November 10, 2009

Cornett Climbs His Way through School

by John Murrell ‘12
Bachelor Staff Writer

After working for a corporate tree removal company for two years, Brandon Cornett ‘10 saw opportunity in services the company would not provide. In fact, Cornett made enough in one summer to pay a year of his tuition.

Photo by ALEX MOSEMAN | WABASH ‘11
Brandon Cornett ‘10 found a tree-removal job that pays his tuition, and he hopes to study environmental law someday.

“There were a lot of things that the company wasn’t willing to do, like cut down certain trees that were in difficult or hard-to-reach spots,” Cornett said. “I was the guy who was willing to take the time and the risk to do it so I started specializing in climbing and cutting down trees and incorporated that into a self-employed business.”

Originally, football was the main reason Cornett came to Wabash, but soon he chose academics over athletics.

“It seemed to become a responsibility that began to overstep academic and other extracurricular priorities,” Cornett said.

Cornett is a religion major and Spanish/Economics double minor. He is the president of Phi Delta Theta, a member of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies, and a tutor for KQ&K, which is a program through MXI that tutors students from Crawfordsville elementary and middle school. He was also proud captain of the rugby team last season, but unfortunately has to sit out this season due to injury.
Cornett started working on an independent study last year with Professor Paul Myhre, the Associate Director for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. The idea was inspired by a Religion 280 class that focused on the scope of Native American Religion.

During the class, Cornett showed interest in a structure in Wyoming called The Big Horn Medicine Wheel. His interest was the real spark that ignited the independent study, during which Cornett helped Professor Myhre research for a potential book or documentary in the making.

“We went near St. Louis, MO on a field trip to the Cahokia Mound, which is one of the biggest mound civilizations that is preserved today,” Cornett said.

Located near the mound was a wooden structure called Woodhenge. Cornett said one of the most interesting things was that both the Big Horn Medicine Wheel and Woodhenge “were cosmologically similar in their layout.”

“The biggest difference was Cahokia was built with wooden pillars in a clock-like structure, but Big Horned Medicine Wheel is made of stone,” Cornett said.

After finishing his research, Cornett was proud of his work.

“We made awesome investigations into pre-existing studies as well as a new cosmological correlation [of the mounds] to the stars,” Cornett said.

Professor Myhre is in the process of deciding by what media he will document his work, but will reference Cornett and his research in it.

Studying religion at such depth had an effect on Cornett that he did not expect.

“Coming into senior year, I realized there was a lot more to religion than 95 percent of the world understands,” Cornett said.

Cornett was exposed to a new perspective as Wabash has opened his mind to a variety of religions.
“I’ve learned to take a focus outside of Christianity and seeing how [a more impartial view] applies to all facets of religions all over the world, and not necessarily Christianity alone,” Cornett said. “You can start to find subtle truths that are coherent in every religion.”

“If I had to sum it up into one theory, it would be that religion is based off observations of nature and human social interaction,” Cornett said.

Cornett plans to go to law school. Such a profession might seem fairly contradictory for a religion major. People ask him how he will manage with a religion degree, to which he responds with a smile.

“I’m going to be a lawyer with a background in ethics,” Cornett said.

Though slightly dappled with sarcasm, Cornett believes that an ethical approach to law is possible, a possibility he attributes to his Wabash education.

“Wabash has given me a logical approach to [religious interpretation],” Cornett said. “The Wabash experience has made me want to further my education and become a lawyer.”

Cornett would ideally like to practice environmental law after getting his degree.

Reprinted from the Bachelor, Nov. 6, 2009. pg. 11.

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October 22, 2009

Jordan Dulaney

Hello. My name is Jordan Dulaney and I'm a freshman at Wabash College. I'm originally from Muncie, IN. I graduated from Yorktown High School which is about 10 minutes from Muncie.

I'm currently on the wrestling team at Wabash. My major and minor are both undecided at the time, but I think I have somewhat of an idea of what I'd like to study. I like history and religion so I will probably go into those subjects. However, I'm not sure which one will be my major and which one will be my minor. I have time to figure it out though.

