New Media for Business and Digital Marketing: Week 2

It’s hard to believe that we are past the halfway mark and there is only 1 week left of both our class, and the adventures that we’ve all been having. The weekend brought a chance for us to check out the local Premium Outlet stores and to do a little too much shopping, and, after we filled the school bus with bags and bags of purchases and presents, we got to experience (my) ultimate enjoyment at a store called Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth – Michigan’s Little Bavaria – that is the home of the most amazing Christmas shop I have ever seen in my life, and also the biggest - open 361 days a year! This was definitely a highlight of the weekend for me; both my roommate and I went crazy with little Christmas ornaments and gifts.

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland

On Sunday, it was Luigi’s birthday and in celebration we had a big cake and he rapped for the group, which was amazing! In the spirit of having dessert before dinner we then ventured down to the Roadhouse for a celebratory meal and Karaoke afterwards. I think he really enjoyed his birthday!

Since we’ve all been living together there are some funny things that we’ve picked up from each like taking photo’s of everyone sleeping on the bus, and dropping to do 10 push ups anytime we catch people saying the word ‘MINE’ in a passing conversation. It makes the long bus rides go much faster!

Chris H. doing pushups

Chris L. Sleeping

The week went on as usual with class everyday and then little shopping trips afterwards, followed by dinner and hangs with the rest of the group, and before we knew it, it was Friday again.

Friday brought a super fun adventure to Greenfield Village – a sort of museum of old famous houses that had been all brought together – and the Detroit Tigers game. Greenfield was really interesting and we learnt a lot, also enjoying a ride on a really old carousel that has been around since the 1800’s. After a really nice day exploring the gardens and houses, we headed to Detroit for the much anticipated Detroit Tigers v. Chicago White Sox game at Comerica Park. The major league baseball games are always fun and it was really great to be able to have the full American baseball game experience, especially at such a nail-biting match. We all experienced the typical American baseball food and, of course, also enjoyed some souvenirs from the Detroit Tigers shop.

Greenfield

Tigers game

After an awesome day, we all arrived home at midnight, very tired, but having really enjoyed our trip to Detroit. It’s hard to believe there is only one week to go, and we’re really looking forward to a good sleep, and a beach trip tomorrow to Kellie’s hometown!

Natalie x

Natalie Miller is participating on our New Media for Business and Digital Marketing program at Michigan State University, USA. Natalie is in her second year of a Bachelor of Media and Communications at University of Canberra

An Experience of a Lifetime

They say that being alone is when you truly find yourself. Coming to the US, I had so many emotions that engulfed me and one of them was that I was scared. I was just about to be far from my family, from help and from my comfort zone. When I arrived, I was amazed at how comfortable I instantly became with the other students, the group became my family and my friends. I am still puzzled by this as I am usually an introvert, I guess its life’s way of making one adapt.

The experience I have had here would never measure to any. Just when I thought I knew who I was and what I wanted, life changed. This experience has opened new horizons for me. A word of advice for other travelers is; go with an open mind, try new things and open your eyes to new experiences. As Jerry Gillies stated, “You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need."

Sally Mukii is participating on our New Media for Business and Digital Marketing in the USA. Sally is completing her Bachelor of Law and Marketing at at the University of Canberra.

New Media for Business and Digital Marketing: Week 1

Now that our first week of the New Media course at MSU has been and gone, there is plenty to fill you in on about what has been happening, and the fun that we have all had so far…

After arriving in East Lansing at midnight on Saturday the 7^th, and after an incredible amount of mishaps with flights and delays, I was greeted with the humid heat that is the American summer. Everyone had been slowly arriving all day and most people were asleep already (it had been a long day for all), but I met my roommate along with a couple of the other students that had come from Canberra as well. Our rooms were incredibly hot and muggy but we quickly solved this with a visit to CVS (a pharmacy that sells everything you’d need) the next day.

