Metro State Blog: Benjamin

It’s that time of the year again!

2008-05-05T20:51:00.001-07:00

Hello my wonderful and devoted readers! I'm taking some time out to write this instead of do what I should be doing, and you all know what that is. It's cram time – the time of the year when every student has so many finals and then a million other tasks, projects, essays, and Extra Credits to try to cram into the last two weeks of school before grades become final and recorded on the oh, so ominous, Report Card. (This is where we play that little ditty that has three descending notes that go, dun, dun, duuuuuun, if you know what I mean).

SO, that all being said, this is a quick little run down of everything I have to do… not that you all really care, but more so, just because I want to write it all down and make you all pity the extraordinary and overbearing amount of work that I have to do. Haha, I like playing this game.

I have to:

Write two 8 page papers by next week

Do three presentations this week

Develop a five minute movie on a couple of poems

And still manage time to study for finals.

Yeah, busy, and I'm sure that there are some people that have it much worse than I do, but it is still a little bit overwhelming. Therefore, I should probably go and do more of that homework.

I hope you all have a lovely evening and for all of you other college students, high school students, or otherwise students, good luck with the coming close of the term! I know you all can finish and finish well! :D

All done! :D

2008-05-02T16:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I get the privilege of being the first blogger to congratulate Giedre in her accomplishment, so…

CONGRATULATIONS GIEDRE!

You did wonderful and we're all proud that we got to work with you! I hope this helps your advancement in life in so many ways!

I also want to congratulate all of my fellow competitors for their hard work, sweat, and dedication to this project. Thank you and congratulations to:

Noah Steingraeber – A motivating leader. Noah, I appreciate you exemplifying what leadership truly should be! I know that you will get to wherever you want to go!

Kaleigh Braun – An excellent visionary. Thank you so much for all your creative and imaginative ideas Kaleigh! Don't you ever let someone suppress that from you!

David Foos – An always willing participant. Thank you David for always willing to stick things out to the end, no matter how late you might be up!

Cindy Cervantes – An encouraging example. Cindy, you've blessed me so much with your optimism and encouragement; always maintain that aspect of yourself! ¡Qué Dios te bendiga!

Chris Wilcox – A resilient worker. Chris, you were always able to help pick us back up off the ground and move forward. Hang on to that trait, for it will take you to unimagined places!

Ashley Gilchrist – An enthusiastic team player! Hang on to your enthusiasm and you will go far! Congratulations Ashley y suerte!

Heidi Harrold – A dedicated learner. I know you will do well in the field of medicine Heidi!

Erin Nelson – A strong scholar. Keep studying Erin and one day you'll get where you want to! Good luck with your education.

THANK YOU ALL!

I also want to give a very large and heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers, staff and judges who helped put together last nights event! It was such a wonderful experience. Alongside of that I want to thank Cherelyn, Janell, Josh, Stefani, Franklin and Dr. Jordan for all their dedication and execution with this project!

Finally, I want to thank, with the upmost sincerity, Gini and Melissa for all of their hard, behind-the-scenes, interwoven work. You two ladies have had an impact on us, the competitors, greater than you will ever know and it means so much to me! Thank you! :D

SO EXCITED!!!!

2008-04-30T21:07:00.001-07:00

WOOHOO!!!!!! We're doing the finale event tomorrow night! I'm so stinkin' excited I think I could jump and shout for joy!!!!

WOOHOO!!!!

You all should definitely come out and support me; and even if you can't come and vote for me, you could at least put in a good word for me to all the other people that you know coming! 8D Especially since I know all you people are coming! Hehe.

