A-List Profile: by Chad Pipkins

Here is what being an A Lister means to me:

For starters, when I was growing up in Northern Michigan I had the pleasure of my father taking me to school every morning; I always enjoyed the talks and lectures that he gave me; to sum it up he always preached to me, "son if you want to be somebody someday you need to get an education!" Not knowing until I graduated from high school and went off to college that my father didn't graduate from high school. He was still able to create a large amount of success for himself and give his family everything they wanted. I'm so very thankful. 

So, I am the first person in my entire family to go to college, so that was a huge step for me and a bit scary at first! However, I always told myself that I am going to do my best and give it 110% no matter what happens and if I fail I can at least say I gave it my all. 

When I got that email stating that I made it on Professor Beck's A list, it showed me that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. It showed me that I can create my own personal success. 

Not only was it me that pushed myself, but it was the influence from Professor Valerie Beck that motivated me to do my best! She understood me and inspired me to be the best person I can be!

Being an A Lister is more than a title or an incentive, its proof that with hard work and determination you can achieve anything! The world is in your hands, don't give up, believe in yourself and you can achieve your wildest dreams!

Best wishes and regards,

Chad Pipkins 

A-List Chocolate and Macaron Party

“A passionate belief in your business and personal objectives can make all the difference between success and failure. If you aren't proud of what you're doing, why should anybody else be?”
- Richard Branson

Deeply proud of my students at the Spring 2017 A-List Chocolate & Macaron Party: Benedita Silva Pinto, Martim Castro, Sean Johnson, yours truly Valerie Beck, Michael Wulfstat, Doina Railean, Kadisha Mukhamejanova.
Looking good!

A quick quiz for you:

Q: How do you get onto the A-List?
A: Earn an A in my class!

Q: What do you get on the A List?
A: Perks!

As the Spring 2017 term drew to a close at Kendall College, where I am an adjunct professor alongside my business Chocolate Uplift, I asked seasoned A-Listers what type of event they would like in order to celebrate the end of another successful season, and to welcome our new A-Listers into the club: pizza party on campus, or elegant dress-up event off campus, and they chose the latter!

So I arranged a special chocolate and macaron party with the amazing team at the magnificent Peninsula Chicago Hotel, and our A-Listers who attended were:

Martim Castro
Sean Johnson
Kadisha Mukhamejanova
Doina Railean
Benedita Silva Pinto
Michael Wulfstat

Wave if you love chocolate!

I am proud of my A-Listers!

We enjoyed special-order chocolate caramel brownie batons, delightful macarons, coffee and tea, and chocolate bars that I brought from craft chocolate maker clients of mine such as always-popular Violet Sky Chocolate, plus awesome ambiance at the five-star Peninsula, and engaging conversation!

For example, we talked about what our top students love about Kendall College, and what they would change. Those who hadn't had the chance to get to know each other before, got to do so in our positive environment of celebration and reflection.

I presented our students with certificates, as a tangible token of their accomplishments, and for an item to put into an e-portfolio or onto LinkedIn.

As a fun and meaningful activity, I asked everyone to pass their certificate to their right, and let their neighbor write a compliment to them, while they wrote a compliment to their neighbor from the left. The certificates were passed around - maybe not always in order, as A-Listers often apply their own creative style! - until everyone had given and received compliments. I also wrote a personal note to each student.

Isn't it uplifting to have something like that for a "rainy day file" - that is, on a down day, you can take out your certificate, remember how others have praised and appreciated you for your hard work, your success, and for simply being who you are, and then perk back up with renewed belief! I first encountered that idea years ago from a past mentor, have seen it written about in a few places as in the link above, and was thrilled to see my mentees embrace it as well.

From Benedita, Doina, and Martim! Wow, thank you!

I felt appreciated too, through the warm attitude of each dear student, and through the lovely olive-infused bath gift that is like a Mediterranean vacation!

We had fun with photo moments, before sailing off on our chocolate clouds, until the next A-List perks!

A-List group-selfie magic with Benedita, Sean, yours truly, Doina, Martim, Kadisha.

With ladies of intelligence and elegance, Benedita and Kadisha on my right, and Doina on my left!

