking company. The knowledge of Beth Donahue on leveraged and syndicated loans was very applicable and interesting for the group. The experience was very engaging and everyone was able to understand the process of accepting loans with Unicredit. As the day neared its end, the Elon pack made their last stop at Pershing Square restaurant and bar to meet with some of the Elon alumni who are currently working and living in New York City. It was a fun networking experience for everyone to be able to see the potential possibilities that their futures may hold.

Friday morning, the fellows traveled to Credit Suisse on Madison Avenue to attend a series of presentations and a tour of the headquarters.

“I was very impressed with the fact that Tom Sanzone, the CIO of Credit Suisse, made the time to attend our presentation and provide us with a wealth of information about Credit Suisse Information Technology. Mr. Sanzone also shared his personal advice for career development. He demonstrated that Credit Suisse is very focused on encouraging employees to continuously challenge themselves to identify and reach their goals while maintaining a work-life balance.” – Elizabeth Evans

They had the opportunity to talk with recent graduates who have recently joined the Credit Suisse workforce in the Associate Program. The next stop of the day was Bloomberg on Lexington Avenue. This financial information-service company gave a superb tour of their headquarters and additionally gave the group an even better idea of the company’s inner workings.

As Friday night approached, everyone made their way back to the hotel and spent the duration of the trip exploring the city. The students and professors set off to visit the sites of New York. Some of these destinations included Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero and some even attended a Broadway show!

The experiences and time in New York City were unforgettable and in some cases were once in a lifetime. These experiences will be carried with everyone throughout their careers as they continue to develop and grow as young adults.

Katie Nicholson, Business Fellow Class of 2008

Freshman Business Fellows Tackle Ropes Course

Business Fellows learning the value of teamwork on the Elon University ropes course.

Elon University’s freshman Business Fellows took part in the Challenge Course, a ropes course owned and managed by Elon. The group participated in various teamwork and leadership-oriented activities, which helped them bond, communicate, and learn from the experiences. This high-potential team from the Class of 2011 learned that while they all may have leadership qualities, not everybody can be a leader in every activity. Doing so creates mass miscommunication, confusion, and ultimately, failure. They found that working together, communicating, and providing ample planning time was the best way to succeed. The freshmen realized that using each other’s strengths, both mentally and physically, would help them through the tasks like “The Human Knot” and “The Giant Web”.

A constant theme was “trust.” In one challenge, a person is blindfolded, while a partner of theirs would lead them through the woods, without talking. After that, the blindfold went on the other partner, and they had to be led back out of the woods, without being touched. In an activity such as that, a tremendous amount of trust is required. “I really learned to trust other people,” said Tim Porter, a freshman Business Fellow from Massachusetts. “Commitment and adaptability were two traits needed to succeed,” Porter went on to say. The majority of his fellow freshmen seemed to agree with him.

Although the weather was rainy and muggy, spirits were high. The group assembled from all around the country came together to complete tasks that challenged both their minds and bodies. When asked if the day was successful, a resounding “yes” came from the Elon University Business Fellows of the Class of 2011.

Adam Pittenger, Business Fellow class of 2011

First Annual Business Fellows Medallion Ceremony

On May 18, 2007, 21 graduating Business Fellows, along with their parents and friends, celebrated the first annual Business Fellows Medallion Ceremony in the LaRose Digital Theatre of the Koury Business Center.

MC’d by graduating students Ashley Corkery and Mark Horsburgh, the ceremony featured an informal address by outgoing Dean John Burbridge who described the importance of the Business Fellows program to the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “The program grew from a single course for seniors to now a four-year program. The Business Fellows program allows us to pilot new ideas and involve students in professional-level projects. It has blossomed and will continue to grow as new students enter with new innovations.” Dean Burbridge cited the work of Dr. Thomas Tiemann, Jefferson Pilot Professor of Economics, for his efforts to move the program forward.

Graduating Fellow Hilary Corna thanked the faculty for all their mentoring and support. “You cannot know how much your dedication and support have meant to us all,” she said.

As the Business Fellows received their medallion, Dr. Scott Buechler, Associate Dean of the LSB, read a brief description of each student, citing their achievements while in the program and their plans for after graduation: all of the graduates have jobs, strong leads for jobs, or have been accepted to graduate school.

Congratulations graduating Business Fellows!

Business Fellows, Class of 2007

Business Fellows Bowling Outing

A Friday afternoon of bowling fun was a good start to the new Business Fellow mentor/mentee program. This has been an idea that was months in the making and finally it was followed through. This program was initiated by the efforts of the Business Fellow Advisory board and the management/marketing group’s senior class project. Each business fellow was assigned a mentor/mentee group which is almost like a family. In each group was a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. Each person was given an interesting fact as to who their mentor or mentee would be so they could find that person and use that fact as an icebreaker to stir up conversation. After this activity we were able to find out who our mentor/mentee group was. Next, we all went bowling together, which was enjoyable because we were able to get to know the other business fellows classes. There were even prizes awarded to the bowling team that had the highest average. The mentor/mentee program was started with the purpose of creating more networking possibilities across the classes, other sources for advising from peers, and unity among the Business Fellows classes. This was an excellent beginning to more activities to come in which to integrate the classes more.

