Schmidthorst Student Spotlight: What Did You Do Over Winter Break?

After the Fall 2021 term, many Schmidhorst College of Business students found unique and exciting ways to spend their well-earned three-week breaks over the holidays.

Written by Madison Bannister, Schmidthorst College Communications Intern

After the Fall 2021 term, many Schmidhorst College of Business students found unique and exciting ways to spend their well-earned three-week breaks over the holidays.

Brooke Schlatter, a senior marketing and international business major, traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete at the Universal Dance Association College National Competition with the BGSU Dance Team. This event was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. Schlatter and her teammates spent a total of six days there and placed in the top thirty teams for their routines.

“This was a very new experience for most of the team as we did not compete last year due to COVID,” said Schlatter. “The gap year led us to have only five returning nationals team members—four seniors and one junior—and twenty new members who had never experienced the national competition. We still had an overall great time supporting each other and having fun.”

Schlatter shared that her favorite part of the trip was having Frieda Falcon join the dance team on stage for the first time!

Mitchell Cash, a sophomore supply chain management major, spent his winter break learning a new hobby–woodworking! He learned with his father who had a lot of experience and good tips for Cash. Together, they made blueprints and digital mockups before building Cash a brand new desk.

“The finished product was so incredibly rewarding. It now sits in my room here at BGSU, and I use it on the daily,” said Cash. “Being able to have that experience with my dad was of course the cherry on top.”

Cash hopes to be able to work on more projects with his dad during the upcoming breaks.

Alex Falter, an MBA student, spent her break getting real-world experience through an internship with Journey Financial Solutions Group. She was a marketing and client services associate. 

Alex said she thoroughly enjoyed her experience at Journey Financial Solutions Group and shared that she loved that her role allows her to work with clients and “sell” the company to others.

“It helped me use the skills I have learned in my classes, but it also taught me skills that will help me excel in my future classes,” said Falter. “I was able to make updates to the company website, design and post on social media accounts, create marketing collateral and work directly with clients in completing paperwork.”

The employees also had a fun Christmas gift exchange lunch over break to celebrate the holidays. 

Morgan Reece, a sophomore undecided major, spent her break learning a new skill as well. She learned how to make a candle from scratch while on vacation in Florida. Reece picked the oils she liked, mixed the scents, chose the color she wanted, and then poured the concotion into a glass. It took 2 hours for the candle to finally be ready.

“Getting to create a scent that is completely unique to me was what I found most rewarding from this,” said Reece. “The combination of oils I chose, along with the exact amounts I used, had never been used before. I labeled my scent Cozy Florida Wintertime.”

Bryce Ulrich, a senior marketing and management major, spent his break on vacation. He traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina to see family for a week and then went on to Puerto Morales, Mexico, for a weeklong trip with friends. Puerto Morales is right outside of Cancun.

Ulrich and his two friends, Alex Raffel, a senior sales and services marketing major, and Trevor Schaller, a senior finance and accounting major, spent the week snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, taking bike rides through the local village and enjoying the pool and beach.

“I really enjoyed getting to take a break from school and spend time with my friends before graduation,” said Ulrich. “Puerto Morales has been somewhere my family and I have gone for a while and I enjoyed getting to share it with Trevor and Alex.”