News and Spotlights
Spring 2011
Alumni Spotlight: Jonathan T. Rose, BBA ’09
Jonathan joined TeleTech in August 2009 as the first participant in its 11-month Management Training Program headquartered in Manila, Philippines. He developed a grassroots understanding of the industry and its clientele by working at all levels of the organization, ranging from frontline supervisors to senior executives.
In July 2010, Jonathan was assigned to manage an 18-month EMEA Process Improvement project based in Madrid, Spain. The project aimed to bring Europe in line with global standards and included a rollout of several global corporate initiatives including a short interval management control and reporting system, Spanish language coaching tools and training, and an internal social networking tool aimed at fostering global best-practice sharing. Initially the project focused on Spain and Ireland and he worked with TeleTech’s largest European client, Vodafone, on standardization, revenue leakage and performance improvement.
In October, Jonathan took over the client relationship for the Vodafone account and is currently working as its Senior Manager. TeleTech provides both front and back office Spanish language solutions to Vodafone from three Spanish and one Costa Rican platform. He maintains overall contract performance responsibility across the four sites and has worked with both client and TeleTech leadership to align priorities and strengthen relationships. Initial successes of this project include increased client satisfaction and the highest vendor rating in four quarters.
Student Accolades & Awards
Each year graduate and undergraduate recipients of named scholarships are honored at the Terry Honors Day event, as well as inductees to Sigma Iota Epsilon and Beta Gamma Sigma business societies. This year's IB Major award winners include:
International Business Academic Achievement Award
This award is presented to the International Business Major or Co-Major who has the highest GPA. Katherine Patricia Siuta O’Shea is a Leonard Leadership Scholar who has also participated in the Deer Run Fellows Program, served as VP of Women in Business and the American Marketing Association Company. Her experience as a leader will allow her to work in marketing for an international company and perhaps attend law school in the future.
International Business Excellence Award
This award is presented to the International Business Majors and Co-Majors who have combined high academic accomplishments with substantial involvement in study abroad programs. This year there were three recipients.
- Mathieu Jean Van Asten holds a double major in International Business and Management Information Systems. He has served as President of the International Business Society for two years and looks forward to working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Atlanta upon graduation
- Laura Ann Wynn completed majors in Finance, International Business and German. Laura has held several leadership roles at UGA, including Honors Teaching Assistant and Director of Academic Affairs in the Student Government Association. Laura is currently working on her thesis and looks forward to attending law school in the fall.
- John Stephen Williams will be attending law school at the University of Virginia this fall. He studied abroad at Friedrich Alexander University in Nuremberg.
Postcard from Hong Kong: Temitayo Ige at City University
“One of the most important and life changing decisions in my college life was applying to the exchange program with City University in Hong Kong. At first, I assumed I would adapt quickly. I had already travelled 8,000 miles from Nigeria to live in the United States, learning to acclimate to a very different environment and people. To my surprise, Hong Kong was another world to learn.
Every culture has its own uniqueness, and Hong Kong is no exception. From the size of the rooms and classrooms to the people and food, everything was different. One of the differences that stood out to me was the issue of punctuality. I remember my first day of class, I got there ten minutes early but no student, including the instructor, showed up to class until ten minutes after the start time. I eventually got to know that once you are within a 15 minutes time frame, it is not considered late in Hong Kong. This was an adjusting moment, yet interesting.
Generally, I admired the city’s beauty. Most of the buildings are high rise. The subway system is one of the fastest and cleanest I had experienced, probably because most of the citizens depend on it for transportation. Having a car was a display of luxury and not a necessity.
I met students from different parts of the world, and our friendship enhanced my intellectual connection and enlightened my thoughts about global issues and continental differences. It also increased my tolerance for different opinions, teaching me why there are differences in the first place.
The months I spent in classes and just living there gave me a special understanding of Hong Kong and its role in global economic growth, based on its rapidly growing financial and banking institutions. Overall, I had an amazing experience, met a lot of great people, and learned a lot of lessons. This is an experience that I would relive over again if I could.”
Beta Alpha Psi win Terry Cup Kickball Tournament
IB Society and Terry Office of Diversity Relations organized the Terry Cup Kickball Tournament this year, held April 9 on the UGA intramural fields. Competing for the trophy were International Buiness Society, Banking & Finance Society, Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, Multicultural Business Student Assoc., Pi Sigma Epsilon, Professional Entertainment & Sports Association, Real Estate Society, Society for MIS, and a faculty/staff team captained by Jeff Netter. Randy Groomes, Director of Diversity Relations spoke during a break for lunch about the value of using events like Terry Cup for networking.
The championship this year went to Beta Alpha Psi, who will hold the Terry Cup until the next competition and forever be inscribed on the Cup’s list of winning teams. A contribution of $550 of tournament proceeds will go to Beta Alpha Psi's charity of choice, CURE International, an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of children all over the world. Tournament sponsors included: Chic-fil-A, PWC, KPMG and Ernst & Young. Next year’s Terry Cup will be coordinated by Chris Sanders.