Courtney Grill, Business Fellow class of 2007

Freshmen Business Fellows Visit Weaver Street Market

On a sunny Monday afternoon this fall, the freshman Business Fellows traveled to Carrboro, North Carolina, to learn firsthand how a cooperative organic grocery business is run. Upon being greeted by the friendly management staff at the Weaver Street Market, we were given a presentation on the ins and outs of running a successful cooperative business. From company policies and business ethics to product storage and financial development, we were able to see how the market formed and has continued to operate successfully for the past 18 years.

The Weaver Street Market in Carrboro is a cooperative business, meaning that it is owned by its customers who buy memberships. These members receive discounts on their purchases as well as a vote on all issues involving major business decisions, giving them a voice in the running of the busienss.

The market prides itself on providing organic, healthy foods as well as a vibrant community experience for all their shoppers. As James Watts the operations manager told us, he wants “the shopping experience to be as good for the customers as the food they are buying.”

Not only did we learn a lot and get delicious cookies during our presentation, we were able to roam the market to get a feel for the community shopping experience. Piling into the vans to return to Elon, we swapped shopping experiences and snacked on the goodies we purchased. Overall, it was an interesting and delicious trip.

Alex Lahey, Business Fellow class of 2010

Senior Business Fellows take First Place in Portfolio Competition

The Elon Business Fellows student investment team took first place in the RISE portfolio competition held at the University of Dayton March 30-April 1, 2006. Elon took first place in the undergraduate equity blend class.

The annual RISE (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) Conference took place at the University of Dayton campus in Dayton, Ohio. Student portfolio management teams from 191 institutions representing 14 countries and the United States were invited to showcase their investment success in the areas of growth, value, blend, alternative and fixed income styles of management. Twelve-month risk-adjusted returns were used as the metric to identify the top portfolio team in each investment category at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Elon’s student-managed investment portfolio is run by a team of senior Jefferson Pilot Business Fellows responsible for investing a portion of Elon’s endowment in the stock market. These student managers inherited a strong portfolio from last year’s class and expanded upon it further to help return an aggregate 28 percent return in 2005, well above the 5 percent return on the S&P 500 over the same twelve-month period. These returns were good enough to warrant a first place standing in the undergraduate equity blend class. Equity blend refers to a style of management that includes both growth and value stocks within the portfolio allocation.

For the 2005-2006 academic year, the portfolio management team members were Tim Buckley, Adam Clontz, Chris Hickey, Jordan Kienzle, Gillian Murray, Sarah Murphy, and Brendan Reese. Dr. Wonhi Synn, professor of finance in the Love School of Business, is the long-standing faculty advisor for Elon’s portfolio management team.

The RISE forum is a unique opportunity for students to meet and listen to top-tier investment professionals, many of whom work in major financial centers on Wall Street and in Chicago. Notable speakers included Dr. William Dudley and Richard Bernstein, both Chief Economists at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, and famed stock picker Elaine Garzarelli of Garzarelli Research, Inc. Keynote speakers at the conference were involved in the public sector as well, notably Michael Oxley, congressman from Ohio who co-wrote the monumental Sarbanes-Oxley legislation in 2002, former Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans.

Brendan Reese, Business Fellows class of 2006

Members of the Business Fellows Portfolio Management Team (from left to right): Adam Clontz, Gillian Murray, and Jordan Kienzle. Not shown are members Tim Buckley, Chris Hickey, Sarah Murphy, and Brendan Reese.

Senior Fellows Present Portfolio to Elon Board of Trustees

description

On November 18, 2005, the Business Fellows Portfolio Management Team presented their portfolio before the Elon Investment Committee. The portfolio consisting of ten stocks and three iShares has accumulated a return of roughly nine percent, beating the S&P 500 by approximately nine and a half percent for the period September 15, 2005 to November 10, 2005. The current portfolio style consists of purchasing large-cap growth stocks such as Apple, Starbucks, United Health Group, and Harrah’s.

After presenting and answering questions from the Board of Directors, the students sat in on four other presentations from Ream Asset Management Company, Eagle Asset Management, Flippen Bruce and Porter, and Montague and Newhall. The experience was truly enriching, allowing the students first hand experience into the financial world.

-- Gillian Murray, Business Fellow class of 2006

Freshman Fellows Visit McKinney & Silver

On Friday, November 4^th, the freshman Business Fellows traveled to visit the office of the advertising and marketing firm McKinney & Silver in Durham, North Carolina. Walking through the old tobacco district, we marveled at the scenic layout of the converted brick warehouses. We experienced an even bigger surprise as we walked into the office of McKinney & Silver. It was architecturally structured to create an open environment, nurturing conversations between fellow workers and prospective clients. Ms. Janet Northern led us in a tour of the innovative facility, and we were impressed with the casual yet focused atmosphere throughout the building. We sat in an amphitheater complete with carpeted steps and watched a presentation by Mr. Doug Holroyd. His presentation explained McKinney & Silver's unique advertising approach, which included the use of various advertising mediums to increase consumer involvement with their clients. We left with new ideas about the company, the structure of marketing in the future, and the design of an ideal workplace.

-- Steve Stone & Rachel Bagley, Business Fellows class of 2009