Ou La La Pitch

For my Entrepreneurship course, we were assigned to create a video pitch about our business plan we had created in unit two. The purpose of this action project was to craft a video investor pitch for my business. My business is a full service custom umbrella store. I have a passion for fashion and hope to make umbrellas a staple of fashion like it once was. We were also assigned to revised our video pitch so that the pitch is investor worthy. I struggled with this action project. I wasn't about certain about what was being asked of me. I am proud that I was able to figure it.

Below is my pitch:

RAW - Naked and Afraid

For my third Endurance action project, we were assigned to write our own 21st Century Survival Manual. We were assigned to write a outline a survival manual for a dream or mission of ours, research pioneers who have followed a path similar to ours, and compile inspirational quotes. The purpose of this action project was to create a survival manual that would help us survive the task of achieving our mission and dreams.

Below is my Survival Manual:

Physical ED

West Loop Athletic Club 

In order for me to complete my 0.12 credit hours for physical education credits. I took a CPR training course, titled Basic Life Support for Healthcare providers, aka BLS. BLS is a course designed to provide healthcare professionals with the ability to provide CPR, use an AED (automated external defibrillator), recognize several life-threatening emergencies, and relieve choking. By taking this course I learned how to perform CPR on children, adults, and infants with 1 and 2 rescuers. In my First Aid for the basic rescuer course, I learned about the difference between stroke and Bell's Palsy and how to identify them. I learned about the first basic aid for burns, allergies (epi pens), chemical eye burns, deep cut care, and nose bleeds.

I will be graduating soon and I want to become a more fit individual. I want to adopt the exercising lifestyle and so I began by learning the purpose of exercising, proper form while exercising, dieting, heart rate, and the importance of maintaining balance and coordination. Exercising is important because of osteoporosis prevention, mental health, and releases endorphin. I learned the difference between muscle toning and building. I learned how to use kettle bells and dumbbells. I learned how to use the different machines at the gym. Since I don't know how to swim, I took some swimming lessons. I learned how to float, how to start off a stroke, different forms of treading water, and how to breaststroke kick. Also, I learned how great of a workout swimming is. took swimming lessons. Finally, I took an HIIT class and was able increase and decrease my heart rate quickly.

Biceps Curl

In my Endurance course, we were assigned to take on a physical, mental, or spiritual mission. We were assigned to work on our mission for at least 12 hours. We documented each hours with 10-second videos messages. For our action project we had to transform those messages into a 2 to 4 minute video to be shared with the world. The purpose of this action project was to have a taste of what a mission feels like, by working on it for at least 12 hours. I enjoyed taking my high intensity class, It was very fun.

Below is my video:




My mission was to learn more about exercising and get in the habit of exercising. My guiding question was : What are some of the benefits of exercising? Next year I will be going to college and I had plans to be more active and adopted the exercising lifestyle. This project was a catalyst for those plans. This project enabled me to have a glimpse of what adopting that exercising/active lifestyle would be like. I don't exercise at all, so this 12 hours challenge was a huge leap of faith. This assignment gave me the opportunity to give exercising a shot. The health benefits of regular exercising and physical activity are hard to ignore. Exercising helps combat health conditions and diseases both mental and physical and improve your mood. I was a bit nervous to partake in the high intensity class with my trainer. Though I made it through the class, I was extremely sore 12 hours after the course. I should have started small. I was so sore that I had troubles walking and was unable to pursue my original plan of enduring 12 hours of physical activities. Instead of purely enduring physical activity I enduring mental activities as well. I exercised my brain by playing games such as duo-lingo and 2048 for the remaining 6 hours. I was able to freshen up on my Spanish and mathematical skills. Overall this was good experience. I learned a lot about myself and was able both my mental and physical boundaries.

The Blue Paper Exam

In my Entrepreneurship we are learning and will be applying the essential elements of an entrepreneurial venture. The purpose of this  course is to provide us with the necessary business skills to exercise our passion. In this unit learned about the framing principles that structure a business plan. The purpose of this project is to help our studying habits and prepare for college. I didn't feel prepared for the test. I enjoyed using my noted while taking the test.

