Karly 340

  Acumen Monthly Newsletter - Extra Credit Lessons from Community Based Companies in Colombia I chose this article to read because I was interested in learning about what a “community based business” was. When I first read the words, it seemed pretty intuitive, like something that resembled one of the AMDP proposals. However, I still wanted to learn more, and I was surprised by what I read in this article! Community based businesses are for-profit entities that are wholly owned and operated by local communities to provide sustainable livelihood solutions to local farmers. The overview for the article said that these are a growing endeavor, and that they have been so efficient that they could one day replace the traditional government aid structure that we see today. From an IR perspective, this is so cool because one of the constant issues that I learn about is sustainable development, and I had never heard of this solution before (I will definitely be telling my economic developme...

  Critical Thinking - Extra Credit Critical thinking action steps: analyzing my decision to attend USC Write down all the alternatives you had Full ride to University of Wisconsin Madison Full ride to University of Colorado Boulder Partial scholarship to USC Partial scholarship to UC Berkeley No scholarship to Boston University No scholarship to NYU No scholarship to Duke Write down why you chose one over the other I chose a partial scholarship to USC because it was my top choice, I resonated with the tour the most, I wanted to be somewhere warm, and the business and international relations program was my top choice. Were these reasons based on facts you researched, or assumptions? Facts: strength of my program, information I learned during the tour. Assumptions: better work-life balance, better school culture, more fun school culture, more prestige than the other schools I had scholarship to. What assumptions informed your decision Although the tour provided me some factual inform...

As a perpetual optimist, I believe that creating a world we dare to imagine is possible. Despite witnessing numerous global setbacks throughout my lifetime, which have taken the global community further from an ideal state, I remain inspired by one of my international relations professors who said, “Across time and history, we have seen significant democratic setbacks, but one thing to remember is that communities have always prevailed.” I believe that even in times of division, opportunities for growth emerge from the cracks. These opportunities, which foster new thoughts and actions, have the potential to bring us back even stronger and lead us to the world we dare to imagine. I believe that education is the first step in this process. Speaking from my personal experience, my education has undoubtedly made me a better, more caring, and more accepting person. Taking diverse classes has opened my mind to new viewpoints, made me curious, and inspired me to solve difficult problems. Not...

  If there is one thing on this planet that I couldn't live without, it's my Nespresso machine. From a long-term perspective, nothing has brought me more consistent happiness and joy. My Nespresso has never wronged me, never broken down on me, never upset me, and never steered me in the wrong direction. Despite being nearly five years old, it still works like new. I got my Nespresso in high school when my dad finally became fed up with my daily $6 Starbucks runs (unfortunately for him, there was a massive Starbucks right next to my school that students frequented between classes). In the spirit of compromise, we searched for at-home espresso machines and heavily debated between Nespresso and Keurig. We eventually settled on Nespresso because of the good deals on pods and customer loyalty perks. When I clicked “purchase” on my screen, I had no idea my life was about to change. Upon receiving my Nespresso, I was launched into a new world of coffee. Better flavors, higher quality ...

For my second book, I choose Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam M. Grant. I chose this book because I was intrigued by the online summary, which said it blended research and storytelling to help readers build emotional intelligence and curiosity. I don't usually like nonfiction books, but I thought I might like this one since it had a storytelling aspect. I also hate being wrong, and this book focuses a lot on why being wrong can be a good thing so that was intriguing to me as well! Overall, I thought the book was very interesting. It wasn't my favorite book, since I do prefer to read fiction books that are more like stories because that is what keeps me interested. However, compared to other nonfiction books I have read, this one lands closer to the top of my list! Although I felt like some of the lessons revealed, such as the importance of humility, personal growth, and acceptance, were very intuitive and obvious, it was cool to see someone walking ...