Cardinal Mail from the Summer Business Institute
Hey Mom and Dad! Can you believe my time in Washington D.C. at The Summer Business Institute is over!? It was such a great week. I think my favorite day at SBI was yesterday. We applied all that we learned throughout the week and created a new and innovative product. Yesterday was the day that we stood in front of the judges to present these Shark Tank products. We were all very nervous but confident that our product would impress the audience and of course, the “Catholic U Shark Tank Investors!”
Before we headed over to Heritage Hall, we woke up and dressed up in our business professional attire for our presentations. It was kind of funny seeing all of my new friends looking so professional, but dressing up gave us an extra boast of confidence that we needed to present.
At 8:00 am we headed over to Saint Vinny’s Chapel on campus for a closing Mass. It was beautiful and some of my friends were even involved in Mass, serving as lectors, gift bearers, and altar servers. Celebrating the Eucharist sitting next to my new friends was a special way to end a great week.
After Mass we headed over to the Pryz for our last breakfast at SBI. It was super delicious and there were so many options for us to choose from! I missed your home cooking, but this all you can eat thing is really cool. I ate breakfast quickly so that I could meet with my group one more time before we stepped into the Shark Tank.
At 10:00 am, the competition started in Heritage Hall. All the groups presented their ideas to three “Catholic U Shark Tank Investors”: Dave Kralik, Phil Brach, and Marykate Conroy. It was pretty scary presenting in front of over one hundred people, but I did not let my nerves get the best of me. I delivered a solid pitch and I am very proud of the work my group and I put into our project.
While the judges totaled up the results, we had a wonderful lunch catered by Cardinal Catering. Lunch was a great time for me to talk about all the presentations with my friends and some of their family members. I was very impressed with all of the work that my new friends did in their groups. I would even purchase some of the products that they created. I am going to miss everyone that I met this week, but I am confident that we will remain friends because of the great memories we made together at SBI!
When lunch was over, we all took a seat and awaited the results! Tayler and Bill stood on the stage and announced the winners of Shark Tank. Even though not everyone won, I believe that we all truly had a great time and we were happy for all of the teams!
Now onto the saddest part of the week... I had to turn in my keys to Opus Hall and say goodbye to my friends and The Catholic University of America campus. It was hard to say goodbye, but maybe one day, I will be a Cardinal once again. Who knows? Anything can happen!
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for allowing me to come to the Summer Business Institute. I learned so many valuable things about business and Washington D.C. that I know I will never forget! This was truly an amazing opportunity that inspired me to be creative, have confidence in myself, and just go for it- whatever “it” may be! “Business is a noble vocation,” and we must remember to be a “force for good” in the world.
Love,
Your “Cardinal”