As a freshman, I'm pledging the Phi Delta Theta house. I like the house very much. My favorite thing about the house is the fact that there are so many brothers that can help me with my work. I'm really looking forward to my remaining time here at Wabash.

Jordan Dulaney (r) with his pledge father, Michael Burke.

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Garrett Payne

Hello my name is Garrett Payne and I am a freshman at Wabash College. I am from Michigan City, IN. and part of a pledge class of 14 in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

I wrestle at Wabash College at 141lbs. I plan on majoring in Biology and minoring in Spanish. I am having a great time here at Wabash and I enjoy being part of many traditions.

So far Wabash has taught me great skills such as good study habits and time management.

Garrett Payne (r) with his pledge father, Collin Carlucci.

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Jay Pedersen

Hi, I’m Jay Pedersen from Carmel, Indiana home of the Carmel Greyhounds, the high school I graduated from. Today, I’m proud to call myself a Wabash gentleman in the class of 2013. I’m pledging at the Phi Delta Theta house. I can’t lie it’s good to be a Phikeia!

The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity (a substantial reason for me coming here) accompanied by the fine liberal arts education of Wabash, its small student population, and its well known prestige were my primary reasons for coming to Wabash.

The workload is the difference with Wabash. The writing and literature element of learning is much more pronounced than any other teaching I’ve experienced so far. With it, I feel that I’ve already drastically improved expressing my ideas through writing. I’m taking Spanish, Calculus I, Philosophy courses along with my freshman tutorial, Into the Wild: American Writers on Wilderness. Spanish has always been a strong favorite for me but Calculus I, minus the book assignments, is up in my favorites as well.

In the end, I think I’m going to major in Math and have a Spanish minor. The allure of business however may cause me to switch classes in order to be in business sequence. I look to study abroad this summer but if not I’ll find myself working an internship or as an Emergency Medical Technician. As I go forward in my Wabash experience, I can only imagine what’s to come!

Jay Pedersen (r) with his pledge father, Jake Glaser.

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David Chew

Hello my name is David Douglas Chew. I am a pledge at Phi Delta Theta. I am from Lafayette, IN and a freshman here at Wabash. I am currently undecided on my major, but my minor will be Computer Science.

I love how much tradition carries on here. The Fraternity that I am staying at is a great experience. All the guys here are nice and willing to help. I play football for the Little Giants and enjoying every moment of it. The feeling of being in a college football game is something that I never thought I would do.

David Chew (l) with his pledge father, Nick Ramsey.

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October 19, 2009

David Parry '57 Named National Coordinator for College Football Officiating

Already serving as the Coordinator of Football Officials for the Big Ten, David Parry '57, has been named the first ever National Coordinator for College Football Officiating. He will serve as the national spokesperson for college officiating issues and work directly with the college football community to accurately communicate officiating issues at all levels. He will also create and develop national training programs, assign and evaluate postseason officiating crews and coordinate national meetings of the college officiating community.

"Enhancing college football officiating to the highest level will be the challenge," Parry said. "By cooperation and leveraging the talent within our conferences and inside the NCAA, we can ensure a shared success."  Parry's experience includes 20 NCAA tournaments, 12 NFL playoffs and four NFL championship games. He officiated at the Super Bowl in 1983.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

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August 27, 2009

A Cool Internship

Adam Andrews '12 - This summer I had the unique privilege of working hands-on with Mr. Andrew Shelton, an entrepreneur that owns and runs TrackPack Coolers. TrackPack Coolers is a company that sells an insulated backpack cooler that dispenses beverages on the go. 

My internship began the first week of July, and is coming to a close this week. It has been an outstanding experience. While applying for internships this past spring, I was searching for one that would provide me with a well rounded, yet in-depth business experience with an accomplished Wabash Alum. I'm glad to be sitting here in August, with classes right around the corner, knowing that the internship I completed proved to be everything I was hoping for and more.

