Tag Archives: Bowie State University

The Virginia Festival of the Book – A Wonderful Experience

In March, Donna and I were presenting authors at the Virginia Festival of the Book.  I participated in three events.  On Wednesday March 16th, I talked with fifty students at Albemarle High School about preparing for success in college.  Several of the students told me how much they appreciated the advice and how I shared it with them and the teachers were glad to hear their messages reinforced by someone the students enjoyed listening to.

Wednesday evening, I was one of two panelists discussing the adolescent mindset and the best ways to help students prepare for and have a successful college experience leading to graduation in four years with good grades and good job prospects.  There was a standing room only audience who had sons and daughters in college or preparing to go so they were quite interested in our presentations.  They demonstrated their interest by purchasing all the books I had brought for sale!

Finally, Sunday morning I briefly discussed College In Four Years at the Links of Charlottesville brunch for Festival authors who wrote books relevant to African Americans and/or people of color.  I told the audience of 200 about the value of the book for students and parents and how it could be instrumental in helping them work together for success in college.  The message resonated with them and they also purchased every book available for sale.

In addition to these presentations, I will be sharing more information with students in Charlottesville high schools in May.

Needless to say, I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in the Virginia Festival of the Book and thrilled with the reception College In Four Years got at all the events and with an opportunity to share information with more students in May.  Take a look at the pictures below from the events.

IMG_0755 (1)
The beginning of a great event!
IMG_0756
My talk with students at Albemarle High School.
IMG_0760
The Sawyer Authors!
FullSizeRender (1)
My panel discussion on the teenage mindset and higher education with Dr. Florence Jensen (The teenage Brain: Planning for Success in High School, College, and Beyond) and our moderator Ms. Elizabeth Benedict.

 

 

 

The Virginia Festival of the Book

VaBookFestival2016-OrigI want to let you know that I will be participating in the Virginia Festival of the Book later this month.  Here’s a list of the events, dates, times and locations.  I hope you can join me there:

Presentation of College in Four Years at Albemarle High School at 2775 Hydraulic Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.  The presentation will be at 10:30 AM on Wednesday March 16th.

A discussion of College In Four Years as part of the Virginia Festival of the Book at 6:00 PM on March 16th at the Northside Library at 705 Rio Road, West Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.  The discussion will be from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

Participation in the 13th annual Celebration Brunch 11:30 AM–2:30PM at the Charlottesville Omni Hotel on Sunday, March 20, 2016 sponsored by the Links of Charlottesville where each author will briefly discuss his/her book.

A Review of ‘Where Everybody Looks Like Me’

bookreviewimage
I just published a review of “Where Everybody Looks Like Me”  By Ron Stodghill on Afro.com.  You can read it at:

http://www.afro.com/where-everybody-looks-like-me-and-the-challenges-facing-hbcus/

Let me know what you think.

A Remarkable Return on Investment

Commencement 2015 GMS with StudentsLast Saturday was Bowie State University’s Commencement, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the years of hard work my students invested in their futures. I’m a professor of finance so I often see a financial a correlation in things and that is why I think of graduation as when I am generously paid dividends on my investment in my students. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see them stride across that stage, diplomas in hand. That Bachelor of Science or Master in Business Administration is what I work toward with each and every student I teach and there is no financial measure for the pride I have in my students’ achievements.

Congratulations Class of 2015 and thank you for such a great return on our investment in each other.

Giving Students a Taste of the Real World

Dana Moody, a Bowie State University graduate who is now an Equity Investment Analyst at Vanguard Corporation in Malvern, PA, hosted several Bowie Banking and Finance undergraduates for an exploratory visit last week. The visit included discussions with new and experienced financial services professionals as well as senior portfolio managers for the second largest mutual funds management company in the world.

It was an opportunity for students to meet and interact with finance professionals to talk about what it’s like to manage multi-billion dollar portfolios, just the kind of information that helps them understand what options can be available to them as they prepare to make career choices when they graduate.

Thank you, Dana, for giving back to your alma mater in such a substantive way.