Nate's October Blog

2010-10-07

My first month of Johnson & Wales has been one that I will never forget. I moved in on the 5th of September and it has been great ever since. At JWU, I am enrolled in the Hospitality College majoring in sports/entertainment event management. My classes have been really great so far and really career focused. Although the workload is extensive, I know that it will only help me along the way to my future goals and aspirations. Also, moving to a city has been one of the best decisions I have made. Growing up and living in small town had really kept me feeling small and sheltered. Providence has really taught me all that there is out there and that there are always possibilities around the corner. Not to mention that there is always something to do in a city whether it is shopping or just exploring new places. It has been great! On the 10th of September, I also got to celebrate my birthday! Kurtis Conkel ended up visiting JWU around the same time, so I got to spend a great 4 days with him. We headed up to Boston and around New England, exploring and having fun. It was such a great birthday.

Otherwise, I have been doing a lot on campus and for DECA. On campus, I recently got involved with the student government. I was elected to a student senator position for the SGA as well. In SGA, we discuss rules and policies that should be reviewed and enforced on the campus. I also have gotten to do some community service opportunities around the city through the university. For DECA, I had the chance to join Collegiate DECA at JWU. I got to sign up for competitive events, some community service options and the leadership academy. Hopefully, this will give me the chance to continue where my DECA journey ended in high school. Also, I hope being in Collegiate DECA will help me improve the skills I will need during my term as NARVP. Other than doing that, I had the chance to meet with Rhode Island DECA’s state president, Alec Dalton. During our lunch, we got the chance to talk about different things he and his state team could do to help expand DECA’s network in Rhode Island.

While being so busy, college has taught me a lot of skills. I have learned the very necessary skill of time management here. Managing being a national officer, school work, and school activities has taught me time is valuable and using posted notes and calendars really works well. I also have learned money management. With only a part time job on top of DECA and school, using money smartly has become very important. Deciding what a need versus a want is has been such an important skill to acquire. Learning these skills will again help me prepare for my future past college. I would recommend learning these and more “survival” skills as soon as you can so you can use them in college and beyond.

Well as school continues, I hope to keep you all informed about what is going on with DECA and myself. Don’t forget to celebrate DECA Week this month also, October 10th-16th! I hope to hear all your DECA Week stories. You can find me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nate.keeney), follow me on Twitter (@decanatekeeney), or just email at decanate@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Stay safe, have fun and be well.

Nate Keeney
North Atlantic Region Vice President