 

The work in which I was involved reached across the spectrum of business activity. I began by learning about the company. This included reading Mr. Shelton's extensive business plan, learning about the product, and speaking with Mr. Shelton about the company's current and future objectives. I was happy to hear that marketing was going to be a large part of my internship, as marketing is the part of business operations that interests me the most. Mr. Shelton taught me an enormous amount about SEO, otherwise known as search engine optimization. I've spent a great deal of time throughout this internship learning about the online tools that are available to search engine optimize, and utilizing them with Mr. Shelton to ensure that the company's search engine keywords are most authentically representing the company and its product, as well as most efficiently attracting the best group and of consumers to the website. Factors that we use to determine this efficiency include online consumer intention (OCI), cost per click (CPC), and global monthly search volume. The knowledge that I have gained from this project and related ones is invaluable marketing knowledge that I will use in the future.

 

Another large part of my internship has been researching and implementing social media marketing techniques. I've learned more about Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter than I ever thought I would. I put together reports on the uses of these social sites for marketing purposes, going especially in-depth with Facebook. A lot of companies are using Facebook Pages to promote their brand today, and the possibilities for brand growth and reinforcement on Facebook are endless. Mr. Shelton and I made a Facebook Page for TrackPack Coolers http://www.facebook.com/trackpackcoolers?ref=ts , and have been exploring the different techniques and tools that are available to reach our demographic and spread our brand awareness. One of the ways we have done this is by promoting fan engagement. We have had a number of fans engage the page and post videos and pictures, which is a good start in the online social media marketing process. Also, many of the companies that have executed successful Facebook Marketing Campaigns have integrated coupons and promotions into their page. Mr. Shelton has updated the page with a coupon code for use at www.trackpackcoolers.com, and the company has had sales in which the Facebook coupon code was used.

 

There were really so many things that I was involved in during my internship, and resultantly so many critical learning experiences. I did retail merchandising store visits to local Kroger stores, organized warehouse inventory, shipped orders using online tools, spoke with potential wholesale buyers, assisted in writing a promotional sales letter, made comparative competitor analysis spreadsheets, learned about website management and development, and sold and promoted at TrackPack Coolers sales events. This internship was absolutely filled with difficult projects. These projects required me to think differently than I would if I was researching a topic in psychology, writing the thesis for a Spanish essay, or solving a tough calculus problem. I had to apply what I had learned about business and marketing through speaking with people, reading, the Marketing Immersion Program, and so many other ways, in an actual business where the decisions needed to be made today and the ideas felt like they needed to be implemented even sooner.   I feel that I have begun to see the big picture of business, and more specifically entrepreneurship. There is so much that is involved. In business, within every task there are subtasks, and within every detail there are sub details. When running your own business, your attention to that detail and those subtasks must be at a high level. Whenever I would have an idea, or begin to solve a problem, Mr. Shelton would remind me of remaining internal and external factors that needed to be considered, and in most cases research and documentation would be necessary before the ideas could be implemented. 

 

The in-depth research, careful planning, drive for knowledge, and extremely hard working attitude that Mr. Shelton practices are several of his keys to success. I have undoubtedly further developed these characteristics, skills, and attitudes in myself over the course of the past 8 weeks. I know that I will be a better Wabash man and a better businessman because of it. My first year as a Wabash student taught me to think outside the box more than I had before, and my first summer as a Wabash student taught me how to think even more outside of the box, how to really utilize my mind and resources to apply knowledge and solve problems.

 

This internship has absolutely given me more business experience and insight than I expected. In many ways, it has gone farther. Mr. Shelton really pulled my mind into the real world of business, entrepreneurship, and life. He showed me where hard work, attention to detail, a desire to learn, and dedication will get you. He just gets it, and by working with someone that utilized their mind and motivation to such a high degree, I am driven to do the same. That's what Wabash men do. Being an entrepreneurial intern this summer, and working with a man that had an idea for success and executed it has motivated me to do the same. I am constantly thinking of new products and services to be offered, or current ones to improve upon. Although I find many of them to be already patented or not as great of ideas as they originally sounded, I won't stop thinking. I shot a lot of ideas at Mr. Shelton this summer, and he just tells me to keep shooting, because that’s how a product is born. If you don't shoot, you'll never score.

Originally posted here.

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