If only we could fit more than 400 or so people in that Tivoli Turnhalle. That would be exciting! But I don't know, 400 is the biggest crowd I've ever been in front of, so we'll see how this one goes. Maybe this will be the launching pad for my public speaking career that I never thought of before. Or maybe it will be the defining moment when I realize that I could make $1,000,000 + per hour just for speaking to a crowd of people just like Donald Trump! You never know! You all just keep your eyes and ears open and just maybe one day, you'll hear the name Benjamin Gillespie on the futuristic holograph stand in your living room while nursing a brand new brewsky. You never know! :D

What I do know is that I'm super thrilled to be a part of this whole event and I am really wound up and looking forward to tomorrow night's event! I look forward to getting to meet a lot of you tomorrow, and getting to hear about what part you enjoyed most about this inaugural event or what part you had to play in it. :D

For all you VIP ticket holders, I'll see you tomorrow at 5:30pm at the Tivoli Turnhalle, and for all of you who have regular event tickets, I can't wait to talk about the whole program and vote for who you want "THE APPRENTICE"
to be. And for all you out there who don't have a ticket, you should really put some thought into maybe finding some time to come out and see what this whole thing was and how it went down and be a part of it yourself.

Until tomorrow night! Hats off to all of you who helped put this together for a magnificent job well done!

Ta-ta for now!

2008-04-29T14:15:00.001-07:00

COME ONE, COME ALL!!!

Be a part of the first Apprentice Challenge Boardroom Finale Event

You can be one of the first people to vote for your winning APPRENTICE:

What: Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State Boardroom Finale Event

Where: Tivoli Turnhalle

Tickets are available at the door for $25

When: May 1^st, 2008

7:00pm – 9:30pm

Dress: Business Casual

Who: The 10 Apprentice Challenge Competitors

Family and Friends

All done?

2008-04-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

Hey all!

Well, it's hard to actually say this, but we're done. The final project has been completed and we're on the wind-down moving toward Thursday's Boardroom Finale! It has been one incredible ride and I can definitely say that I will miss it. We've learned so much and gained an incredible amount of experience from this program. And, I must also note that, The A Team has MARKED A WIN!!!! Congratulations to Chris, Kaleigh, Cindy, Ashley and Giedre!!! You guys worked your tails off for this project and definitely deserve this win! I can't express to you in any other manner how excited I was to see your responses Kaleigh and Ashley, and Chris it was even better to see your leadership guide you all to a win. It was a wonderful effort! I hope you all enjoy your dinner with Dr. Jordan!

Now, I also want to say "THANK YOU!" to my teammates for this project. Noah, I first of all want to thank you for your great leadership and encouragement! The way you kept us in line and on top of things for this project was excellent and your work on that report was Awesome!!! David, thank you for helping me organize all the software information and helping us with all that research! Erin and Heidi thank you for what help you could afford. I know you guys were incredibly busy during the last three weeks and I really appreciate the work you were able to put in to help us out. I really enjoyed getting the chance to work with you all on this last project and getting to see a different teams perspective on dealing with the projects. I thank you all for graciously accepting me into your team and working with me so enthusiastically! We did a great job guys, with or without a win, we pulled off a ton in the last three weeks.

To all of you, I must also add, that as the youngest person in this group, you have each given me examples. Examples of how to live life, of how to work responsibly, of how to have fun no matter what, of how to enjoy the company of those around you, and of how to work things out, no matter how hard they seem to get (thanks Kaleigh). Again, this whole program was one incredible ride and if given the chance again, regardless of how much work it has taken, I would still do it again!!!

I want to also say thank you to all the staff at the Alumni House. Cherelyn, this was an excellent idea and is definitely worth considering for next year! Thank you for the opportunity! Janell, thank you for always cheering me up and talking me through things. You were an awful lot of help to me and I could not thank you enough for it. Josh, thank you for all that hard work that you did behind the scenes (all that intensive scheduling and arranging of things), and Stefanie, thank you as well for all your hard work on the website and other logistics stuff. I know that we aren't aware of everything that you guys did, and I also know that it was astronomical in size, so thank you very much!!!! Also, thank you to Gini and Melissa for your assistance at the Alumni House as well as being ears when we were all in grumpy moods. And thank you to David Sandusky my excellent mentor and guide, as well as Derek Anguilm and all the other people who gave us direction or encouragement throughout the project. My thanks also go to the Media Center for their wonderful work with all of the filming for this project and especially to Franklin for his care and concern to make sure that we all got filmed as much as he could make happen, even at personal life expenses sometimes. Thank you Franklin for being a great college and excellent friend! :D

