Pardon Me For Blogging...

I have never participated in a blog before, but much of my future path seems clear to me now, so it seems I must learn to blog... well. My name is Bradford Cayer, Brad works just fine. I have always lived in New England, most recently in Maine, and after numerous so-cold-it-sucks-the-air-out-of-your-lungs winters, I am looking forward to the change. Before everyone warns me about how hot Tennessee can get (I'm getting that a lot up here right now), please understand that I work in 95* weather wearing jeans. I actually like it hot.

So my "thing" is problem solving. From card games to "we have no money, and the bills are due", I enjoy the the challenge of solving puzzles. Want to hear about my life story? How'd this come about? What kind of problems? Where can I get an signed copy of your autobiography? Ask me in person, its too long for a blog. The point is that I have always pursued business, because of the unique sets of problems that seem to accompany enterprise. It just the way I tick.

And then came college.  I have always been personable, or at least thats what people tell me. (the ones that like me, anyway).  That's why Hospitality seemed to be a natural fit for me as a career choice. I earned my undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management from the University of New Hampshire. Cow Hampshire to New Englanders. Through a unique series of events (again, life story available in person) I was given an opportunity to work as a manager trainee at a family owned resort facility in Maine. I took it. It was currently under construction, and as luck would have it, it was never completed. Humph. The story that goes with that is a long one, too... but the cliff notes have something to do with a lack of funding, business plan revisions, and a unicorn. (Ok, I made up the part about the unicorn). When all was said and done, I had agreed to work to transition the business from plan A to plan B. It was an incredible challenge, and a very valuable experience.

Enter Owen. More realistically, enter the idea of graduate school. I applied to numerous schools, as everyone does. I had my "reach", my "safe" school, and my "I bet these will work". Vanderbilt was my reach. Boy, am I looking forward to attending Owen. At first there were three factors that made Vandy the ultimate choice. First, I am looking to pursue a healthcare MBA. Some of the schools I looked at offered MBAs, MHAs, or some combination to move towards healthcare management. In each case, it seemed like one side (healthcare or business) was weak. Simply put, no school seemed to be able to provide a rigorous, balanced education in both aspects of their program. Which leads to reason number two. The healthcare MBA has a submersion set that sounds AWESOME! Coupled with volunteer hours, I am hoping to soak up as much of the nuts and bolts of health care delivery as possible. The third reason was reputation. Everyone knows exactly what I am talking about here, why beat the dead horse.

The Fourth reason, can only be expressed with a visit. My wife and I came to welcome weekend in April. Wow. I have never felt so welcome... EVER. Lets not forget I'm in hospitality. Owen was amazing. We met so many friendly people, and even took an alum we met out for pizza. I had already decided that Owen was for me, but after I visited, knew I belonged here.

Moving forward from here... I hope to become an entertaining blogger. Not Eddie Izzard entertaining, but more along the lines of Douglas Adams. Specifically, I want to get your attention, and hold it long enough to talk about something of value. Whatever the topic of the blog, I would love for every reader to participate. One of the most exciting things about welcome weekend was seeing the variety of folks that have accepted the invitation to attend Owen. I can't wait to see how all of these different perspectives converge. We learn best from each other. A blog is a forum, right? In return for your unquestioning devotion... I will make a promise. I will always try tell the truth as I see it. I do that anyway, but here you have it in writing. I have nothing to gain by fluffing up Owen. I'm not likely to get a scholarship anytime soon. I'd rather keep quiet than tell someone else's "truth". So if you ask me a question, I'll answer it. Period. I think its a pretty good deal really...

This concludes our broadcast today... like it? Don't like it? let me know! Maybe I'll agree, and make a change. All in all, I think its a pretty good blog. For those of you only half paying attention, some of these one-liners were meant as jokes. They might not be funny, but they were meant to be funny. I know I laughed.

Comments

[Jared]

Hey Bradford - great post and welcome to the Owen community!

[Lisa Foley]

Welcome Brad! Nice to have another Wildcat in Nashville. I think we may be the only UNH-ers to ever come to Owen.

UNH 99, Owen 2008

[Brad]

Thanks Jared... I appreciate the kind words!

Lisa... I too am a UNH grad of 99. Congrats on being in the Owen class of 08... shoot me an email... I'd love to hear about your path to greatness, where you are going, etc!

bradc@palmyra-me.com

[Claudia/Mommy-in-law]

So this is what you are doing with your time? Get in there are unpack those boxes boy!

Actually this is great. I hope you will keep it up when you have your nose buried in case studies. Come football season I will find out just how annoying it is to have two Vandy guys in the family. Do remember MEN, your wives are dyed-in-the-wool Gators!