With gentlemen of distinction, Sean and Martim!

Congratulations, A-Listers!

Onward and upward!
Valerie Beck

A-Listers Create International Chocolate Booth

The world through chocolate: knowledgeable and hard-working Kendall College A-List students created an interactive Chocolate Booth for the campus International Fair, with yours truly as advisor! Samples from 3 of the first-class craft chocolate brands I represent:  Solstice Chocolate made in the US from Uganda Cacao, Marou Chocolate made in Vietnam from Vietnam cacao, and Pump Street Bakery Chocolate made in England from Honduras cacao. All sustainable, child-slavery-free, soy-free, small-batch, and scrumptious - available in Chicago at Hannah's Bretzel (Solstice, Pump Street) or Pastoral (Marou) - and presented along with a craft chocolate survey and brochure by A-Listers!

When the Kendall College Manager of International Affairs, Mr. Clare Lake, asked if I would gather students to create a chocolate booth for the school's International Fair in spring of 2017, I immediately thought of A-Listers such as Michael Wulfstat and Aida Yestayeva who have become craft chocolate experts, and of students in my Business Case Development class who were on a class team working on a chocolate-related project!

Those who stepped up to join Aida and Michael from Business Case Development were then-On-Target A-Listers (now full-fledged members!) and are a very special and professional group of students: Martim Dias da Cunha, Doina Railean, Maria Benedita Silva Pinto, and Daniel Wigutow!

Many hands make light work: A-Listers designed and created the Chocolate Booth from (a tiny fraction of!) of my artisan chocolate bar wrapper collection!

This group not only created a beautiful booth display out of a small portion of my chocolate bar wrapper collection, Business Case Development A-Listers also created, conducted, and analyzed a well-thought-out survey, from which they devised a potential new business division for their class business case.

The students also designed a lovely and informative brochure and interactive poster, and together with their long-time A-Lister counterparts they welcomed booth visitors warmly, shared samples of the chocolate bars I selected to tell the sustainable bean-to-bar chocolate story in an international fashion, and shared education on how to enjoy artisan chocolate and choose sustainable chocolate made from child-slavery-free cacao.

Michael Wulfstat, Benedita Silva Pinto, and Daniel Wigutow at the Chocolate Booth at the Kendall College spring 2017 International Fair

The booth drew enthusiastic praise from Kendall students, faculty, staff, and administration, who were impressed with the professionalism of the students, the deliciousness of the chocolate, and the educational aspects the students put into the booth and their interaction with guests.

I was enormously impressed to see the team working together so well to create and implement a plan that met and exceeded their objectives, while having fun and spreading the good chocolate word in a fun way for all who came to the booth!

For example, a goal was to gather 40 survey responses, and the team collected 106!

Survey respondents were entered to win one of my Chocolate Uplift craft chocolate subscription boxes

Congratulations, new and seasoned A-Listers and sustainable chocolate experts!

Wave if you love chocolate!
Superstar A-Listers behind the Chocolate Booth:
Daniel Wigutow, Benedita Silva Pinto, Doina Railean, yours truly Valerie Beck, Michael Wulfstat, Aida Yestayeva, Martim Dias da Cunha.

Teamwork!
Our Chocolate Booth A-Listers and I wearing our new Peruvian friendship bracelets from Chocolate Uplift subscription boxes, to honor the original source of cacao - South America - and with cocoa beans - the source of all chocolate.
Onward and upward!

A-List Profile: by Michael Wulfstat

By Michael Wulfstat

 My final year at Kendall was filled with challenges, triumphs, life-changing experiences, and incredible validations that proved to me that going back to school at 39 was the best decision I have ever made.

I ended the spring 2016 year taking 2nd place in the McGuire business plan competition as team captain and earning a split of a $5,000 prize as the first ever Kendall team to compete. 

In the fall of 2016, I became one of the first local business students to ever study abroad at Universidad Europea de Madrid in Spain, and not only excelled in my studies, but also absorbed a once in a life time experience. I traveled Spain and Europe, made life-long friends, and was even voted the President of my residence hall! 

