Musings on the Future

This is a bit of a shorter blog post, my mind has been wandering a bit lately. I’ve been thinking a lot about my future, and where I go from here. I intend to move back to Iowa City very soon, and that’s been at the forefront of my mind. For the past four years, I’ve called Iowa City home. It’s a nice place and the integration of the college campus with the city itself is one of my favorite features. As I prepare to move back, however, I feel as if I may have outgrown the city.

The feel of the city has changed a bit, as my outlook on life has changed with age. The 21 law would have been something I would have fought against tooth and nail. Now, frankly, I simply don’t care. If younger people can be in the bars, cool. If not, meh. I likely won’t be there myself, so it simply doesn’t matter to me. I no longer care about going out on weekends and living the life of the typical undergrad. I don’t care about how many people I know, late nights, and many other things that used to be the typical features of my life. I feel that part of that has to do with the fact that I am mentally preparing for professional school, and part of that is living in Des Moines, working in a professional setting.

As I’m submitting my applications for law school, I look at the list of potential places I might be living and it honestly freaks me out a bit. Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chapel Hill… All a good distance away (except Chicago, but the city is bigger than any place I’ve ever lived). Even through all of that, however, I can honestly say that I cannot wait to start my career as a true professional. To have my own place, my own money, and the responsibilities that come with it are exciting and frankly a bit scary. I’m anxious and apprehensive about moving on, but I can’t wait. Big things are ahead, and I can only hope I’m up to the challenge.

~Justin H.

It's been real, and its been fun...

...and of course, it's been really fun. Oh! And I got my picture loaded from my last post!

It feels so strange and sad to be writing my last blog post and knowing tomorrow we have our last class together. (And yikes! My group is presenting on alternative energy tomorrow! - I'm the 'good' kind of nervous... I think)

Well, I guess I'm taking this last blog post to talk about how much I love(d) my internship. I sincerely learned a lot, met a lot of great co-workers had some fun along the way. At times I'm really shocked at the amount of business/office/marketing knowledge I learned throughout the semester. I also didn't realize my internship was going to get me more addicted to what we in my office call 'social media'. Suddenly I find myself with twitter and foursquare accounts in conjuction to my facebook account...

I think my internship also gave me confidence to continue to learning to further professional opportunities. If I would have resisted trying new projects or not being proactive in asking questions I probably wouldn't have gotten the most out of my time in Des Moines.

I'm am very nervous to see what's in store for me next. I'm still torn between Des Moines and Iowa City (went to Indianapolis weekend... liked that place too...) and while I haven't found a job yet I've been applying for many in both cities so I am hopeful. As long as I don't move back in with Mom and Dad, I think I'll be okay!

Great job this semester everyone! It was fun getting to know everyone! Good luck in the future!!

Kaitlin D

Nearing the End

-Keith


With a little over a month left in my internship, yes I said a month and I’m not too happy about it, I’m eager to finish the job and return to school. I have learned more than I ever imagined coming in and appreciate everything my co-workers have done for me. They have helped me feel more confident about my abilities and actually got me excited to go back and finish school. I’m ready to get back into my finance and econ courses and see how much progress I have made.

The Des Moines experience has been great but the Iowa City lifestyle and being with all my friends again has got me more than ready to get back into a “normal” routine. I’m glad I got the chance to have this test run of a full-time finance position because it made me realize how easy I have it being a college student. I’m not a big fan of getting home at 6 am and going to bed at 10 so I’m able to survive the next day without falling asleep on my keyboard. I’m looking forward to staying up to 2 am for no reason at all and sleeping until my body wakes itself up, sounds amazing.

My two supervisors are only a few years out of school and they have given me more advice about life after college than I even knew to ask for. Even though they are both ISU alumni they did actually learn something at that school and both ended up with positions at a respectable company like Aviva. I am thankful that I have these guys to reach out to when I am faced with a tough decision or deciding which company to apply to.

But like Tamra mentioned in her post I am also not going to rush my last year at the University. I understand that I’m going to have to start looking into full-time positions in the near future and this experience has opened my eyes to the importance of making the right decisions and starting off on the right path.