Furthermore, I want to thank my parents and family for putting up with me when I was grumpy and tired after staying up to God-knows-when hours in the morning trying to finish up project work, and for giving me their ears as well when I was upset or angry. Especially, to my dad for his endless love and devotion to supporting and encouraging me through this program and who always seemed to have words that would help pick me up of the ground.

Finally, I want to give special thanks to my fiancé, Lydia! We've gone through a ton this semester honey, and I could never express my full thanks to you in any manner! Your love and support has been the primary thing that has kept me going throughout this project. Your encouragement has been wonderful and your patience has helped so much! Thank you so much Sunshine! I love you!

Again, Congratulations to the A Team and Thank you to everyone involved with this program. It has been excellent!!! I will check back in when we find out who has become THE APPRENTICE!!! Talk to you all soon.

CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY!!!!

2008-04-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

So I just found out this weekend that I am not the only happy person to get engaged on this wonderful project. That's right this weekend our dear little Ashley got engaged! Congratulations Ash, and the best of wishes to you!

Hey, maybe we should think about marketing this whole Apprentice thing differently. It could go something like...

Try the Apprentice Challenge! Meet important people, get life experience, and maybe even get hitched.

8D

Or maybe...

The Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State. There's more to life than just work. Consider engagement.

=D

Ok, so I'm slap-happy and tired. I'm off to bed, you all.

Have an extraordinary week!!!!

Ahh... High School.

2008-04-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Think.

Think back.

Think back to the days of Letter Jackets, Homecoming, varsity sports, and above all PROM! Well, that's what I've been thinking about for the past couple of days, after I watched my beautiful, and all grown-up, sister, Lexi, go to her Senior Prom. She had a gorgeous dress that she and our mom made, and that one of my other sisters, Bethany, designed (she's only 16 and she's already designing dresses!!! Rock on girlie). Four of our other siblings all asisted Lexi in getting ready for Prom. Shannon and Megan helped with hair, Bethany with trimming any left over threads from making the dress and doing Lexi's nails, Andrew helped running around getting any needed objects, and our youngest sister Caileigh helped with her hair as well. (I believe that's the order of help).

Overall, this was a family designed, family assisted Prom for Lexi and I don't think she could have been any happier. Her smile went from ear to ear and she was all giddy when we were getting ready to go to her dinner. They had an awesome dinner setup, thanks to the parents of one of Lexi's friends Lauren, and finally, they had a rocking Cadilac Escalade limo to take them to Red Rocks Amphitheater for the Dance. It was really cool to watch and it blows my mind to see my little sister so close to graduating and heading off to college.

Lexi, I'm so proud of you and all you have accomplished to get you so far. You have so much going your way and as you keep moving ahead, trust God and He will lead you everywhere. I know you will do so well. I love you little sis!

Gotta have a little fun. :D

2008-04-07T12:15:00.001-07:00

Hehe, so I was reviewing my pictures from the last three projects and came across a couple of us playing around. I figured I would show you all them as a little reminder, to you (my readers) and to all my fellow competitors, that in all of our busy lives, remember to have fun, because without it life becomes nothing but a dull bore, a life of non-importance. Have Fun!!!

Stiring things up…

2008-04-05T00:25:00.001-07:00

Well, the introduction to Project #4 today was nothing that I expected. In fact, it totally Surprised me! It was intense (see picture below) and full of new things for us all! First of all, our meeting was approximately two hours longer than the normal training session, ending us around 2:30pm. Second of all, we learned that we will be doing an eco-audit of the restaurant La Casita. For everyone who doesn't know, this place has rocking food of the Mexican influence, and have, at least, state-wide known Tamales! AND it's pretty cheap (I think the most expensive item on the menu is $5.85). The third, and probably largest change, is the one that had the most impact on our make up as teams.

