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BIS PROGRAM
My major of choice is the BIS program, which stands for Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies. The BIS major at Arizona State University is a unique opportunity, which allows and requires a student to combine and study two minors (mine are Business and Spanish) along with the four BIS core classes. These core classes teach students how to think and conduct research in an interdisciplinary manner. The term interdisciplinary can be defined as the act of drawing from two or more academic disciplines and integrating their insights to work together in pursuit of a common goal. Interdisciplinary Studies uses interdisciplinarity to develop a greater understanding of a problem that is too complex or wide-ranging to be dealt with using the knowledge and methodology of just one discipline.
WHY I CHOSE THE BIS PROGRAM
The process of choosing a major was a difficult one for me, but luckily I made it early on in my college career, and have stuck with it. I had taken every online test that ASU offers; from finding a perfect major, to goal setting, and career paths. In the end, I chose the BIS major, with concentrations in Business and Spanish, during the second semester of my freshman year of college. Several factors guided me in this direction.
The first inspiration was my friend Todd Lamb. Aside from being my friend, he was my role model. Since Todd graduated with the BIS major with the Business and Spanish concentrations, he continually told the stories of his favorite classes and teachers. His experiences led me into wanting similar ones. Todd explained to me the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge and made me want to witness these classes first hand. In addition, my dad has been cutting out articles from the newspaper for me since I was a freshman in high school about how wonderful the W.P. Carey Business School is. His voice has rung through my head for years that I should be in a job in the business world. This is partly why I chose Business as one of my concentration areas. The final straw that convinced me to enter into BIS was the opportunity to take many electives. My academic advisors convinced me that education is not all about hard work and discipline. Students need to have fun with their college experience, and take classes that give relief from the tough, boring ones.
BIS CORE CLASSES
Throughout the four BIS core classes, I have assembled several portfolios and conducted many research projects. Self-assessment and career goals were the many focus of these classes, which included:
BIS 301 which is Foundations of Interdisciplinary Studies, is a 3 credit hour course which focused on self evaluation, career goals, and market and cultural trends.
BIS 302 which is Interdisciplinary Studies, is a continuation of the first class that goes into more concrete detail about the integration of each students’ individual concentration areas. This course is research based in nature.
BIS 401 which is the Applied Interdisciplinary Study. This is an online course, which investigates the connections between my concentration areas and the real world work environments. In addition, it required me to work 125 hours at an internship site, which integrated both Business and Spanish.
BIS 402 Senior Seminar requires students to conduct a capstone research project worthy of a semester’s worth of work. I also submitted weekly progress reports, journal entries, and contribute to discussion board topics.
SPANISH CONCENTRATION
I have taken and enjoyed Spanish classes at ASU for the past 8 semesters. The required courses for the Spanish minor include:
SPA 313 is Spanish Conversation and Composition. This course concentrated on communication skills inside the classroom and as a tourist. In addition, basic writing skills for reports and letters were assigned.
SPA 314 is Conversation and Composition also, which was an extension of the 313 level and even used the same textbook. This class helped strengthen my vocabulary and knowledge of Hispanic culture.
SPA 325 is Introduction to Hispanic Literature. This was the most difficult of all the Spanish courses because it required me to read literature, poetry, and essays from famous Spanish authors throughout history and from all over the world. Here, analyzing skills were groomed as well as poetry reading and comprehension skills.
SPA 412 is Advanced Conversation and Composition. This class required us to give many oral class presentations about famous Hispanic role models. My communication skills were increased dramatically from this course.
SPA 472 is Spanish American Civilization studies and focused on history and culture of South America and Spanish America. Many video documentaries were watched and mini group presentations were given. This class improved my team working skills because of all the group projects.
SPA 413 is Advanced Spanish Grammar and focused on verb conjugations, tense usage, sentence syntax and structure, and assorted grammatical problems.
BUSINESS CONCENTRATION
The six business courses have improved my knowledge of the marketplace, personal finance, and the economy. These courses include:
1. Management class introduced the functions and applications of management in organizations. The management skills I studied were controlling, decision making, leadership, motivation, planning, and social responsibility.
2. Finance class taught personal financial management and investments. Topics included the stock market, real estate, and balance sheets.
3. Economics class taught me about market trends, supply and demand and the theories of Adam Smith.
4. Marketing class taught about using different media sources (television, radio, billboards, etc) to capture target audience and advertise or sell a product or service. One assigned project required us to create a full advertising campaign for Krispy Kreme.
5. Accounting class dealt with managing and maintaining orderly balance sheets and income statements. I was glad to brush up on my mathematic skills for this course.
6. Real Estate class described the process of buying or leasing a home. Topics studied included real estate agent and client relationships, liens, loans and financing, mortgages, and commercial property.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
During my college career, I held the position of the song leader for the Hillel Jewish Center at Arizona State University. This is a Jewish service group on campus. I play my guitar for them and lead service, and prayers. Since I am the conductor of the group, others look to me for management, guidance, inspiration, and as a role model. Not only was it great experience to make friends and connections, but gave me the opportunity to be in front of a large group of people to strengthen my public speaking skills.
