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Alma Mater

There is a special connection with our undergrad school, there is a feeling of home.  That should be the case, since for many it was the second home, the place that saw us change from youth to adult.

Last week I was pleasantly surprised when on the magazine from the College of Physical and Mathematical Science I saw my name.  It was a simple call out to what I’m currently doing, but it felt good.  Thanks to those that pull this information together, it made my day.

Frontiers01 Frontiers02

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Vicepresidenta Roxana Baldetti en BYU

Baldetti en BYU

Baldetti en BYU

Por algun tiempo he tenido las ganas de escribir en español y contar sobre la visita de la visepresidenta Roxana Baldetti a BYU.  El 31 de agosto recibi un correo de oficina de asuntos internacionales de la universidad que decía:

Her Excellency Mrs. Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elias, Vice President of Guatemala, will visit Utah next week.  We have the honor of hosting her at BYU on Tuesday, September 4.  We have room at the luncheon for a few students.  We would like to invite you to the  luncheon honoring her at 12:45 p.m. in the President’s Dining Room, 3264 WSC.

En corto, que iba a tener el privilegio de participar en este almuerzo con el presidente de la universidad, aunque al final no fue el presidente sino el vicepresidente.  Acepté la invitación y estaba muy emocionado.

El día del evento todo estuvo muy bien, tuve el placer de conocer a la visepresidenta, el almuerzo estuvo delicioso.  Los platillos ya los habia comido antes en otros eventos de la universidad, pero les hicieron cambios para congraciar a los representates de Guatemala.  El postre que normalmente lo hacen con crema, lo hicieron con una compota de banano y les quedó muy sabroso.  La ensalada la sirvieron con platalinas en lugar de papalinas, tambien un toque muy sabroso.  Hubo un número especial por el grupo de baile “Living Legends” donde mostran bailes de los indios americanos, mi favorito es el baile de los aros. Realmente fue un bonito festival de arte y cultura.

Al concluir con la comida y el número especial la visepresidenta nos dejó con algunas palabras traducidas por el Elder Carlos H. Amado, donde nos dijo lo mucho que habia apreciado la ayuda que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Días habia brindado al pueblo de Guatemala.  Ella habia aprendido la forma en que los Mormones cuidan de los probres y necesitados y esperaba ella, como responsable de los projectos sociales de Guatemala, poder ayudar a los más necesitados salir de la probreza.

Hace unos días el Presidente de Guatemala recibió a un miembro de los 12 apóstoles y recordaron la visita de la visepresidenta en BYU.  Hay veces que vemos noticias y nos damos cuenta que en una pequeña manera fuimos parte de importantes eventos.  Realmente estoy muy agradecido de poder estar en esta universidad, pero tambien de ser Guatemalteco.

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What is love?

A few days I go I wrote about being grateful, and of the life of a teacher.  Today I was listening to a BYU Devotional by Dallan Moody titled: What Happens When Life Gets
One Degree Colder? Moody shares part of his life having a child with special needs and all the miracles that he experienced because of this child.

I was particularly touched by a quote he used from  a message given by Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in July 2004, “Miracles of 
Faith.”  The quote is this:

Mothers and fathers 
who anxiously await the arrival of a precious child sometimes learn that all is not well with this tiny infant. A missing limb, sightless eyes, 
a damaged brain . . . greets the parents, leaving them baffled, filled with sorrow, and reaching out for hope.

There follows 
the inevitable blaming of oneself, the condemnation of a careless action, and the perennial questions: “Why such a tragedy in our family?” . . . 
“How did this happen?” “Where was God?” “Where was a protecting angel?” If, why, where, how—those recurring words—do not bring back the 
lost son, the perfect body, the plans of parents, or the dreams of youth. Self-pity, personal withdrawal, or deep despair will not bring the 
peace, the assurance, or help which are needed. Rather, we must go forward, look upward, move onward, and rise heavenward.

It 
is imperative that we recognize that whatever has happened to us has happened to others. They have coped and so must we. We are not alone. 
Heavenly Father’s help is near.”

I remembered seeing my new born girl through a glass as doctors put on her the life support she needed.  I remember how strong the feeling of “WHY?” came over me.  After listening to this devotional all those memories came back.  Although my girl is  still very small for her age, she is a healthy girl.  I can’t imagine a life without her, but also I can’t imagine how else I could have learned to trust God, if not by all the trials we went through.  I’m not saying my life is in anyway comparable to that of Dallan Mooney or teacher Jeffrey Wright, I’m just saying that when you start questioning why, you might be missing the miracles within you.

You can listen to the devotional or go to speeches.byu.edu.

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3 Down and 1 to go

MBAI really feels like football and I’m on the 3rd down and 1 yard to go.

There are so many things that I have learned in the last 3 semesters that is hard to do a mental re-cap.  But there are a few things that I want to write about:

  1. Living meagerly: As a student with limited employment there is no room for luxury, hey there isn’t room for treats or some basics; but doing so helps you understand so many other things about life.  Parents, friends and relatives that help you are able to reach well into your heart.  Gifts that in other times, might seem small are now cherished possessions.  Getting used clothes, makes you understand how precious donating is.  A wrapped gift on your doorstop wipes gray clouds in Christmas.
  2. Be humble and true: If you are learning about rejection daily you are either single, a student or both.  There has never been a time when I’ve gotten rejected by employers so much as the past few months.  All the rejection helps you stay humble, know what are your weaknesses and areas where you can do better.  The other thing that rejection teaches you is that you need to be true, there are things that you are good at and no one can take them away.  I am an experienced individual that has done business in many different countries. I am a person that can understand complex problems and explain them with ease.  I am an analytical person that loves to tell the story behind the numbers.  Being true and being humble will help you succeed in life, and getting rejected helps you know which are weaknesses and which are strengths.
  3. Never stop improving: The more people I meet that I see as role models, the more I see that they never stop improving.  These individuals read different authors and stories.  They are interested in business, art, fiction, technology, humanities, and news.  I thought I was good before coming to business school, but I see that I can be so much more.  It will take time, it will take effort, but I want to do it.  Here I am, writing to an audience of probably zero, when I could be taking a nap, but I just love thinking and expressing my ideas.
  4. Connecting with people (networking):  I’ve written about “Never eat Alone” and about networking, but now I don’t see it as networking I see it as connecting with people.  Before coming to business school I met many people, but never did I actually connected with them.  Now every time I meet someone, I want to connect with them, I want them to continue to be part of my life.  The more I help people, the more blessings that come into my life.  I’m so happy to hear good news from the people I know, and I wouldn’t be privileged to hear them if I had never connected with them.

I still have 1 semester to go, one final yard.  I’m so happy to have come to BYU and be part of the Marriott MBA experience.

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Erwin Miller

In the search for character and commitment, we must rid ourselves of our inherited, even cherished biases and prejudices. Character, ability and intelligence are not concentrated in one sex over the other, nor in persons with certain accents or in certain races or in persons holding degrees from some universities over others. When we indulge ourselves in such irrational prejudices, we damage ourselves most of all and ultimately assure ourselves of failure in competition with those more open and less biased.” — J. Irwin Miller

I will have to agree, but I have always known that character, ability and intelligence are traits inherited from Our Father in Heaven.
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Internship – Relocating