My dorm door

On Sunday, it was orientation day, and a chance for us to meet each other and have a squiz at what East Lansing had to offer! After we all met in what’s know as the ‘Gilchrist Pub’ on the lower level of our dorms, we headed to the shops (which has now become an everyday occurrence, oops…) and purchased our first bits of MSU Spartans merchandise! After the free time and shopping we had orientation with Dr C who is going to be our professor for the first half of the course, and then we did a scavenger hunt all around the MSU campus.

Arabesque-ing scavenger hunters

Figuring out the clues

Post-scavenger hunt, Bess and Kellie took us to a department store called Meijer, pronounced exactly like Australia’s Myer, which stocked everything from fruit and cereal to letterboxes. There was even a whole isle area dedicated to pickles! Obviously they are just as popular as stereotypically thought.

So many pickles

After what felt like a massive day, we all headed to a local restaurant called Harrison’s Roadhouse and everyone had massive meals that were all under $10 each, it is insane how cheap everything is in the US.

The first week of class went quickly and we formed a routine that involved breakfast, class, lunch, class again, free time, and then dinner! The class is really fun and our professor is incredibly smart and you can tell that he really loves what he is teaching us. The campus itself is absolutely massive. We managed to explore quite a bit in our first week, but Dr C and Kellie were quick to let us know that we haven’t seen anywhere near all of it just yet.

Our class

Friday brought a visit to the world-renowned office of Leo Burnett in Detroit. It was an incredibly interesting day and we all left there inspired about the industry that we all hope to pursue when we finish our studies. We had talks from staff of all different sections within the agency, including Skip Drayton the executive vice president, and it was an amazing opportunity for all of us to be let in to the world of such a massive and successful global business.

Skip Drayton imparting words of wisdom

This weekend brings even more day trips (a shopping trip for one, yay!), but for now that is all there is to tell. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I am really enjoying this experience, and I look forward to being able to write more about all of the adventures that we are having, and going to have.

Natalie x

Natalie Miller is participating on our New Media for Business and Digital Marketing program at Michigan State University, USA. Natalie is in her second year of a Bachelor of Media and Communications at University of Canberra

The countdown to New Media for Business and Digital Marketing program at MSU!

The past couple of weeks (and even the past months) have flown by. It seems like it was only yesterday that I sat down to apply for the New Media for Business and Digital Marketing course at Michigan State University; more commonly know as MSU.

Whilst it has been quite a while since I began filling our guest room with belongings that I needed to pack (and did not need for the remainder of my time at home!), the flurry of organised chaos that has accompanied the preparation of this trip including visas, US dollars, travel insurance, and much more, has finally begun to make it sink in that I am about to embark on an awesome adventure. I guess the most important and exciting aspect of this adventure though, is that it is not like your typical holiday or backpacking experience We are not just travelling in the US, but actually studying at a university and (hopefully) completely immersing ourselves in the culture that is the typical American college experience.

Personally, I’m incredibly eager to meet all the other participants that will be studying at MSU with me, and also to be able to have the chance to experience this new university culture; which I’m sure will be quite different to the university I currently attend, the University of Canberra. While there is much to look forward to, there will also be challenges for some of us, and for me personally. I think it will be an interesting and new experience to share a dorm, study, and travel with people that I have never met before, and will not be very familiar with.

Putting the challenges aside, I think that this experience will give me (and the other participants) more of an ability to understand the culture of a university and country that differs to what I/we have grown up with. I think this is an especially important asset to achieve in today’s world where globalisation is growing so rapidly and becoming so prevalent in the study of communications.

As the final countdown gets into the single digits of days until we leave, my excitement grows, as I imagine it does for the other participants, and I look forward more and more to meeting everyone involved and getting settled in.

Only 8 days 10 hours 5 minutes and 52 seconds to go!

Natalie x

 Natalie Miller is participating on our New Media for Business and Digital Marketing program at Michigan State University, USA. Natalie is in her second year of a Bachelor of Media and Communications at University of Canberra