A couple of weeks ago the Fellows had the opportunity to meet with another intriguing and inspiring Wake Forest community leader. On a blue-skied and sunny Tuesday morning I made my way over to a place that I wish I could say I frequented a little more often; Reynolda Village. With the vibrantly colored leaves and just slightly chilled November air there is truly no better time to experience the village.

On Tuesday, October 20th the Wake Forest fellows were lucky enough to lunch with yet another incredible leader in the Wake Forest community. Currently serving as both the President of WFU Health Sciences and the Dean of Wake Forest Medical School, William B. Applegate can easily be described as one of the most inspiring leaders we have met with thus far. The time that Dean Applegate spent with us led to three pages of scribbled notes that I will highlight here in the attempts at sharing just an ounce of the wisdom he shared with us.
 

Last Monday, as part of our Leadership Luncheon's series, the Fellows were given the opportunity to share a sandwich with one of the most inspirational leaders at Wake Forest University, Steve Reinemund. Serving as the dean of the newly merged business schools, Steve Reinemund is easily recognized as one of the most innovative leaders of our time. Praised for his ability to mentor and facilitate corporate relationships on all levels, Dean Reinemund shared a variety of insights with us, including his personal framework regarding successful professional and personal development.

This past week I attended an Empowering Women event hosted by the Professional Development Center here at Wake Forest. The event featured Janet Ward Black of Ward Black Law, an accomplished lawyer and former NC Bar Association President. Mrs. Black spoke about career building in general as well as women’s past, present and future roles in the work place. As one of only four women to ever serve as the NC Bar Association President, Mrs. Black shared with us several personal stories as well as pieces of advice for career development and improvement.

For my first several weeks as Information Systems Fellow I was charged with the task of gathering and reporting on data regarding the current student perspective of Information Systems at Wake Forest University. Last Friday, September 11th I presented my report and findings to the board of directors within I.S. If you have interest in my report please contact me directly, however I will use this as an opportunity to highlight the main discoveries I compiled and reported on.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Wake Forest Fellow’s program thus far has been the opportunity to meet with various leaders of the Wake Forest Community as a part of a series of “Leadership Luncheons”. This week the fellows met with the newly appointed Vice President of Career Development, Andy Chan.  During our luncheon Chan shared with the fellows his opinions on the topic of leadership as well as ways to improve our own leading capabilities. Chan broke his advice down into four main points, the first being you must follow the leader to become a leader.

Today was one of the most exciting days that I have experienced thus far during my time at I.S.; ThinkPad distribution day, or the freshman’s first day on campus. While today was slightly exhausting, it was exponentially more exhilarating, exciting and inspiring.
 

The following includes some highlights from my first week at Information Systems.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Day One
 
Today was my first day of work as the Wake Forest Information Systems Fellow. So far things have been running smoothly, with only a few very small hiccups in the process. John Borwick has been extremely helpful in getting me acquainted with everything around I.S, as well as introducing me to everyone in the building. So far today we have made it through a majority of the new hire check list, including going over paperwork, visiting H.R and getting my laptop set up. Today was mainly just an introduction to I.S in general and some of the things that are done here, but I can already tell that this is going to be a highly intellectually stimulating environment in which I will be constantly learning!