That's right; the teams have been mixed up. The process was all based on random drawing and led to the combination of Heidi Harrold, Noah Steingraeber, Erin Kasch, David Foos, and I all to be on the new team, and Kaleigh Braun, Cindy Cervantes, Chris Wilcox, Ashley Gilchrist, and Giedre Stasiunaite on the other team. This will be an interesting mix, as the teams haven't really changed much, but enough to put things in different perspective. I would like to wish everyone on the other team, an incredibly exciting project, and I can't wait to see what you all come up with to present for the end of this project.

Well, those are the pretty big key points of the beginning to this project. I look forward to getting to explain more as we go on. Keep checking in. :D

(and for those of you who were at the meeting, you might recognize this photo. So yeah, maybe I did play a little bit during our training, but I just had to show my readers what I look like in the middle of an intense, information loaded meeting).

:D

What to do now?

2008-03-30T07:45:00.001-07:00

Well, I don't know what hurts, more, losing the third Project in a row, or seeing Kaleigh and Ashley pour their hearts out into the CH2M Hill Dreamers challenge and still walk out without a positive win under our belts. I definitely am devastated by this blow. I was so thrilled by this project, excited to be working with children (one of my biggest passions in life) and to be able to have a lasting impact on their lives, and granted, we did do that, but I thought we had done so much better than what the judges expressed.

And they were right, our team is full of visionaries and we did put together an awesome long-term program for them, but man it feels like we went down hard on this one. I don't know what to think right now. I feel horrible that I wasn't able to help my team get our first win, that I didn't carry out any leadership qualities in sticking to the criteria, that I didn't facilitate this project to each of our best abilities. I'm heart-broken that we weren't able to pull together after two losses and make up for them in one big hoopla like we wanted to.

Kaleigh, Ashley, Chris, and Cindy, I must say that you all did wonderfully and you all from my end deserve a HUGE round of applause for the work that you put into this. Now let's take those criticisms from this project and let's get down and dirty and slam this last project! We can do it and we will take this program by surprise.

Also, my congratulations to the 5280 Closers on their well-accomplished win yet again! I hope you all have a wonderful time in Winter Park.

What a week!

2008-03-30T01:40:00.001-07:00

First of all, I simply must say this; the Dreamers in 6th grade of Ms. Erin Larrabee's class rock!

Not only did they whoop up on Mr. Peter's team in their 1^st Annual basketball game two weeks,ago but they also came and were wonderful participants in our Metro State Science Camp. Kids, you all were great examples of today's youth, and that fact was backed up by so many numerous compliments about your behavior and respect. You were amazing! Enough said. :D

Here are some pictures from both the basketball game in which the Dreamers from Smedley Elementary won with a score of 42 to 27 if I remember correctly, as well as our Science Camp day in which the Dreamers participated in seven different experiment and information stations. Big thanks go out to Steve Spangler Science for their donations to our experiments, to The Sports Authority for providing the incentive prizes for the kids, to Sage Hospitality, The American Library of Congress, and many other sponsors who helped us in creating a long-lasting program for after the 4 hour camp. We definitely could not have done it without you. And finally, thank you to each one of our teacher volunteers who helped us do each station on the camp day.

What a ride!

I haven't forgotten.

2008-03-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Yes, the third project is coming to an end and no, I haven't forgotten to post about it, but I have some bigger dreams about how I want to put pictures and a good amount of text into it, and I somehow just don't have the time to do it right now. So keep watching, and it'll be up before you know it! Can't wait to show/tell you more. :D

Benjamin

I’m Engaged!!!

2008-03-19T17:25:00.001-07:00

Hey everybody!