AMD, Blue Book. (2016)

We learned about the framing principles that structure a business plan which included: entrepreneurship, accounting, marketing/sales, legal structures, vision/mission, exit strategies, investment, and management. We discussed each of these framing principles. We first learned about vision and mission. A mission is a written declaration of a business or organization's core purpose and focus. A properly crafted mission statement serves a filter separating what is important and what is not, clearly states which market is being served, and is the north star of an organization because, it clearly communicated the intended direction of the entire business. A vision statement indicates what the company wants to become and sets a defined direction for the company. I enjoyed learning about these most, because a vision/mission are the first framing principles being established when launching/creating a business. Marketing and sales is another very important framing principle we discussed. Marketing is the process through which services or goods move from concepts to the customer. Sales is the activity of selling products or services. The knowledge I acquired about these framing principles will be extremely useful when tasked with creating a business plan. I researched one company, which was Microsoft. 

Microsoft is an American multinational technology company, that sells, develops, manufactures, licenses and supports computer software. I love Bill Gates from an philanthropic and entrepreneurial prospective. He is an inspiration from a business stand point. He is an American success story. A start-up's odd of success are very low, statistics show that approximately 80% of startups fail, which is why I respect Microsoft so much. The element of business I am most excited to tackle is creating my vision statement. The vision statement is the companies' North Star and road map. It indicates both what the company wants to become and guides your business' transformational initiatives because it sets a define direction for the company's growth. I am most anxious to tackle the marketing and sales element of my business. If people don't know my product, I won't have any customers and that is a very critical aspect to the success of a business.

Taking the blue paper exam isn't something new to me. I have taken it before in my previous classes. I a score of 97 on the exam. I was anxious about taking the test simply because I felt that I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't feel comfortable with the material which made me a bit anxious about taking the exam. The purpose of taking the blue paper exam was to hone in on your studying habits. The only issue I have yet to discover my studying method. I wasn't able to complete the test in a timely fashion. I was awarded an extra 30 minutes to complete it. Overall, my exam taking experience was enjoyable. 

Culture at GCE

For my Systems and Models course, we were assigned to perform an SWOT analysis on an aspect of our high school. We were instructed to apply the framework, concepts, and breakthroughs that we have learned in unit 1 through unit 3. These are some of the concepts and breakthroughs we have learned in Systems and Models: IO psychology, Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, the commons, the tragedy of the commons, SWOT, and systems and analysis thinking. Applying these concept for the SWOT analysis served as evidence for the explanations that we offered to support our suggestions. The purpose of this action project was to put ourselves into and analytical framework and to perform an SWOT.

Below is my SWOT analysis:

A SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats and is a analytical planning framework. It involves identifying the internal and external factors that are advantageous and disadvantageous in achieving an objective.
S.
- Small school
- Individualize attention
- Get to know your community members more closely

W.
- Cliquish
- Force relationships


O.
- Visitors

T.
- Competition with other school
- Sports/clubs


Maslow's Hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, it's a five stage model divided into different human motivation. Maslow's ideas surrounding the Hierarchy of Needs concerning the responsibility of not just employers but school officials as well to provide an environment that enables students to fulfill self-actualization are relevant as evidence to support my analysis. We are all motivated by our needs, with the most obvious need being the need for survival itself. Only when is our lower need of emotional and physical need are satisfied that we concern ourselves with the higher needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a paradigm for motivating learning.

Our most basic need is for physiological survival meaning shelter warmth/cool, food, water, and so on. The GCE community meets these need because we have a heated and cooled building. Students have access to water and food.

Once these physiological needs are met, we are then able to address the need for security and safety, which includes the absence of threats and freedom from danger. No one at GCE feels unsafe, if anything they probably feel too safe.