Thoughts on Iowa Basketball

It’s a tough time to be a Hawkeye these days. We’ve stumbled into a bad patch of mediocrity in most sports, and there seems to be everywhere you look, whether it’s recent with DJK’s drug bust, the Satterfield/Everson trial from a few years ago, Kirk Ferentz charging $540,142.86 per victory this season, or men’s basketball recovering from one of the lowest points in program history (henceforth referred to as the Lickliter Days). The decline of the basketball program has meant the most to me personally. Football is entertaining, but it’s difficult to watch 3.5 hours of the same thing over and over again. There comes a certain point in watching Iowa football where you can predict the plays that are going to be called (and frankly, even the results sometimes). When that time comes, it’s time to change the channel.

Basketball has always held more magic for me. The spontaneity, creativity, and flow of the sport have always appealed to me aesthetically more-so than football. College basketball and the NBA are my favorite domestic sports leagues, with the NFL and college football off in the distance. As much as I love being a Hawkeye, however, college basketball has been ruined in Iowa City for me as of late.

More than anything else, I often wonder where the basketball program would be right now if not for those Lickliter teams. Alford had the program heading in a decent direction, but it was clear he had worn out his welcome in town. The Sweet Shootin’ Hoosier was never really a Hawkeye, he simply coached

them. When Lickliter came to town, it’s as if the program imploded. Player transfers, internal disputes, poor recruiting, player transfers, decreased attendance, lack of enthusiasm, PLAYER TRANSFERS; all these things combined to lead to an awful product on the court.

Much in the same way as Alford, Lickliter was never truly a favorite of our beloved Hawkeye faithful. He was a necessary stopover in the arc of Iowa Basketball; a switch from the jerk holier-than-thou image Alford brought to Iowa. He knew his place in that basketball was a second-fiddle to the football team; however, try as he might (and sometimes, it legitimately looked like he was not trying on the sideline), he never really found his groove with the team. Players left, losses mounted, the team looked listless and, frankly, seemed to take the coach’s lead in not caring about results. The “wear-down-the-shot-clock-before-jacking-up-a-long-contested-3” offense that Lickliter espoused, somehow, always seemed destined to fail in the Big Ten.

Enter McCaffery. His style of coaching (we’re going to run you up and down the floor and pressure you every chance we get) seems to be getting results. Left with talent that many would consider on par with the Purdue or Michigan State JV squad (which might even be pushing it), McCaffery has the Hawks at 5-4 and with their first winning streak in far too long. More than that, the team has looked competitive against squads the Lickliter teams would have rolled over and died against. White Magic, as he was known in his playing days, seems to have instilled some of his competitive fire into his players.

The new players under McCaffery have shown that they could become strong Big Ten performers in the future. Melsahn Basabe is a beast of a freshman on the boards; in conjunction with Jarryd Cole they form a strong, formidable (if short) starting frontcourt. You get the sense that while they will be undersized in many games, they will give up few easy buckets and will compete night in and night out. Cartwright brings the kind of fire and fight you want from a starting point guard at any level. In the game against Wake Forest, which Iowa would go on to lose, he grabbed the team by the scruff of the neck in the middle of the second half and forced them to put up a fight that with a Wake Forest team that had woken itself up at home and was mounting a tremendous comeback. While Iowa would eventually lose, Cartwright has shown the type of on-court leadership and initiative the team has frankly lacked in recent years. While I personally am not sold on Zach McCabe, I see the value he could bring to this team in the future with his ability to space the floor and rebound. At 6’7, he could make for a very valuable wing player in the future.

The returning players are reaping the benefits of the new system and intensity as well. Eric May looks as if he could become a flat-out stud player in the next two years. Baseball has what is known as a ‘Five-Tool Player’ (a player with good speed, defense, a good arm, and the ability to hit for power and hit for contact). That sort of analysis can be applied to basketball as well. This idea of a basketball five-tool player is championed by fantake.com, who state that a Five-tool Player in this sense is one who is capable of “attacking off of the dribble, knocking down jump shots, defending a position on the floor, passing, and rebounding”. Eric May has all five of these tools and he is capable of using them all with nearly equal efficiency. As a 6’5” guard, he rebounds rather well. He has developed a handle since coming to Iowa and has shown the ability to guard his man and knock down jump shots when called upon. Matt Gatens has these tools as well, but he is recovering from both a wrist injury to his non-shooting hand and the mental funk that comes with being a survivor of the Lickliter Days.

