A521.3.4.RB - Personal Reflection

Personal Reflection

 

Gregory Rutbell           

 

5 November 2013         

 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide Campus       

 

            In this Reflection Blog, I will recall three situations from my childhood or early adulthood that had a formative impact on me. Describe the situations and relate how they impacted you. Pick situations that have affected how you act and feel in an organizational or team-based environment.                                                                                                                      I played football in high school and almost quit the team after the first year (sophomore) because I wanted to get a job and make money along with going to school. However, my father and also Craig Morton (former superstar QB from the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos) gave me some incredible words of advice (and wisdom): these are the glory years of your life (teenager) to be with friends, play sports, learn lifelong skills and have fun. I had the opportunity to attend one of Craig Morton's summer football camps. Wow, what powerful advice and how true. They said I will have 40 years or so after high school to work for the rest of your life before retirement. And some of this will include struggling situations with your boss manager and company you work for and health issues. No life isn't perfect and doesn't go in straight line. It zigzags and is a rollercoaster. Why did they tell me this? Football builds: leadership, character, teamwork, communications, problem-solving and physical fitness. And best of all it prepares you for life. And here it is 30 years later, and I still have several football memories mounted in a picture frame on my living room wall. I am glad and proud to say, yes I took their advice along with wisdom.                                                                                                                                                         I was a member of Junior Achievement (also JA or JA Worldwide) in high school. JA is a non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. Junior Achievement works with local businesses and organizations to deliver experiential programs on the topics of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to students in kindergarten through high school. For more than 50 years, the organization was known mostly for the JA Company Program, an after-school program where teens formed student companies, sold stocks, produced a product and sold it in their communities. The student companies were overseen by volunteer advisers from the business community. The JA mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Our team name was "The Cumberland County Craftsmen" and we produced glass bean lamps. Our team advisor worked for IBM and taught us business concepts including: leadership, management, quality, accounting, finance, marketing, sales, strategy and manufacturing. We set-up our own manufacturing assembly line and manufactured the bean lamps, sold them in the community and also sold stock certificates in our company. We produced an annual report, had a annual meeting and dinner.