This morning as I was packing my lunch for the day, I stuck a peach yogurt with an expiration day of October 5 into my lunch box without hesitation.  It was not until I sat down at my job in the library that I realized today is October 10th.  Oskee Wow-Wow, where has the school year gone?

I suppose the arrival of October 10th should not come as a surprise to me.  My daily walks to Mumford Hall and the ACES Library have required a jacket in the crisp morning air, and the tree leaves on the main quad are starting to turn into a variety of beautiful autumn colors.  Along with the changing season, my junior year at U of I has brought about some changes to.

A class with Professor Stoddard in Personal Financial Management has further sparked my interest into being a Financial Advisor.  I attended Financial Planning Day, hosted by Financial Planning Club, which was held in Chicago last week.  Many companies and financial speakers were in attendance, and the day was full of learning and networking. 

October has also brought with it a new class of eager women into Sigma Alpha, the Professional Agricultural Sorority that I am a proud member of.  Speaking of professional…what about the career fair and conclusion of the International Business Immersion Program (IBIP)? 

The ACES Career Fair is always a great reminder of how awesome the College of ACES is, and how much support students get.  Despite my struggle between my new found love of financial planning and old passion of Ag Marketing, I marched with a smile to the ARC in the rain (of course it was raining…it is the day of the Career Fair).  After countless handshakes, several resume exchanges, many polished elevator speeches, and lots of insightful conservation with outstanding companies I headed to the Ike. 

Surprisingly, it was only my second time ever being in Ikenberry Commons.  But, this night something very special was taking place: our final dinner for IBIP.  IBIP was such an awesome experience, truly a once in a lifetime event.  IBIP started in January when my classmates and I learned about the Chinese culture and started research projects.  In May, we spent two weeks immersing ourselves into the Chinese way of life and digging further into our research projects.  And really it is a shame that I did not spend more time practicing my chopsticks skills before the trip because I never learned, and China is not finger food friendly.  Once we returned to school in the fall we put together some pretty legit research videos and were able to present them last night to industry professionals and academic staff from the University.  The international Business Immersion Program was a lot of work, but the experiences I gained, fun I had, and newfound friendships made it totally worth it!

So farewell, peach yogurt and the first seven weeks of school.  There is plenty more to do before Christmas break hits us, and apparently someone needs to go grocery shopping.