2012 ASU Graduation

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Matt Rezmovits

Another year, another crop of talented Arizona State University graduates. Because the school is so large (the biggest public university in the country), commencement ceremonies began on a Wednesday night this year and continued through Friday afternoon. W. P. Carey undergraduates, for example, walked across the stage Thursday morning, and the MBA class of 2012 officially graduated at 5pm Friday. In all, more than 2,000 W. P. Carey students earned their degrees this spring.

It’s hard for me to believe I’m a year away from being in that same position. My first year has really gone by quickly, and now I’m headed for a summer internship before classes begin again in August.

Check out more photos from ASU’s commencement on Wednesday, May 2nd, which featured former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw as the commencement speaker.

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Pitching In and Giving Back

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Matt Rezmovits

“Changing lives through business education” – it’s more than a mission statement for the W. P. Carey School of Business. It’s a mission, one that extends far beyond the classroom. So when W. P. Carey student Justin Richardson wanted to bring together business schools from across the Southwest to help local charities, he found support everywhere he turned, from fellow students to faculty, staff and the administration.

Justin and his fellow W. P. Carey MBA students wanted to increase the school’s exposure and make a positive impact within the community. With Arizona’s gorgeous spring weather, the plans quickly moved outdoors, and the students invited MBA programs from across the region to participate in a charity softball tournament.

“We wanted to motivate our peers to give back while having a great time,” Justin says. “The tournament served as a way to support nonprofit organizations, with the winning team’s charity of choice receiving 100 percent of the profits.”

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The Game-Changer

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Kathleen Taylor

J.J. Perino lives and breathes sports. But it wasn’t until his playing days ended that he realized just how big a role football played in his life. About six months after graduating college, he filled the void by volunteering as an assistant high school coach, balancing a career he didn’t love with his passion. That’s what flipped the switch for a career change.

“It was a huge reason I decided to come back to business school,” says J.J., who just completed his first year in the W. P. Carey Full-time MBA. “I woke up one day not feeling as content with where my life was going as I thought I would, and I started thinking about what was really important to me. And it was always sports.”

J.J. researched business schools that would help him gain the business knowledge he needed and put him in the right place at the right time for the career he dreamed of.

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How to Take the First Step

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Mary Krebs

You’ve decided to get your MBA, you’ve researched your options, and you are ready to take the first step. The good news is, there’s still time to apply to begin your W. P. Carey MBA this fall and it’s easy to get started.

Applying to the W. P. Carey School
Most of your application will be completed online, and should only take you about 30 minutes if you prepare the information you need ahead of time. You can even download a sample application to see how the process works. You do not need transcripts or standardized test scores (GMAT/GRE/TOEFL) to start your application.

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Eight Strategies For Success

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Beth Hartman Ellis

The following article was recently published on the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce website. It was written by a current student in the Executive MBA program, Rhett Doolittle. Rhett is the COO of Entrust Bankcard, a company that is revolutionizing payment processing.  In the article, Rhett makes some great points and it’s definitely worth the read.  

When Entrust Bankcard reached number 18 on the Inc 500 list of fastest growing companies in the United States, and number one in Arizona, many people asked me to define our secret to success. When it seemed everybody was struggling with the recession, how could we attain over 8400% growth? When most were in a state of panic, we became more focused on our plan, more positive about our situation, and concentrated on executing our strategy.

The first key was ignoring all the negativity in the world. No watching the news, no reading depressing articles in the newspaper and definitely no thinking about the value of my house being way under what I owe. We focused on what we could control. Despite the recession, the jobless rate, slow job growth and an overall negative attitude towards the economy, the United States is still the world’s largest consumer, and still one of its strongest economies. That means there are a ton of businesses and people succeeding in this country, and we were determined to be one of them.

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Know Your Worth

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Matt Rezmovits

With just a few weeks of class remaining, it seems like most first-year students have a touch of summer fever and are excited to get their internships underway.  In the past, many W. P. Carey interns have received offers at the end of the internship and so the Career Management Center is now working to get everyone fluent in the intricacies of negotiating and accepting a full-time offer.

The CMC is helping students avoid potential pitfalls such as over-negotiating, how to answer the dreaded “what are you looking for in a salary” question, and why it may be better to accept sooner rather than later. They’re also teaching all first-years how to properly use leverage, make a counter-proposal and how to weigh the pros and cons of multiple offers.

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Don’t Miss Preview Day on April 28th

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mary Krebs

We have a lot of opportunities for you to learn more about the W. P. Carey MBA throughout the year. (In fact, here’s a list of all our upcoming events, on-campus, out-of-town, and online), so you can find one that fits your schedule. Just click on ‘MBA’ in the right-hand column and see what’s coming up. Looks like we have a lot of webinars coming up in the next few weeks.

But if you’re a local student, you should join us for Preview Day, on Saturday, April 28th on the ASU campus. We’ll go over the key benefits of the W. P. Carey MBA and you’ll have a chance to meet current students, our staff, and members of our faculty. Plus, it’s one of your first chances to hear a lot about the new Weekend program, an 18-month program offered through our Professional MBA. And there’s a marketing sample class, so you can see what being in an MBA classroom will be like.

Here’s a list of topics we’ll cover at Preview Day:

  • Program and Curriculum Overview
  • Leadership and Global Perspectives
  • Student Life
  • Application Tips
  • Selling the MBA to Your Employer

Preview Day starts at 8:00am on Saturday the 28th, and yes, we do have breakfast and some light snacks. Register now, and feel free to e-mail us if you have any questions.

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South by Southwest

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Matt Rezmovits

World class attractions are plentiful within just a few hours’ drive of Tempe. You can be in Las Vegas, LA or San Diego in half a day. The Grand Canyon is only four hours away and if you’ve adventurous, you can hit the beach in Mexico in just 3 hours. There are many other less known destinations as well. During spring break this year, I had the chance to check out a few: Jerome, Sedona, Antelope Canyon, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon.

The first stop on our four day trip was Jerome, an old copper and gold mining town about 100 miles north of Tempe. The city is nestled into the mountains at about a mile above sea level. The town is about a hundred years old and has a old western feel to it.  We grabbed a great bite to eat in town and checked out a ghost town about a half mile from the city.

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