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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2007
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 54
AWARDS
Business plan earns scholarship bucks
BY JEFF DETERS jdeters@kansan.com
Jollo Mata Jr, has never set foot in a tanning salon.
But his business plan for a bilingual tanning salon has won a national award and earned him a $2,000 renewable four-year scholarship.
Mata, a Kansas City, Kan., freshman majoring in business management, won first place at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Bizfest, a competition and training program for high school and college students interested in a career in business. The competition, which ran from Sept. 19-22 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, required students to create a business plan complete with financial information. But Mata was, at one time, without a plan at all.
In regional last spring, Mata, a then-high school senior, was still searching for the right
were due. One of his trainers opened a phone book and on it were ads for tanning salons. Mata began his research at about midnight and stayed up until 4 a.m. working on his new plan. Mata's late-night work paid off, however, as he finished second at regionals.
"I was confident in myself when I presented it," he said. "So that's what helped me. I didn't think I was going to place second, but I thought I'd be in the top three."
Mata said the concept of a bilingual tanning salon was incorporated because he speaks Spanish and English and thought the salon would be better equipped to serve customers.
At the Bizfest finals in September, Mata was again up until the wee hours of the morning getting more accurate financial numbers in regards to loans, rent, utility bills and other expenses. Mata was rewarded again but this time with the first-place award.
"I guess I work better under pressure," he
Mata said one of the things he learned from the competition was the importance of networking. He said meeting people from Sprint and Google helped him learn a great deal about managing finances of big businesses. Mata said in the future he wanted to work in international business.
In addition to the award and scholarship, Mata has been offered an all-expensespaid trip to attend the USHCC Legislative Conference in March, an internship this summer with the USHCC in Washington, D.C., and another summer internship with Sprint.
Susana Rodriguez, Kansas City, Kan, freshman, also competed at Bizfest. Rodriguez, a French and pre-medicine major, submitted a business plan called HealthCARE for All. It featured a clinic for Hispanics and uninsured people.
Rodriguez did not place at nationals but said she made new friends and enjoyed networking with business professionals.
"In Puerto Rico I met so many people that I have a lot in common with, and we still keep in touch," she said.
She said she chose that idea because a year ago her dad was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and his medical coverage expired, mak-
Carlos Gomez, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that during the past five years Kansas City-area students had routinely placed in the top three of the competition but never first until this year.
"They did tremendous," he said. "We are very proud of them."
Rodriquez, who might someday want to open her own clinic, offered a suggestion to those interested in a business career. Always ask for the business cards of people you meet.
"You never know when you might need to contact them," she said.
Andrew Wacker/KANSAN
Julio Mata, Kansas City, Kan., freshman, won a renewable $2,500 scholarship for his business model for a bilingual tanning salon. Mata won the first place award at Riffest national in September in San Juan.
he felt like all the ning to her were s waiting for her natically incorrect ready to take off did.
e plays the pivotal investment. If one is high to speak and sation, then the easier. Language is and without that we more difficulty," wis, director ofagement Group, that provides resistance to foreign nts.
in the formal is also a vital part in language acquisition, they, author of *of*, which is about anger. How people speak is different. Romey, in four different both slang and bulinary can be country to country, entries speak the two. For example, started a new job living just moved deriving Spanish-Chile, he asked Spanish, for aens and pencils, there staring at
him with a blank face. It quickly became obvious that she hadn't understood a word he had said. He had to go to her desk and pick up each item he wanted and ask her how to say it in Argentina. He also says native speakers are likely to feel more comfortable around those who know their slang.
3. Don't be afraid to be a laughingstock
赤山景区服务指南！
Whether you like it or not, you will likely be laughed at when you go to another country. Just like Nawater's experience, it will always seem like there is a person who wants to make your life harder. No matter how fluent you are in a language, it's nearly impossible to know every little detail about the culture and language. You will say "Your mother has a green potato face" when you meant to say "You sure look nice today." People might think you are weird or rude, but the important thing is that you always learn from your mistakes, says Fields, the co-owner of www.yucatanliving.com.
"Be willing to be foolish. If you don't already know the language or the culture, you're going to make a faux-pass every other day." Fields says. "Laugh at yourself and don't be hurt if people laugh at your mistakes."
4. Learn the culture and history of your new home
Rather than asking yourself,
"Why don't they do things more like my country?" accept your new environment and culture. Start looking at both sides and learn the history of your new home. It is essential to have a positive attitude
SYMPTOMS OF CULTURE SHOCK:
- Sadness and loneliness
•Preoccupation with health
•Changes in personality and loss of identity
•Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country
•Feeling vulnerable and powerless
•Developing stereotypes about the new culture
•Homesickness
Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country
Source: Carmen Guanpo,
assistant professor of counseling
and school psychology at the
San Diego State University.
about new cultures and to learn actively about local history and tradition. Mulinaazzi says.
However, learning doesn't have to be a chore—thank goodness for television. When Nick Schaffer, Oklahoma City junior, went to Japan to study abroad, he found TV incredibly useful. He says it taught him traditions and essential Japanese etiquette.
"It pretty much taught me everything I needed to learn about Japanese culture," Schaffer says. "It's amazing how much you learn from watching TV even if you don't understand the language."
Yould probably expect to feel relieved and relaxed when you return home. Although hearing your native language on the street and seeing a familiar environment could make you feel comfortable, it is common to find reverse culture shock awaiting you upon returning. When Sanae Eda, a professor of Japanese language at KU who's also from Japan, visited Japan after 15 years of staying in the United States,
5. Watch out for reverse culture shock
Dustin Luthr, Olathe junior, who studied abroad in Japan, says he had a reverse culture shock when he came back to Kansas. Having stayed in a big city, Tokyo, for only six weeks, he felt like Kansas was empty and less friendly when he returned.
she had all kinds of culture shock in her native country. She says she was especially shocked when she was interacting with Japanese people because of their tendency to care too much about details.
6. Be open-minded
During the first part of your stay, you will experience what is often called the "honeymoon" stage. Everything around you is new and exciting. You will probably be too busy to notice negative things
It's inevitable that you will feel uncomfortable and depressed while you adjust to your new environment, but the difference between success and failure in adjustment comes from your point of view, Mulinazzi says.
about the new culture. Then, after a few months, reality kicks in. All of a sudden, you make a phone call makes you nervous. You feel just like Alice in Wonderland. This can lead to a negative symptom of culture shock stereotyping. "All Americans are lazy and arrogant." "Every New Yorker is rude." But we know this isn't true. Always have open mind even if someone gives you a hard time.
In other words, culture shock should not be feared, but enjoyed.
"If you take a close look at culture shock it isn't really as negative a term as it sounds. Running into new cultures not only allows you to better enjoy the experience while you stay in a new environment. The contrasts allow you to better understand your own culture upon returning," Romey says.
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