Even Andrew Brommer, he who was once regarded as the worst player on the floor regardless of the opposition has experienced a renaissance in the new McCaffery system. Sporting a spiffy new shooting sleeve that doesn’t look awkward at all, he has shown the ability to run the floor and finish at the rim. If he can stay out of foul trouble, he and Devon Archie bring some much needed height and reach to the 5 position. While the rest of the roster is a bunch of walk-ons, they’ve shown the ability to play at least a little bit when called upon.

While this is still a team that is likely to languish in the Big Ten basement, they’ve shown the kind of competitive spirit and heart that has become the calling card of Fran McCaffery’s Siena teams. He has the program headed in the right direction already, and that alone is enough to have me excited about the future of Iowa basketball. It’s time to get mad again, Iowa.

~Justin H.

One Last Round

Tamra G.

Thinking about the future brings me a mix of emotions. I am excited go back to school to finish my degree but am nervous to graduate and step out into the real world. Now that I have figured out what I want to do with my career, finishing school seems to be the easy part of the future.

This spring I will start classes again and for the first time in a long time I am excited to attend school. I feel that figuring out what I want to do with my career has given me a new passion to learn all I can about a particular field.

After this semester most of my friends will graduate and leave the Iowa City area. The college experience is made of two main components, going to class and having a good time with friends. I firmly believe it’s who you hang out with in your free time is what makes college fun. In order to take advantage of the Des Moines Center Program this semester I had to postpone my graduation from college by one semester. I know that I have benefited greatly from my time in Des Moines but not graduating with my friends is a clear disadvantage to graduating late.

I am excited for the next phase of my life which is graduating college and venturing out into the real world. At the same time I do not want to rush my last year especially this next semester. I want to cherish the last semester I have with my friends and continue to make lifelong memories with them. Being away from my friends this semester has really made me cherish the friends I have and the fun times we have shared together.

I cannot wait to see where my future leads me, but for now I can’t wait for one last round in Iowa City.

“Templeton Rye”

I never would have thought that there would be so much buzz over whiskey in Iowa but that’s the case for “The Good Stuff” known as Templeton Rye. Which dates back to the 1920’s where residents back then became outlaws. This stuff is such a hot item that it’s flying off the shelves and today I heard a story about a guy who followed the delivery truck around town so he could get his hands on this sacred Whiskey. He ended up with 17 bottles most stores limit one per customer. The reason the whiskey is so popular is because another batch of it won’t be ready for another four years. Templeton Rye has a smooth finish which is produced from the Prohibition era recipe.

Every day I have people asking me about it since my Internship deals with fine wines, spirits and malts. I wish we sold this item so then I would have a better chance of knowing where it’s going to be. There are stores with waiting lists 100 or more people deep. Other stores are doing a first come first serve. At around 33 dollars a pop people are still drooling over it.

Templeton, IA produces the historic Templeton Rye whiskey which has made an impact in Iowa History. This whiskey was the choice of Al Capone. A little history about the product is that “most whiskeys ceased production after prohibition ended, Templeton Rye continued to be produced illegally in small quantities for loyal patrons. More than eighty-five years later, the infamous small batch rye whiskey finally returned – made available legally for the first time ever in 2006.” (templetonrye.com)

Maybe I will be lucky enough to score a bottle of it and see what all the hype is about. But I don't plan on fighting someone for it or waiting in line.

By: Cody

Des Moines Center Experience!

The Des Moines Center Internship Program has been a great opportunity. I was able to gain professional experience while working at Glazer’s Distributors of Iowa and earn college credit. Compiling assigned assignments throughout the semester for a Final Portfolio related to my internship.

I’m glad that I got involved with this program because it taught me a lot about myself and whether or not sales is a future career path. I got to help out the community with my service learning project, meet new people in class, go on field trips and put together a final presentation. Overall it was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

By building a portfolio it will provide me a written record that may be the deciding factor in future career choices. This experience would not have been possible without Crystal, Jim and Ralph helping all of us over the semester.

Thank You

Cody