Tom Scheer

"All around the world... it's the same song!"

Background music-> Digital Underground - Same Song

Winter classes started today, and I was quickly reminded of a theme I've seen throughout my B School experience.  We've got people from everywhere and we have experiences galore. Hats off to admissions - I can see why diversity really makes the B School experience better.

Today's case in operations class was entiteld "P&G Polska." My section mate Jake is from Poland, (He's just in front of me on the rope.) and he rocked a Polska t-shirt to class today. He grew up in Poland and was there during the transtion period mentioned in the case. He was able to relate stories from his family's experience during the transition.

During a fall class the West Point crew team came up in a case. The other Tom in my section went to West Point  (GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY! Anybody see the Army Navy football game on this year?) and rowed for the coach and with some of the members of the team from the case.

A case about a leadership crisis in the Navy -- Mike knows all about it.  Restaurant economics - Dan owns a franchise.  My section mates have translated Chinese characters in class, talked about working for Martha Stewart and the experience of getting products on the Oprah show.

I've got classmates from India, Germany, Turkey, Israel, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Spain, Brazil --I think the Brazilians have their own wing in the Woodbury apartment complex! :-) -- Mexico, Columbia, China... the list literal goes on and on and on.

We've got professional athletes, bankers, moms, lawyers, non-profit professionals, brand managers, singers, consultants... again, another amazing and very long list.

This broad range of experiences is really brought together by the atmosphere at Ross. We simply enjoy being together and sharing - and it has a genuine positive impact on the learning experience. And because the professors utilize the experiences of the students to move class discussions forward, it brings some of the more abstract material to life. Most importantly, the students not only support each other, but also help to refine (read, tell you you're full of crap) each others ideas about how things work in the real work.

Even though I knew this would be good "on paper" before coming to Ross, daily life with this network of classmates is truly awesome.  I'm planning a trip to Japan with my daughter when I graduate, and I've already started asking Kenji, who's here from Japan, about it. I've landed an internship for the summer, and there are two current Ross students who have worked where I'm headed.

This even helps me during hockey, where I have classmates that keep my head on straight. If I get too excited about the progress I'm making in goal, and start to believe I'm headed to an NHL tryout, Justin is always there with a "Slow down, 'Brodeur' or 'Calm down Hextall' " and some good pointers to improve my game.

GO BLUE!

Stress relief

I’ve always enjoyed cooking for others, and have taken to cooking to relax while studying.

My section mates have eaten endless amounts of blueberry muffins and chocolate chip cookies. We had a pot luck holiday luncheon and I made Asian noodle bowls and vegetarian soup.

 

I’ve also cooked risotto, stuffed chicken, orange and date firecrackers, sesame crackers and slaw, ribs, etc.

 

As I talk to my classmates, we all seem to have our own outlets – working out, drinking, dancing… name it.  I bumped into Upneet at Target today and she taught me a new phrase - “retail therapy.” Turns out shopping is good for the soul too!

Guess that explains why I bought 2 long sleeve Michigan shirts today at Ulrich’s.

B School New Year's Resolutions

Keep learning and keep up the grades -- Goods & Excellents only. Gonna take dilegence, teamwork, focus, and balance.

Launch a business - Michigan Business Challenge and Urban Entrepreneurship Class helped -- going to use Zell Laurie www.zli.bus.umich.edu and Frankel www.frankelfund.com/  (and 1,000 other resources at Ross) to keep things moving forward.

Lose the weight I gained during Fall A & B (stop making cookies? Make more baked chicken?) plus 20 more. Tall order, but I can do it!

Get ready for Ironman St George, Coeur D'alene, and Lousiville (May / June / August)    12:59:59 time goal. All it takes is hard work and early mornings.  Good thing I have the best training partner ever! 

Jersey shore and theme parties.

I’ve never seen the Jersey Shore show. That didn’t stop me from attending the Jersey Shore party.  Or sporting all my gold chains and flexing the tattoo. Couldn’t exactly gel the hair, but I did sport the wife beater.

This is the latest in a long line of theme parties – Saints and Sinners, Southern Club Pig Roast…  The costume stores in Ann Arbor stay busy. Joe, our fearless section leader, sported the Stewie Griffin costume along the way (Check Allison's shout off blog entry for a picture), and I’ve been seen wearing a kilt a time or two here at B School. (Mom’s side of the family is Scottish, so I’m legit!)

Gotta love it!

BBSA

I’ve been really delighted by my participation in the Black Business Students Association at Ross. I’ve been voted Parliamentarian, and am responsible for meeting procedure and rewriting the club’s charter.

We’ve had speakers from a number of great companies, and our meetings and fellowship provide a great way to fellowship outside of classes.

