Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

Imagine moving to a new state, transferring to a new college, becoming a new mother, switching from a full-time day student to a full-time night student, and being a student leader on campus. That is Rebekah Dufrene in a nutshell.

Not long ago, Rebekah moved from the small town of Raceland, Louisiana to Vermont and then to the growing city of Lowell. After earning her Associates in Business at Middlesex Community College in the spring of 2012, Rebekah entered UMass Lowell the following fall. When she was expecting her son in the spring of 2013, Rebekah took off the semester. She began this fall as a full-time mother and a full-time night student.

Rebekah was drawn to UML because of the convenience and affordability. She knew that she would be able to learn in a comfortable and diverse environment, while not going into debt. Specifically, Rebekah finds the online courses offered at UML to be a huge benefit. Now, she can reach her goal of earning her MBA while also raising her now seven-month-old son.

Rebekah held several leadership positions at Middlesex Community College. The positions included Vice President of Student Government, Vice President of the Honors Council, Vice President of the Woman’s Leadership Council, and being a member of Phi Theta Kappa (a national honors society for two year colleges).

Recently, Rebekah has become a member of the Dean’s Student Leadership Council at UML. There she, along with ten other students, assist the Dean and the Associate Dean of the Manning School of Business and represent the MSB on campus and at events. Rebekah continues to be a motivated student and an active member of the MSB community. Welcome, Rebekah!

Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

Manning School of Business Advising Center: http://www.uml.edu/MSB/Current-Students/Advising-Center.aspx

Believe it or not, the end of the semester is near. This means that the advising period is upon us. Don?t be stressed ? we are here to help you!

As beneficial as individual advising sessions can be, they aren’t always convenient. Both students and advisers are very busy and it isn’t always easy to schedule a timely meeting. Also, it isn’t always easy to develop a comfortable relationship with an adviser that you only see a couple times a year. These factors combined make it easy to avoid an advising appointment altogether.

We understand. That is why the Manning School of Business has scheduled group advising sessions for all concentrations. Group sessions can be used as an alternative to, or in addition to, an individual advising session. All sessions will be held in Pasteur 309. The schedule is listed below.

Finance: Monday October 28 11:00am-12:00pm with Saira Latif

Accounting: Tuesday, October 29 11:00am-12:00pm with Lisa Andrusaitis

Entrepreneurship: Wednesday, October 30 11:00am-12:00pm with Ying Yang

Marketing: Thursday, October 31 1:30pm-2:30pm with Joan Crooker

MIS: Monday, November 4 11:00am-12:00pm with Ed Chen

Operations Management: Tuesday, November 5 11:00am-12:00pm with Dave Lewis

International Business: Wednesday, November 6 2:00pm-3:00pm with Ying Huang

Management: Thursday, November 7 2:00pm-3:00pm with Brooke Hargreaves-Heald

Open Session: Monday November 11 11:00am-12:00pm

These sessions are led by professors who specialize in the concentration and are meant to make the process more comfortable and convenient for you. We hope to see you there!

Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

I had a dream last night that I failed all of my classes.
It’s that time of year again. September is gone, the add/drop period has
passed, exams have begun, and loneliness is kicking in.

College is great. It’s a new world. It is the entry from childhood to adulthood. It is the beginning of your life as an individual person on your own.

For all of the reasons college is great, it is also horrible. You’re all alone. Sure, there are hundreds of your contemporaries around you, and professors who tell you what to do all of the time, but this doesn’t compare to your relationships from home. At the end of the day, your friends at college aren’t yet as close to you as your friends at home who are like a part of your family. As much as professors sound like your parents when telling you what to do, they don’t always genuinely care about your success like your parents always have.

If your exam grades aren’t as good as you expected, or if you find yourself withdrawing from classes, there is no reason to be ashamed. We all do it at some point or another. It’s not easy to feel motivated when you seem to be one in a million students doing the same thing every day.

Believe it or not, our school provides more than just academic services. There are people here who care about your success and who can help you believe in yourself again. For example, everyone is assigned an adviser (check your iSiS account). Advisers are faculty members who also direct students toward a positive direction both academically and emotionally. They have been students before, some for a very long time before they began teaching, therefore they can directly relate to how you feel.

