Lunar New Year Celebration at PSU

By Jake Culian

Well it’s that time of year again! Yep it’s New Years! But wait you say, didn’t New Year’s happen at the beginning of the year on January 1^st?  Well yes it did but this is the Chinese New Year.  And for China the New Year isn’t just a one day event either.  This year the New Year celebration begins on February 19^th and goes until March 5^th.  This celebration is one of the biggest celebrations in China and is full of performances, fireworks and family gatherings.

Chinese New year is a truly enormous production in the major cities of China, but everyplace will have a celebration of some kind during the festival.  Every year the transportation systems are full to bursting as millions of people try to get home for the holidays.  And once the holiday really does start the firework usage is enormous.  Fireworks are believed to scare off evil spirts who bring bad luck and thus make sure that a person starts the year off right.  With low restrictions on who can purchase fireworks and where they can be used, cities like Beijing and Shanghai report picking up thousands of pounds of left over firework debris after every day of New Year celebration.

Every year in the Chinese calendar is attached to a different animal in 12 year cycles.  This year is year of the Ram and last year was year of the Horse.  Each of the animals is said to indicate something about people born in that year.  For example people who were born in a Ram year are supposed to be thoughtful, persevering and honest among other qualities.  In addition to giving details about their personality they are seen in much the same way that people from the west use their astrological sign.

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/

Tonight I attended the Chinese Student Unions Chinese New Year party in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom with about 500 other students, professors, and locals.  We spent the first hour watching videos of people wishing everyone a happy new year.  After that though the real show started.  First there was a traditional Lion Dance followed by a dance to Xiao Ping Guo, or little apple. Then the local Confucius Institute had many people come in to do singing.  http://www.pdx.edu/confucius-institute/  My personal favorite though was a really cool Tai Qi performance.

In addition to the performances all Portland States got in free and could get a Chinese meal.   They also had a raffle full of fun prizes which everyone there was eligible for.  All in all it was a really fun way to spend my Friday evening and it made all the MIM students were excited about putting on our own Chinese New Year event next week.

Fifth Annual SBA Alumni Golf Tournament

It was an exciting day on the green at Langdon Farms Golf Club on September 18 as alumni from all school of business programs participated in the Fifth Annual SBA Alumni Golf Tournament. Each year this event invites alumni to enjoy 18-holes, contests and more for the benefit of the SBA scholarship fund. The event is coordinated by the Graduate Business Program Office every year and staffed by both student and employee volunteers from the SBA. 

This year at Langdon Farms, alumni were encouraged to participate in a putting contest, a contest for the longest drive, and five additional activity holes. Some of the activities included Ding the Dean, the Marshmallow Drive and Beat the Pro (a wager to beat a pro golfer). There were also two hole-in-one tournaments sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Beaverton Toyota with incredible prizes; a $10,000 cash prize and a brand new Toyota Prius.

I thoroughly enjoyed managing the Marshmallow Drive with new MIM student Ana Lia Barragan. We cheered on as SBA alumni drove marshmallows across the lawn, sometimes resulting in multiple pieces flying about. Many were quite creative in their choice of tactics, from the type of club used to how to best reform the marshmallow, and of course many marshmallows never made it to the green, instead residing in happy alumni (and volunteer) bellies.

At the conclusion of the event the Dean of the School of Business Administration, Scott Dawson gave a thank you speech to all participants, sponsors, and volunteers (next to his cardboard cutout). The Fifth Annual SBA Golf Tournament was a record-breaking year in terms of alumni turnout and many look forward to the tournament next year.

Juli Tejadilla

  Juli Tejadilla is a full-time student in the Masters of International Management program. She previously graduated with two Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Studio Art from Linfield College. While her interest in international business began as an undergraduate student, she has been traveling around the world since she was nine months old. Her travels have taken her all across Western Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and most recently to Japan, China, and Vietnam. She hopes through the MIM program to learn key insights to conduct business internationally and to establish herself as a global citizen.

Second Annual MIM BBQ

Current MIM students and alumni sample each other’s dishes while catching up.

The end of summer classes are approaching for MIM students graduating this December, and what a better way to celebrate than to hold a potluck BBQ? Current MIM student Rodrigo George graciously opened his home to us this past Saturday for an afternoon of chatting and feasting. A few students also brought their families along, who were a wonderful addition to our cohort.

Since the closure of language classes and the negotiation class students with different specializations and capstone projects have rarely seen each other,  so this was a great opportunity to catch up and see what everyone was up to. There was much talk of the workload piled up at the end of the term and the excitement for a few weeks without classes. However, MIM students rarely sit idle and many of us have internships or jobs to attend to as well as our capstone projects.

Our host on the grill, Rodrigo George!

After munching on an array of meats, salads, fruits and desserts, the summer rain decided to roll in and some of the party dispersed. However, we will be sure to meet again soon for birthday celebrations and happy hours. Thanks again to Rodrigo George and his family for hosting this great event!

Juli Tejadilla

  Juli Tejadilla is a full-time student in the Masters of International Management program. She previously graduated with two Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Studio Art from Linfield College. While her interest in international business began as an undergraduate student, she has been traveling around the world since she was nine months old. She hopes through the MIM program to learn key insights to conduct business internationally and to establish herself as a global citizen.