In the Spring of 2017 during my last quarter, I was awarded a Kendall Trust scholarship and was the CEO of the winning financial planning Capsim simulation business team. 

Next week, I will be graduating with honors and am just starting to grasp how my time here at Kendall has truly changed my life...I have befriended some of the best people on the planet, learned from the most dedicated and caring professors, broadened my horizons through many truly cultural experiences, and never dreamed that I could ever achieve so much this late in life. 

Looking back, one of my very first sources of validation was earning membership to Professor Valerie Beck's "A-list". It not only confirmed I was on the right track, but also helped me to realize that there are people who truly care and that are dedicated to changing, both your life, and the world. 

Whether currently taking a class with her or not, "A-Listers" are always invited to join exciting and educational experiences. Some of my favorites were trips to the Drake Hotel, Hannah's Bretzel, and the new Google office in Fulton Market. Being an "A-lister" has some incredible perks! 

My greatest wish is that my story can help to inspire and motivate all those that are unsure and/or terrified to pursue their true potential. I am living proof, that no matter what your history, it is never too late to change your destiny, fulfill your dreams, and realize your potential!

With best regards, hopeful dreams, and complete confidence - 

       Sincerely, Michael Wulfstat - Kendall College | International School of Business

Video: A-Listers Taste Scottish Chocolate

[Video]

When you think of fine chocolate, what countries do you think of?

Belgium?

Switzerland?

Why not Scotland!

Watch as I lead a quick chocolate tasting with A-Listers Val Oliveira and Dominique Pyka, to promote Chocolate Uplift client Chocolate Tree of Scotland in their successful crowdfunding campaign.

Didn't our A-Listers do a fabulous job, poised and professional as always!

Dakota Johnson (videographer), Valquiera Oliveira, yours truly Valerie Beck, and Dominique Pyka, at Alliance Patisserie (founded by Kendall College alum Peter Rios) where we taped!

A-List Interns at World of Chocolate Gala

Must love chocolate:

That's one of the qualifications to be an intern at my business Chocolate Uplift, and Kendall College A-students Zhanna Diyarova and Lidiia Komisarchuk met that qualification with knowledge and style!

Zhanna Diyarova, Valerie Beck, Lidiia Komisarchuk

We had a blast attending the annual World of Chocolate event, where I'm a judge, and which is held every December on World AIDS Day to benefit the AIDS Foundation of Chicago in support of research and awareness.

Around 3 dozen chefs and chocolatiers create fanciful and delicious chocolate creations for guests at the event to sample, and the theme this time was The Roaring Twenties - costumes optional, appreciated, and donned by our Chocolate Uplift team for sure!

Lidiia and Zhanna did an excellent job helping me judge the competition, where a team of Kendall College students were among the entrants, led by dear Chef Sidd.

Our A-List interns conducted themselves in a polished and professional manner as always, for networking as well as celebrating.

We also enjoyed the savory food buffet, raffles, dancing, and mingling with 1,100 other guests, all for an important cause!

How's that for a sweet A-List perk!

A-Listers Win Cash at Business Plan Competition

Team PURE led by A-Listers Michael Wulfstat (Team Captain), Aida Yestayeva, and Dominique Pyka

Huge congratulations to the Kendall College students who earned a spot in the finals and ultimately took Second Prize and a total of $5,000 in the Laureate McGuire International Business Plan Competition!

Kendall was represented by an amazing team, led by A-Listers Dominique Pyka, Michael Wulfstat (Team Captain), and Aida Yestayeva.

The team created a hypothetical business called PURE, which would rescue ugly food from farms where it would otherwise be discarded, and deliver it to food deserts via cool vending machines. The business would thus address two important US issues: food waste, and hunger.

Award Celebration Dinner!
Standing: team member Aida Yestayeva, team captain Michael Wulfstat, Dean Rob Watson, team member Dustin Freund, Professor Ted Mandigo.
Seated: Provost Agueda Benito, team member Dominique Pyka, yours truly team co-mentor Valerie Beck, team co-mentor Cindy McCarthy.

The team was mentored by Kendall Core Contributing Faculty members Cindy McCarthy and yours truly, and we and the administration could not be more proud of Team PURE!