Welcome to the end of summer and the end of month three of my MBA fellowship with the Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (SPACVB). This month was incredibly exciting for me as I ended phase 1 of 2 of the projects I was working on and I got to take a vacation out west on a four-day backpacking trip. This month I did A LOT of internal self reflection and found out things about myself that I never knew were there. While I’m sad to see summer go, I’m anxious (in a good way) for school to start and to get back into the swing of things.
In terms of my fellowship projects, I am happy to say that phase 1 of the outdoor recreation pages has been completed! I have every page created and laid out with content on it as well as related content linked. It has been a beast of a project, but so worth it to see it come together. These are pages that hadn’t existed on the site so it’s really cool to say that I created them. Going into phase 2 will be a different task to tackle as it will be taking all the notes I get and working them into each page while also going through the pages with a fine-tooth comb.
The second project that has come to an end of phase 1 is my bylaws project. I have finished going through other destination bylaws and comparing them with ours in addition to reading outside articles that detail what bylaws entail and what core details should be included. I’ve made revisions to the bylaws to be more well rounded and inclusive while also deleting portions that do not need to be included. Phase 2 will include talking over my revision with SPAVCB Executive Director Sara Brish and then presenting a final copy to the board of directors. It was an interesting project as before this I had no idea what bylaws even were. Now I know more about what goes into the back end of a nonprofit organization – which is something I never thought I’d get the chance to learn.
On a different note, something that I did this month that really pushed me was backpacking in Wyoming for four days. While I’ve been working and starting the MBA program I have been pushed to different academic levels and had to overcome obstacles, but nothing like this trip. It was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do both physically and mentally.
There were times where I just wanted to lay down on the trail and give up and there were times where I cried. It took a different level of perseverance to overcome those thoughts and push myself through and honestly I attribute a lot of that grit to personal development classes that I took this summer.
That trip showed me that I really can now overcome anything that I put my mind to as long as I put in the work. While I may be slower than other people at times or think that I’m failing, I can reach that end goal successfully. But, I also want to note that I could not have done that trip alone. The support I had really helped me through and that can be relayed into everyday life – you are only as good as the people that you surround yourself with.
Overall, August was a month of endings and new beginnings for me in many ways. Two of my main projects are getting near the end and I’ll be starting a new project in the coming months. Classes start up again where I’m excited to dive deeper into the UW-Stevens Point MBA program. And I’m continuing to learn more about myself through everything that I do.
Baily Kruzan is majoring in business administration and marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point while also enrolled in the MBA program as a 4+1 student. Baily is serving as an MBA Fellow for Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, assisting with market research, recruitment and on-boarding, and organizational framework of SPACVB.