So for those of you that have already read Noah's blog you may know, but for those of you that haven't heard, read, or otherwise seen, I am ENGAGED as of Sunday, March 16th, 2008!

Here's a quick story of how the day went:

Lydia and I prepared a snowshoe trip with our best friends for this past Sunday (in reality, I was planning the day to ask her, and everyone else who went knew except for her). So we went up to Breckenridge on a simple and beautiful trail off of Boreaz Pass Rd. We strapped on our snowshoes and started hiking into the woods. We had a blast, pushing each other over, stepping on everybody else's snowshoes, and trumping through the pristine, fresh, two feet of powder. We sat down for lunch, ate, and then continued onwards.

When we came upon a clearing with a beautiful view, I knew it was the perfect location to ask her. We took various pictures of everybody there, in order to keep her from thinking that we were the only one's getting pictures, and then, after taking a few pictures of us together, Lydia thought we were done and started walking away from me. But I pulled her back, fumbled to get my pocket unzipped, pulled out the ring, kneeled down, (but ended up sinking down to two knees because the snow was so soft and deep) and simply said "Lydia Randerson, will you marry me?"

Of course, I had been working on a little longer speech and question for the previous three weeks, but when I got to the actual moment, it didn't seem right, so instead, I told her what I wanted to say to her later. Obviously, she said YES! immediately and was speechless from then onward. :D

I put her ring on her finger, taking extreme care not to drop it into the snow, and we took a few more pictures and then hiked back off the mountain because there was a storm moving in quickly.

We spent the rest of the day in Breckenridge, hot tubing, and eating a wonderful dinner at Eric's Downstairs (which I highly recommend for their scrumptious pizzas)! It was a perfect day for both Lydia and I and now we are beginning the processes of planning our wedding for May 2009. Thank you to all of you who have said congratulations! It means so much to me.

Benjamin

Kids light up my world!

2008-03-12T18:08:00.001-07:00

If you had been withThe "A" Team today, you would have had a blast! "Why do you say that?" you might ask. Well, I'll tell you why. We met with some of the kids that will be coming to our Metro State Science Day, from Smedley Elementary school and others, for Project #3, the CH2MHill Dreamers Math and Science Challenge. They are sixth graders and they are incredibly smart and energetic! If you show them a camera, they are simply thrilled to get in front of the screen.

You encourage them to do their homework, and sure, just like every other sixth grader they will talk about everything else in the world before even looking at their homework, but you persistently encourage them and they will eventually get it done. And when they are working they do work with a fairly good focus, given that they are 6th graders. I was honestly surprised that they were able on getting things done, even with us there.

You bring up anything about sports teams and many of them are not just excited, but are overflowing with opinion about their favorite team and facts about that team's current position in the season. You tell them that we're going to be practicing for their upcoming Basketball game against the 5280 Closers' team on Wednesday the 19^th, and they will sure as heck try to get their homework done. There were about 22 kids that showed up today for Erin Larrabee's (Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation Project Coordinator) after school program, including some that hadn't been for awhile, and we had a great time working on currency conversions from US dollars to Chinese Yuan and reading a short "Scenario" about the water shortages in India.

Then there was the physical activity for the afternoon (but more like the physical activity for the first time this year for me). We went to the gym and began playing basketball with those who wanted to play next Wednesday, and the others went out to do other activities, including Hula-hooping and soccer. We definitely have some skilled players and all I can say is that, Peter and the Closers better watch out because this game is going to be one easy sweep for our kids. They are awesome! :D

On a side note, one thing that I was disappointed about is that Erin informed us that with the recent decision from the City of Denver, Smedley Elementary will be closed after the finish of this semester in May. It is really too bad, because the building has been around since 1902 and it is gorgeous! The structure is beautiful (see picture at top of this post) and really deserves to be preserved and maintained, so I hope that the City will keep it for future generations, maybe at least make it a museum or something. I don't know, just a suggestion.