Once security needs has been assured, individuals then are able to concern themselves with Belonging and Love. These needs are usually found within families, associations, friendships, and memberships. "GCE is like a family and is very close knit," said a senior at GCE. GCE is an extremely cliquish community. Many fall on the notion that cliques are bad and they certainly can be because that create boundaries to friendships and can encourage misbehaviors. Cliques are common in schools and are not all bad. It's a way for kids with similar interest to find each other, which helps fulfill our need of belonging. "There is also a sense of forced relationships. It seems that sometimes teachers and administrators force kids to be friends," states a senior at GCE. This is strange because this isn't Hogwarts.

The need for esteem is met through achievement and mastery and through gaining recognition and respect from others. GGE has a culture of appreciation. Final presentation and examples of excellence are things put forth allowing students to showcase their work to each other and friends/family members.

Once the need for self esteem has been met, we then develop an uneasiness to chase our talents, which Maslow refers to as self-actualization. "GCE's structure allows for innovation and control over your own destiny, " said a GCE staff.

Psychology is the study of behavior which dates back to the Ancient Greeks. Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s. In 1879, psychology began in as a self-conscious field of experimental study when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated to psychological research in Leipzig, Germany. In 1892, the American Psychological Association aka APA formed to advance psychology as a real science.

The commons is a source people have free access too. In our community this source is counseling. Everyone has access to the counselor, individuals could set up weekly meet if need be.
The tragedy of the commons is a concept in economics which states, when individuals acting independently and rationally will deplete a shared resource, even when doing so is not in their interest. One resource that we as a community abuse is our ability to take "bathroom" breaks. GCE has a very trusting culture and often times this trust is missed used.

The Six Sigma is a business model which eliminates defects in any process from manufacturing to trans-actional and from product to service. By seeking feedback from students, GCE's culture/community has benefit and thus employed this method. Total quality management is a description of of the attitude and culture of a company which strives to provide customers with service that satisfy their needs. The culture and attitude at GCE does satisfy students' needs as evident by Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Systems thinking is a management discipline that concerns an understanding of a system by examining the linkages and interactions between the components that comprise the entirety of that defined system. "The number one reason people become friends with each other is because of proximity," said a GCE staff. If we want to eliminate the cliquish atmosphere in our community, we should require students to share their lunchtime with different people every Thursday. Another idea is having a gym club which would engage and encourage conversation between students.

Works Cited:

• Teachout, M. S., & Vequist, D. G. IV. (2008). Trends in business consulting. In J. W. Hedge, & W. C. Borman (Eds.), The I/O consultant: Advice and insights for building a successful career (pp. 335–343). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Laura L. Koppes. "What Is I-O?" A Brief History of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc.-. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <https://www.siop.org/History/historynew.aspx>.

A people's history

Josephine Baker: A Diva Who Embraced the world (Apr 9, 2014)

For this action project, we were assigned to write a people's history. We were instructed to interview someone who has been involved in some of demonstration. We recreated a page out of a history text book. The purpose of this project was to tell history through the eyes of the people. I interviewed a family friend who has been involved in several demonstrations such as the #blacklivesmatter and anti-trump rallies. I enjoyed talking to my interviewee.

I started being aware of what was happening around me because of someone who took care of me as a very young child. She exposed me to some of the singers that were a part of the growing civil right movement, such as Nina Simone and Josephine Baker. I grew up listening to music that I love and didn’t really understand.

Josephine Baker was an American born French jazz singer and dancer. Baker is also known for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. She became wildly popular in France during the 1920s. “In the 1920s she moved to France and soon became one of Europe’s most popular and highest-paid performers,” (Biography). Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906 (Biography). In 1935, Baker returned to the States and was received as an uppity colored girl (Encyclopedia). She refused to perform for segregated audiences. “White audiences were reportedly used to seeing, and wanted to see, blacks in what they considered “Negro” role --- Mammies and blues singers ---- and could not accept a black woman of style, grace, and sophistication,” (Encyclopedia). Through the 1950s and 60s she dedicated herself to combating racism and segregation in the States.

