James Janssen: The "James" of all Trades

A little bit about James Janssen

    I am originally from Lincoln, Nebraska where I graduated from high school in 1998. Upon graduating I moved to Arizona to work on establishing residency and ultimately pursue a degree from ASU.  I will graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in May of 2005.
 
My hobbies include:
  • Building, fixing and working on computers
  • Playing sports
  • Working on cars and installing car stereo systems
  • Playing the guitar
  • Swing Dancing
  • Watching movies
  • Playing tennis

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Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies   

    The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program (BIS) is a program where students pursue two subject-area concentrations which represent academic interests they wish to integrate into a meaningful program.

 

 

Benefits from choosing a BIS degree

      The two areas that I selected to focus on were business and communication. I feel as though good communication within companies is vital in order to run at the highest efficiency level. I also feel that a good business background is very marketable in the world today. Someone with a degree that combines two areas of study will be more marketable than someone who only focuses on one. I will pursue a career in sales upon graduation and will use what I have learned from my busniess and communication classes to be the best salesman that I can be for the company I work for.

 

 

BIS Coursework

  • Foundations of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS 301)  introduced concepts and methods of interdisciplinary study by examining the workplace and civic trends. Many of the assignments completed in class involved working in small groups. These assignements provided valuable experience in working and collaborating with a variety of personalities.  Specifically these included a close-up view of social interaction between people representing different perspectives and observing different reactions.  We were also responsible for creating a portfolio which was a culmination of: work containing completed college assignments, prior work experiences, and other personal qualities and attributes we chose to include about ourselves.  

  • Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS 302) focused on the integration of my two areas of concentration, business and communication, as applied to various methods of collecting new data. In this class we focused on observational research. Members of the class made different observations based on their areas of concentration and reported the data to the class. I observed the number of customers at both a Verizon store as well as a Sprint store. I focused on the total number of customers as well as their gender within a specific time period.

  • Applied Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS 401) was an online course designed to enable students to learn about their concentration areas in an applied setting, and to gain practical experience. Using interdisciplinary methods, the internship becomes an experiential learning lab where students make connections between their course work and hands-on knowledge. I am currently interning at a computer accounting software company, Windsor Management Group, whose clients consist of school districts from across the country.

  • Senior Seminar (BIS 402) has enabled me to tie business and communication course work which I have studied at ASU theoretically into the workplace. I have chosen course topics that address my interests and completed papers which include research based and open response assignments. I have also read books about money and finding meaning in life and written papers in response to the readings.

 

Internship

    Throughout the semester I worked as an intern at Windsor Management Group. I learned a great deal about the company as well as the different departments that make up Windsor Management Group.

    Over the semester my mentor came up with different tasks for me to complete. I was able to help the technicial support employees work on and repair computers and was asked to create a customer satisfaction survey. Using the survey I called the different school districts and recorded their responces to my questions. After completing the data gathering, I formed a summary of the data which was handed out to the managers at a company meeting. I am thankful for the opportunity that I had to work as an intern at Windsor Management Group and would recommend the company to future BIS students.

 

 

Classes I have completed from the W.P. Carey School of Business

    ACC 230 Uses of Accounting I

    ACC 240 Uses of Accounting II

    CIS 200 Computer Applications and Information Technology

    CSE 180 Computer Literacy

    ECN 111 Macroeconomics

    ECN 112 Microeconomics

    FIN 380 Personal Financial Management

    LES 380 Consumer Perspective Business Law

    MGT 380 Business Management and Strategy

    QBA 221 Statistical Analysis

 

 

Things I have learned from my business classes

    There have been many things I have learned over my years of study at Arizona State University from how to interpret supply and demand curves to what it takes to have good business management skills. I have learned about buying and selling stocks and bonds as well as the software programs associated with Microsoft Office. Over the semesters I have been taught the legal rights of consumers as well as how to read a accounting spreadsheets. I feel as though the business classes that I have taken have prepared me for a career in the real world.

 

 

Classes I have completed from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication

    COM 100 Introduction to Human Communication

    COM 110 Elements of Interpersonal Communication

    COM 225 Public Speaking

    COM 310 Relational Communication

    COM 312 Communication Conflict and Negotiation

    COM 316 Gender Communication

    COM 400 Performance of Organizational Communication

 

 

Things I have learned from my communication classes

    From the communication classes I have taken I have learned how to be a better public speaker, how to communicate better with others and how to deal with conflicts among family, friends and co-workers. I have learned how to overcome disagreements in a productive way as well as how to communicate with those who come from different cultures, genders, and backgrounds than my own. Good communication skills, weather working with fellow employees on group projects or presenting an idea to your peers, are a must in today's working world.

 
Additional information about my work history
    Having worked for an airline for about three years I became very familiar with the industry. As a reservation sales agent I learned the computer system fairly quickly and become a top salesman shortly after starting with the company.
    From that job I learned a great deal about the desires of our customers as well as good customer service skills. I learned how to work with the customers to find what they were looking for and make the sale. I am greatful for the expierence I have received from that job and will carry what I have learned from it with me as I head back into the working world.