Well, I look forward to getting to talk more about this project! We have lots of GREAT stuff planned for the kids, so I can't wait to expound more on all of that! Until then, Saludos!

Benjamín

Challenges (no pun intended)

2008-03-09T23:05:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a bummer. Project #2 came and went quickly and again The A Team has lost. This is incredibly difficult to take, especially amidst the other challenges of school, homework and going through the processes of leaving one job and trying to find another one. Well, the good thing is we did get a ton of tools for El Centro Humanitario and we were able to help them set up some firm long term goals to help grow the company.

With that said, we're moving on! Here comes Project #3, the CH2M Hill Dreamers Math and Science challenge. My team and I are thrilled about this project and the chance to work with 30 or so children that are sponsored through the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation. I can't go over our plans for obvious reasons, but we're excited to get three hours to show these students the multiple possibilities of the futures that await them through Engineering, Science, Math and Technology.

I can't wait to talk about more, but I currently have a test to be studying for, and if I spend more time on this I won't be prepared for the exam. Congratulations again, to The 5280 Closers on a job well-done for Project #2. You all did wonderfully!

Craziness!!!

2008-02-26T18:45:00.001-08:00

Hey all my wonderful readers! Well, it's been awhile since my lasts posts. As a matter of fact we've almost completed our second project. WOOHOO!

The UMB Homelessness Challenge has been incredibly busy, but we're fighting it out to the end and we're doing everything possible to win this challenge over the 2580 Closers! (Doh, did I just diminish their numbers?? Sorry, guys, you know that whole dyslexic thing… just catches me by surprise sometimes. :P ) As some of you may have already noticed if you're resident Metro Students or Staff, is that we are currently running a Tool Drive on Campus. If you aren't a student/staff member well then here's my ad spot:

The "A" Team is currently running a Tool Drive on the Auraria Campus. Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 27^th, and Thursday, February 28^th, we will be collecting tools for El Centro Humanitario para Los Trabajadores (The Humanitarian Center for the Workers). El Centro is a Non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the rights and well-being of day laborers in Denver through education, job skills and leadership development, united in action and advocacy. Their goals are to develop a sense of community and self sufficiency among workers and to foster worker ownership over El Centro. We have a few drop locations across campus including the Alumni Association Office, the Student Life Office, the Auraria Campus Library, and our final drop location will be in the Flagpole Courtyard between the library and Plaza building between the hours of 11:00am and 6:00pm.

Also a note for all of those who enjoy winning things, the next two days we will be running a raffle. It will be the "bring a tool; get entered to win a prize" days. Our prizes will range from coffee to Metro gear and then maybe a grand prize drawing for something pretty special, but you'll have to show up to find out what it is. J

Alongside of the business of this project, I have been working like mad at my job and all of the sudden my professors decided that it was time to lay down the loads of homework, so I've been reading and writing like mad!!! Hopefully I'll get my things together soon and maybe my life will return to a normalcy in the near future. Haha, not!!!

I have been having fun though! As some of you may have noticed via the Homecoming slide shows that the publications office put out, I am featured in one of the pictures as a dirtied-up "Ore digger" as a costume for the Homecoming Costume contest. Surprisingly, the judges choose my costume over my competitor's, the lovely ladies from the Metro softball team, one of which was dressed up as a mean looking alligator. Yay for a little fun going competition. Thank you to the Office of Student Life for putting on that competition. I love my pink IPod; I've been listening to it a lot! (Also, you all should go check out the Softball team at their games. I hear they're gearing up for a pretty good season!)

Well, I have to go and write an essay for one of my Spanish Literature classes on the use of Nature in the works of the Romantics and Post-romantics, which I have been so thoroughly neglecting in the writing of this blog. Hey, ce la vi! I can't wait until I get to tell you all the results of this project. Keep reading. I'll be in touch.

Benjamin

P.S. I've been having trouble working with photos and that's why there aren't any up on my blog yet, but I promise, I'll eventually work it out and we'll get some up for you all!