Counseling Services is one of the best resources during this time of year for all students. They are located in McGauvran Student Center on South Campus in room 363 and are also available through phone and email. Even if you haven’t been counseled before, it is so useful to share your stresses with someone. It is even more beneficial when they have the resources to assist you in achieving your goals.

Additionally, faculty members in the Dean’s Office (Pasteur 305) want to support you. Frank Andrews, the Associate Dean of the Manning School of Business, enjoys working directly with undergraduates and always has great advice to give. Lisa Armstrong, Coordinator of Student Success, has an office right across from Frank Andrews’ office. Her job is solely to advise Manning School of Business freshmen, sophomores, and transfer students. She has the resources to help students of all ages.

Furthermore, you can look out for your peers. If you see someone consistently feeling down or not showing up to class, lend an ear. If you’re not comfortable talking to them, give an RA or adviser a heads up. It is okay to show concern for your classmates. If you keep an eye out for them, they may do the same for you. This creates a warm community for everyone.

It is just as important to keep an eye out for yourself. When you share your concerns with someone in the Manning School of Business community, we can help you get back on track. Help us to help you.

Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

As soon as I feel as though I have a good sense of the UMass Lowell campus, I learn something new. I thought that having classes on both North and South campus and an internship at the ICC meant that I was the king of this jungle. Today, I found out that I was wrong.

Wannalancit Mill. That was the missing piece in my UMass Lowell puzzle. I was fortunate enough to find myself taking a stroll along the water this afternoon. I was on a mission to give someone in the Facilities Department a bunch of coffee cards as a part of my marketing internship. Her office is in Wannalancit, which gave me the perfect opportunity to discover the building I had so ignored.

Beautiful, quiet, modernized, and historic. Yet another part of UMass Lowell’s exceptional character.

Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

Above is a photo of Manning School of Business student scholarship recipients and benefactors.

This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Celebration of Scholarship at the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center. There, my fellow student scholarship recipients and I met the benefactors who made our scholarships possible.

I am very glad that I’m still learning what “business casual” means and dressed more formal than necessary. The luncheon was far more formal than my peers and I expected. This was a good thing though. The fact that the luncheon was more “business formal” represented the importance of the event. Furthermore, it was metaphoric of the heights student recipients are able to reach with a little help.

Naturally, receiving a scholarship brings joy and relief to the recipient and his/her family. What isn’t often brought to light is the affect that this brings to the benefactor. Going to the luncheon made me realize how much providing the resources for education means to benefactors. Every single benefactor at the luncheon showed interest in helping a complete stranger.

Most importantly, the luncheon brought to reality how much heart our University has. Several of the benefactors were UMass Lowell faculty and staff members. They recognize the reality that without their help, many students wouldn’t be able to attend college. The luncheon allowed all recipients and benefactors to recognize the special relationship they share.

The financial burden of college is a struggle for thousands of students in the nation. It is far too easy to walk away from higher education because of the debt that comes with it. I am proud to say that I have seen first-hand, the willingness and motivation that UMass Lowell demonstrates to assist its students financially. I am grateful to have participated in an event that highlighted the large impact that philanthropy has on our University community.

Disclaimer: Anything written in this blog represents the opinions of the author, and no one else. Each blog is written lightly, and is not intended to offend any of the mentioned businesses, locations, students, or staff.

It is very rare that I am doing one thing at a time. While I am taking notes in class, I am making a list of the homework that I have to complete. When I am walking to work, I am emailing my professor about an assignment. I need to be prepared to be the most efficient as possible throughout the day.

If you were to ask me, I would agree that focusing all of your attention on one task at a time creates the best product. If you were to watch me throughout the day, you would quickly realize that my actions contradict this principle. I don’t do this out of preference. I do this out of necessity.

In today’s world, students are held to higher standards than ever before. In order to stick out, we are expected to successfully complete five courses at a time, participate in clubs and sports, maintain a healthy social and family life, and possibly hold a job or two. Although we do not maintain traditional jobs like many adults, we are expected to constantly multitask and to go, go, go.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!