Crunch Bar… Only 90 Servings in this tiny bar!

When most college students are asked what did you do this weekend common responses include but are not limited to: studied, went to go see friends, went to the UST Dance and Late Night Breakfast, went to the football game or track meet. This week when people asked me what I did this past weekend I can throw them a curve ball and say, I went to Hollywood, met Blake Griffin and the CEO of Nestle, did a leadership training course, got a ton of candy, met new friends from around the country and did a service project at a homeless shelter. Phew now if that is not the”good life” I do not know what is. This past weekend a fellow St. Thomas student and I attended the NESTLE USA Diversity Leadership Symposium.

We arrived in California on Wendensday and had a dinner and reception with the other participants and Nestle Employees. There were 34 of us out in Glendale, California that participated in this three day intensive leadership training program. The other paricipants were from all over the country from schools like USC, Wharton, UW- Madison, The Ohio State, Michigan State, Miami of Ohio and Moorhouse college. We took intensive course work on Thursday and Friday from instructors at Nestle University. Nestle as a corporation realized how important that continuous improvement was to their well being so they created Nestle University which trains all of their employees in differnt areas of business from the Interns, to the CEO. It was great we were able to get a leadership training course that was identical to the ones many of their employees go through.

To supplement the new tools of leadership that we were learning about we were also able to have candid Q and A with some of Nestle’s Top senior executives including the CEO himself about how it is important to lead but also be able to balance work and family and stay true to our values. Real People Real Possibilities is a motto that Nestle likes to promote in its hiring, after meeting with a lot of their employees and seeing how real they are and how much they want us to be successful within the company was a great experience and really refreshing to see.

Now we were in Hollywood, well Glendale California to be exact so we were able to meet some celebrities. Blake Griffin came to talk to us about leadership and how he leads on and off the court as well as was able to take pictures with us and sign a few things. We were also fortunate to have the ABDC Dance Crew’s staying in our hotel with us, so after we saw them practice of-course we took a few snap shots with them.

 Of course we also saw some of the sights of Hollywood. It was a completely different culture there. I felt like I was on the Hills or something like that. It was a great experience and I was really able to see how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to be there for this three day program. To top off the weekend at the end of our leadership training on Saturday we went to go and help out a cause that is near and dear to Nestle, and its vision of creating shared value within the community and we did a service project. The Midnight Mission in LAis where we did our project. Some of us grilled food for the guests, some painted, some planted flowers or moved furniture. It was a great way for us to give back as participants but also as a way for Nestle to show us what they are all about and their company culture.

 Helping out at the Midnight Mission really put the icing on the cake for me as far as my experiences out in California are concerned. I learned alot from the training and the different guest speakers. I broadened my definition of diverse leaders of tomorrow with the students I met from around the country but to me doing that service made me realize that I can have a great career and make a positive impact in the community. I would like to applaud Nestle for all of their community outreach they do nationwide and worldwide as an organization.

LAST PICTURE I PROMISE… I am very excited to work here for this company this summer as an intern. Wow It is going to be hard to top this weekend. I definitely got spoiled this past week. Now back to the day to day grind until Easter Break, then Finals. This year has flown by. I hope everyone has a great week.

Spring is finally here!! Well at least it is trying to arrive. It is getting a little warmer every day, but you know you live in Minnesota when it gets to be 40 degrees outside and you see people busting out the shorts! Spring break was a welcomed breather from the library, practice and midterms. It has been a whirl wind of activity the past few weeks ( See last blog post). So you have midterm week where you are either in the library, gym, taking a test or sleeping if you are lucky. Then you get to take a breather. Many students go to Flordia or Mexico or somewhere warm, some do a service trip like VISION trip or a Students Today Leaders Forever trip. If you are a Junior or a Senior student you may be working for your internship or job. No matter how you spend you spring break it is a nice little break from your school work.

This spring break I was blessed enough to go to Spain! My girlfriend is studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain for the semester and I have not seen her since January so i was very happy to be able to see her over break. Her family and I went to visit her. It was a lot of fun I had a lot of new foods and new expierences. I loved all the old buildings and beautiful gardens. Being in Europe makes you realize how young America really is. I had a lot of tapas, Paella and of course churros y choco! It was beautiful. I landed in Madrid and it was 75 and sunny. I thought it was so warm and I look around everyone is in coats and some even had hats on, thats crazy they could not handle January in St. Paul!

It was a great trip. Now I have a few more weeks to cram and study for finals. Outdoor track started a few weeks ago and we have our first meet coming up, super excited to be outdoors. I would like to take this time to give a big shout out to the ST. THOMAS BASKETBALL TEAM!!! 2011 NATIONAL CHAMPS!!! No big deal! Hope everyone had a great spring break. Crunch time until the summer!