También, hablo Español

2008-02-06T18:06:00.001-08:00

Bueno, para todas que quieren saber, yo hablo Español y si hay unos lectores que me quieren escribir en Español, dígame por el "link" Comentarios y intento de escribir lo más que sea posible.

¡Me encanta tener la oportunidad de hablar con mucha gente por el medio de dos idiomas!

¡Nos veremos prontos!

Benjamín

Ready, Set, GO!

2008-02-06T14:07:00.001-08:00

Hello to all!

I hope you all have enjoyed following what you could about The Apprentice Challenge outside of our blogging. Now, though, each of you (our readers) will be able to have a little deeper understanding of all that's going on with our projects.

I will shortly blog about Project #1, The Kaiser Permanente/Live Well Colorado Smart Meal Challenge, to kind of fill in all the blanks that exist.

So much happened and it all was incredibly busy and fast.

*My team "The A Team" and I began meeting two weeks in advance of Project one to begin preparations and try to figure out what we thought would be the parameters within which we would be working.

*Assignment day came and went in a blur. But we were pleasantly situated, knowing that we had prepared fairly well.

*Basics for the Smart Meal Challenge

→Encourage restaurants to partner with COPAN in the Smart Meal Seal Program in efforts to educate and inform the public about healthier eating

→Get the restaurants to submit menu items for analysis to verify that they qualify within the guidelines of the Smart Meal Program

→Once items are analyzed and given the go ahead, we brought paperwork for the restaurant to sign up with the program.

*I would like to insert here that my team did very well with this project. While were not judged the winners, we were definitely successful within the project, signing one restaurant, Rosa Linda's Mexican Café!

→Oscar and his family are super-excited about the Smart Meal Program and cannot wait to institute it into their family owned and operated business.

I would encourage all of you to go to Rosa Linda's and to try their Cactus and the Enchiladas que son magníficos (which are magnificent)!

www.rosalindasmexicancafe.com

*Congratulations to the 5280 Closers and their excellent work on this project, signing 3 stores listed, having one in the process of signing, as well as signing all 15 Qdoba stores in the state! They did wonderfully!

Well, I'm hopefully this helps you gather a better sense of a bit of what we did. I am incredibly excited about this ability to blog and talk a bit about each project. I hope you all enjoy the Apprentice Challenge and I hope to be able to meet or see you at The Boardroom Finale!

www.mscd.edu/~alumni/apprenticechallenge/boardroom_about.htm

Nos vemos pronto!

(I will see you all soon!)

Benjamín

My Bio

2008-01-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Gillespie

Name: Benjamin

Hometown: Denver

Major: Modern Languages – Spanish

Minor: Anthropology

Favorite class: Spanish Phonetics – Theory and Practice

Background:
I have lived in Colorado my whole life. I am the oldest of eight children (five girls and three boys), who all are from the same parents. I work full time, take a full semester load at Metro State and love to go four wheeling, play soccer, Frisbee and board games, as well as spend time with my girlfriend. I have been studying Spanish since the sixth grade at Littleton Academy, where Señora Melin ignited my love for it. My passion for Spanish was encouraged and secured through the teaching of a wonderful educator, Señora Susan Truitt at Heritage High School, and now I gain incredible knowledge and information from the Modern Languages faculty at Metro State. I am a member of La sociedad honoraria hispánica and El Club Quixote de MSCD.

Favorite quote:
"Quién no se aventura, no cruza el mar."
– Anonymous
(He who isn't adventuresome, will not cross the sea.)

Why I’m excited about being part of “The Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State”:
I am thrilled to be a part of this program because it is an opportunity for me to connect with other students on campus and with business representatives from Downtown Denver. I am also excited to be challenged in new and thought provoking ways that will help me grow and mature.

Why I should win “The Apprentice Challenge @ Metro State”:
I should win "The Apprentice Challenge" because I am ambitious and driven to complete what is needed—completely, qualitatively and efficiently.