Ross Ambassador Blog

Taking Mechanical Engineering: It's as smart as it sounds

Taking classes outside of the Business School can be a very rewarding (and challenging) experience. The way I have always linked my relationship with the Tauber Institute to my future career goals is that I want to create desirable products that can actually be made. So I decided to put my money where my mouth was and take ME:452-Design For Manufacturability taught by Donald Malen in the Engineering School. Throughout the semester we examined many aspects of redesigning a product from material selection to incorporating snap fits. My team revamped a traditional Zippo lighter, which turned out to be a practical and cost saving redesign that I believe customers would enjoy. Despite the challenges, I am very glad I decided to push myself to look outside of Ross for a change. Did I learn how to make products with iPhone like precision or design the next computer mouse? No, I didn’t even come close. In fact, I will humbly admit there are some concepts I couldn’t recreate in the real world without the aid of an Engineer friend or two. This hints at where I saw the biggest value of the course and meeting people outside of Ross. I made friends with a group completely unlike myself and learned how Engineers think and process ideas. I can also see where their education left them short. For example, we each picked products to redesign for the course and many engineers re-created products that had a lot of cool (and very costly) features that clearly were not tested on consumers. In the workplace it would be unfair to expect an Engineer to think about cost, customers or creating objects of desire without a little help from their friends. 

 

I learned to look at products for their function and question every fastener. I also see products as modules that can cheaply be incorporated into a variety of products. I like to think my group learned a few things from me about Human Centered Design, focus groups and product benchmarking against competitors. Whether its Engineering or English I would urge any of my classmates to take a break from Ross meet some more distant members of the Michigan Family. 

Detroit: A True American City

Imagine Detroit for a minute. What do you see? Many people see negative images or have an idea what they think Detroit is. I know I certainly did. I like cities like New York and Berlin, but wasn’t sure how I would feel about Detroit. What I found was a beautiful American city that is literally a hotbed for a new generation of entrepreneurs. The sense of community is what blew me away the most and this new generation is just as interested in building their community, as they are their pocket book.

This weekend my Detroit Impact team and I visited our project sponsor, Hostel Detroit. I have worked with European hostels in the past to build equity and brainstorm potential improvement ideas, but this project feels much more personal to everyone involved. After our stay in the hostel and my subsequent all day walking adventure that took me across the city I feel like the value of their success means much more than increased profitability or enterprise growth.

Detroit is the perfect image of an American city that embodies the hard work, inventiveness and perseverance Americans are known for. Each of the emerging enterprises like Hostel Detroit signify what makes Detroit a special place and right now the city is re-defining itself as a symbol of the new American city. There is a buzz all over the city where young entrepreneurs are pursing ideas they believe in, taking a few risks and having some amazing results. Hostel Detroit is part of the rich community within Detroit and allows visitors to experience the city as a local. I am honored our team was given the opportunity to bring a few ideas for improvement to the hostel and I look forward to watching them grow with the city.

As for me, I think I will become a regular patron of Hostel Detroit when I need a vacation from the quaint college atmosphere of Ann Arbor. You never know, I might even become one of the next energetic movers and shakers in the New Detroit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are now exiting the "Comfort Zone"

    One of the things I most looked forward to prior to business school was the opportunity to get involved in new things. I knew Ross was one of the most hands-on schools, but I had no idea how quickly opportunities would present themselves and “yes” is my default answer when asked if I want to do something. Maybe it’s FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), but I like to think I am nobly trying to step outside of my comfort zone. It doesn’t hurt that I genuinely enjoy doing things with my classmates.

    One of the more awesome things I recently agreed to was a role in Rock n Roll B-School. For those who don’t know it’s a raunchier rockin’ version of Ross Follies, which includes music, skits and enough dirty jokes to make a sailor blush. I am not an actor and generally dislike public speaking so this was a perfect fit. 

Rock 'n' Roll B-School from RnRBS on Vimeo.

     The show was amazing and despite being nervous, I had a great time and got a few laughs along the way. It’s not every day you can dress up and create sick and satirical comedy about the things uniquely relevant to B-School students. There is also some serious musical talent at Ross and it was great to see Carrie Thorson rock Edge of Glory.

 

    If I could give advice to any incoming student I would say to get involved in as many things as you can, the more outside of your comfort zone the better.