The annual conference brought students from several schools, alumni from across the country and faculty and professionals who provided a myriad of opportunities to network and learn.

Learn more about the BBSA à http://www.rossbbsa.com/

New Hockey Gear & Playing the law school

Hockey is fantastic. Joined a league in Ann Arbor (there's about 10 of them!) and won my first game on the ice. More weird bruises. Decided to buy new gear to properly protect myself. Michigan colors. Gotta love it.

 

The law school has joined us for several session at Yost - did I mention the B schools skates on the same ice as the U of M varsity team -- cool stuff.  The game has really sped up and I'm working hard to stop the flurry of pucks coming in my direction.

   

Also took time to jazz up the helmet -- made one in my fraternity colors and added some items to the white one.

   
 
 
  
 
 

Sports Business Assocation & The Detroit Red Wings

The clubs and associations at Michigan never disappoint!

Yesterday many of us from the Michigan Sports Business Association took a trip to the Joe Lewis Arena to meet with the staff of the Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment and Fox Sports. All in all a pretty amazing day!

Ken Holland, easily the best general manager in hockey, and probably all of sport, talked to us about his career progression and life in team management side of the business. We also heard from player / personnel staff, facilities management and television production staff at the highest levels. 
They gave us key insights on how to get into the sports game (including tips for non-athletes, etc, who don't have the inside track on jobs.)

The Wings also provided us tickets to the game – it went all the way to overtime and a shoot-out. The Wings beat the Sharks 2-1.

  

I’m looking forward to a similar event with the Lions next month, and more opportunities to network with professionals across the sports world.

Hats off (or maybe a thrown octopus?) to the leadership of the MSBA who set up the whole event!

 

Priorities

I have to play hockey tomorrow night. Have to. It's not optional. But 1st...

- Finish competitor section of the Stategy group term paper

- Finish low performer section of the Strategy group paper w/ teammate

- Study for econ final and make an (authorized) 8.5 x 11 cheat sheet

- Study for Statistics final (I really want an EP in that class!)

- Organize to study for the Accounting final

The rest of the list can happen after hockey.

Birthday & the Ross Hockey Club

All my life I wanted to play ice hockey. I've played floor hockey. I'm the best you ever met at air hockey (thanks Boys & Girls Clubs!) I even considered Tuck because of their notorious hockey program! J

The Ross Hockey Club has made this dream come true for me.

 
 
My 37^th birthday present to myself was goalie gear. I cleaned out Play-It-Again for a bunch of mismatched goalie gear, and (despite the swine flu) got on the ice for the first time.

It wasn’t pretty, I’ve got weird bruises, but I just might love this sport!

 

T-Rex Triathlon & the Ross Triathlon Club

This post should really be called "Rodrigo the rookie..."

My first triathlon with the Ross Triathlon Club was a great way to kick off business school!

A few weeks prior to arriving in Ann Arbor I decided to see if there were any tris happening before school started -- and sure enough, the T-Rex was happening just prior to RLI (Ross Leadership Initiative). I had withdrawn from Ironman Canada (see you in 2011) to attend, but didn't want the training to go to waste.

Through the Ross Triathlon Club I was able to rendezvous with other students who were competing in the event. I cooked a pasta dinner for everyone, Mark and Catie brought beer, and we got to know each other. We found out Rodrigo had never competed in a tri before, so we talked him through the race, how to transition, and how to survive the swim start. I offered my new classmate a ride to the race the next day, and we were all ready to go.

Best video ever to describe the swim start à http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk  

Race Day – Rodrigo and I had trouble checking in (and they ultimately didn’t track our race results), but we eventually got into transition and started getting ready for the race. I just finished setting up when I saw The Rookie wandering around.

Turns out Rodrigo had a flat tire, and had about 3 minutes to get to the start line. I grabbed his bike from him and started on repairs while another tri clubber got him to his gear and finished his race setup. I was one wave behind Rodrigo, so I had 4 extra minutes – just enough time to get his bike to the mechanic’s station, borrow some tools, and get his tire replaced. I got Rodrigo’s bike to transition in time, and got in the water with just enough time to pull on my goggles as starter’s gun sounded for my wave.

We all made it to the finish line (Mark was 2^nd, Catie was 3^rd, in their respective age groups… I think I’m bringing beer to more triathlons) and I’ve never seen someone so excited as Rodrigo when we finished! 

All in all this was a great example of group projects here at Ross – everyone has different expertise, different timing, and different skills – but we all seem to get to the finish line with smiles on our faces – perhaps a little sweater and tired – and hopefully a little smarter and more experienced.  

He’s no longer a rookie, and he’s now officially a triathlete.