Honors Program

This spring break, the Honors program visited Seattle, Washington to talk with companies and explore the region!

For spring break this year, Honors students from Saunders College of Business traveled out to New York City to experience the world of business in one of the largest cities in the world!  So far, the group has made stops at the Statue of Liberty, FAO Schwarz, and even the set of Good Morning America.

Spending this past week in Silicon Valley has been a very eye-opening experience. We had the opportunity to get a glimpse at a wide myriad of companies, from startups with a technology oriented culture, to global consultancy firms whose culture overflowed with signs of artistic innovation and design thinking.People in the valley don't settle for adequacy. These entrepreneurial-minded individuals are constantly attempting to improve their own lives through life hacks and inventions, while subsequently improving the lives of many others around them.

On Monday we had the opportunity of meeting with Steve Capps, an RIT alumni who has a startup in the Bay Area known as PayNearMe. Capps moved straight from RIT to Xerox, then worked for Apple, and after spending some time in Paris, was coaxed by Apple to return to his former position. Capps shared with us his wide gamut of experiences and also gave us some very wise words of advice regarding career paths. He gave us a look into his life, highlighting the spontaneity of his career path, and he emphasized that having a game plan is not a necessity for success.

In just two days, I’ll be on a plane to the other side of the world.  Even as I’m typing, I still can’t believe it!  Even my friends and family are still in shock.  After all, it’s not every day that a college kid gets to visit China for spring break!  

So who am I?  Here's a quick little blurb:  My name is Shannon Ryan, and I'm a second year new media marketing student at RIT.  I'm in the Honors Program, I'm on the school swim team, and I'm a sister of the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter Iota Psi here on campus.