I was born in 1950, so when the civil rights movement got momentum I was in my teens, in high school. Before then, I was in a kind of protected life and was unaware of what was going on. In high school, I had an incredible teacher who had a huge impact in my classmates and I. When Martin Luther King was assassinated I entered a brief period of depression. I remember writing poetry about it and being so aware on the events of the world.

"Mississippi Goddamn" is a song composed, written, and performed by American pianist and singer Nina Simone. The song was Simone's response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four black children (Wikipedia & What happened to Nina Netflix documentary). "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi goddam," are some of the lyrics demonstrating the political focus of the song early on. Mississippi Goddamn became a civil rights activist anthem and Simone's most famous protest song (Wikipedia).

In 1968, I went away to college at the University of California, Los Angeles. There was a lot more happening there about the war in Vietnam as well as the Civil rights movement. I immediately got involved in things that was available for me to do. There was a lot of things happening on my campus. Angela Davis, who was a very prominent figure in the Civil Rights movement was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, Essence Mar 28, 2013.

Angela Davis is an activist, scholar, and writer. She advocated for the oppressed. In 1970, "she made FBI's Ten-Most-Wanted list after guns registered in her name were used in a courthouse takeover which left four dead," (PBS). Eventually, she was acquitted of all charges.

I eventually ended up in Washington, DC for graduate school and lived there for several years union organizer. I moved to chicago in 1982, and once again there were lots of events around U.S dictatorships in Central and South America. My social life formed by my activities, through my activism I was able to make friend with people from all corners of the world.

I was involved in the backing of the election of Harold Washington, which was a flash-point for a lot of progressive people. I have also been involved in the #Blacklivesmatter demonstrations and was at the anti-trump rally. I involved in the #Blacklivesmatter demonstration on Michigan Ave in Chicago. It was wonderful. I felt so welcome and took the opportunity to learn. I have a coworker who is African American, she belong to the Charleston South Carolina church and my Facebook post restored her faith in white people.  

BB (interviewee, Facebook Post 2015)

The Fallacy, Delusion and Myth  of Tikkum Olam, 07/06/2013. 

I was raised Jewish and one of the values that I learned was that of Tikkum olam.

Tikkum olam (לתקן את העולם), which means repair the world. Tikkum olam is a concept in Judaism and is a commandment which has come to connote the pursuit of social justice in the modern movement in Judaism (Wikipedia). The term dates back to the Mishnaic period and Kabbalistic literature began broadening use of the term (Wikipedia).

My parents all through their life had stood up against injustice, but they were worried that I would give up my financial stability in order to carry this commandment through which I was willing to do. Activism is something that is kind of sort of in my faith and is a part of who I am, which is that you make a difference in the world.


Work Cited:

• Jane Henderson. "Josephine Baker: A Diva Who Embraced the World."St.Louis Post Dispatch. N.p., 9 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/josephine-baker-a-diva-who-embraced-the-world/article_2f021e35-4c81-5388-a537-b4dcee3f3503.html>.
• Tikkun olam. (2016, February 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:15, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tikkun_olam&oldid=705653548
• WW1239. "Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVQjGGJVSXc>.
• Biography.com Editors. "Josephine Baker Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/josephine-baker-9195959>.
• Harrison, Joyce. "Baker, Josephine." Contemporary Musicians. 1994. Retrieved March 19, 2016 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3492800011.html
• Josephine Baker. (2016, March 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:26, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josephine_Baker&oldid=710884336
• Y.A Korff. "The Fallacy, Delusion and Myth of Tikkun Olam." Algemeinercom RSS. N.p., 7 June 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/06/07/the-fallacy-delusion-and-myth-of-tikkun-olam/#>.
• Mississippi Goddam. (2016, February 1). In Wikipe
  dia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:16, March 19, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mississippi_Goddam&oldid=702716257
  "EXCLUSIVE: Watch a Clip from 'Free Angela and All Political Prisoners'"Essence.com. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.essence.com/2013/03/28/exclusive-watch-clip-free-angela-and-all-political-prisoners>.
• PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/interviews/davis.html>.
• BB, Interview. March 12, 2016.