Farewell Speech as Golden Key's ILC President

When I asked if I could have a few words I was told “Cecilia, you can do anything you want!” So here goes. Like the President of the United States the ILC President has terms limits. So this is it for me. And looking back I came up with the: TOP 10 REASONS WHY CECILIA MANRIQUE WILL FIND IT HARD TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO GOLDEN KEY: 10. In her 20 years as advisor to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chapter she has served more than half of that in the highest level of Golden Key’s International Leadership Council first as secretary for 2 terms and as President for 2 terms. 9. She has been to every fun international conference and had been inspired by our motivational speakers like Kyle Maynard here in those 20 years except for one. 8. Her chapter has had the highest ranking – key chapter before, gold now – during all those years except for one – the year she did not attend the international conference. 7. She has served under every ED/CEO of GK. 6. She has as much institutional memory as current ED Brad Rainey and outgoing Board Chair Bill Asbury. 5. It has been a pleasure to provide double diversity (woman and minority) to the Board. 4. I will miss banging (oops pounding!) that gavel at the beginning and end of the 4 now 5 ISes attended/led as President 3. I will miss leading the regions in cheers which I was slowly weaned from at this meeting. 2. I will miss the tradition of bringing treats at every board meeting and leaving them in the staff’s desk when in town. 1. I will miss working with all of you wonderful people – brilliant students, dedicated advisors old and new, hardworking staff members who are here and those gone, and the members of the ILC and the members of the Board who have become part of my “family.”!!! Throughout the weekend I have been asked what will you do now? To Kyle: Not dead! Won’t quit! I return to my chapter to be of more help to my co-advisor Carla Burkhardt who has led the UW-La Crosse chapter without much help from me. I return to my department which I chair for more work since retirements have us in search mode for the next few years. And I return to my family to spend more time with them which they have sacrificed for Golden Key for some time. THANKS, Gabe. Love you, Babe. There are many more countries to visit and more soccer matches to referee. More power to Golden Key as I leave it in very capable hands! It has been a good ride! THANK YOU for the honor and pleasure of serving you!

Blogging in POL 405

This is where I am hoping students in POL 405 Women and Politics in the Middle East will post and share news and videos on the Middle East and share their impressions of what is taking place in class. Half of the class will blog every two weeks and do at least 4 blogs during the semester.

Each blog should contain information/news/videos about the Middle East in general and your specific country and your classmates' countries specifically. Make sure to read the articles and watch the videos that you post. Make sure to write a paragraph or two about each one including the following: 1) a summary of the article or video; 2) a critique of the contents of the article or video; and 3) the usefulness of such an article or video.

London Student Comments

I never thought that once I was home I would feel so different after our trip. As corny as it sounds, I felt extremely at home and at peace in London which gives me hope that one day I will be brave enough to live there on my own. So I would like to take this opportunity to again thank the Manriques for taking the effort and time out of their own busy schedules to shuttle us crazy kids around the city of London. For without them I never would have found my future home within the vast globalized and financial cosmopolitan.
What I did gather from the public places in London is that people were incredibly friendly. When being in such a large metropolitan area, it is not what one would expect. We hear many stories about rude people in places such as New York City, but never London. People on the tube would ask us where we were from, what we had done and answer any questions we might have. I really enjoyed being in such a friendly environment.
I was mostly awed by the beauty of London, its history and buildings are so well preserved and the city was not in the least bit dirty. Needless to say, London left me with an incredible first impression.
The travel study to London was an amazing experience. Even after being home for a couple of weeks and reflecting on the trip, it still baffles me how we accomplished so much in such a short period of time. To not only see many of the tourist attractions, but also meet with multiple businesses is impressive.
All the businesses mentioned above helped show how many of the concepts we learned in class work in the real world. From speculating in the market like Evolution or creating the market like Lloyd’s, the fundamentals of international finance are seen. Many of the businesses also conveyed the same overall message that although right now is a difficult time to do business, it is also exciting and rewarding.
One of the things that stuck with me the most from the trip was seeing the full spectrum of culture in London. On one hand we had the upper class activities, such as seeing the three plays in the West End, and attending the modern art museum. The plays themselves were remarkable, but to be placed in that atmosphere was even more fascinating. Before this trip I was never interested in theater, and I can honestly say that I walked away from this trip with a new respect for the arts. On the other hand you have the middle/lower class activities such as eating at the pub, attending the soccer match or even riding the “tube”.
In a world of prejudice and stereotypes, this may be one of the most valuable lessons learned from travel study. By opening yourself up to others and learning about culture through them you enrich your own values. If the world was more receptive to this message it would be astonishing where we would be.
London taught me a lot. I learned an immense amount of information on international finance, something new about another country’s culture, and like anytime one travels; I learned a little more about myself.

Trip to London

Travel Study to London (December 12-20, 2009)
Cecilia G. Manrique, Professor and Chair, Political Science/Public Administration Department together with student UW-La Crosse Emily Back joined a group of Winona State University students and faculty in a Travel Study Trip to London from Saturday, December 12 to Sunday December 20.
Included in this blog are highlights of the trip and a few (from among the many) photos from the trip.
Highlights included:
1. Each day started at 8:00 a.m. and did not end until about 11:00 p.m.
2. The help of a number of people in England allowed us to give the students a variety of experiences that would probably be difficult to replicate.
3. A British Lord (Lord Freeman) who currently serves in the House of Lords but who also served as a Member of Parliament and as a minister in the John Major government hosted us and gave us a private tour of the British Parliament (Big Ben). He also arranged for high level business briefings and visits for us including an electronic battlefield simulation in the offices of Europe’s leading defense contractor (Thales Corporation).
4. Because we were able to arrange for deep discounts, we were able to afford not just one but three West End musical productions. For The Lion King and for Blood Brothers, the students were actually sitting just 3 rows from the stage. (As an aside, I don’t think any of us thought that we would ever give a four curtain-call, standing ovation to a former Spice Girl, but we did. She was that good!)
5. Private lectures by high-powered individuals at investment banks, the Bank of England, and multinational corporations. The students attended 6 separate high-level business lectures.
6. Hearty meals at several English pubs which we all enjoyed with very little or no alcohol consumption. We hoped this belies the notions that English pubs are only for drinking and that our students cannot control their drinking.
Some photos:


Cecilia Manrique, Lord Freeman and Emily Back


After watching The Lion King
Front: Gabriel Manrique, Britanny Stevens, Emily Thoen, Perrin Gustafson, Cecilia Manrique
Back: Alex Roverud, Dan Ruekert, Kristen Woellert, Emily Back, Ashley Spires, Ryan Gardner and Tyler Hiestand


In the London Eye
Front: Cecilia Manrique, Dan Ruekert, Ryan Gardner, Gabriel Manrique
Middle: Kristen Woellert, Perrin Gustafson, Emily Thoen, Tyler Hiestand and Alex Roverud
Back: Britanny Stevens, Emily Back, Ashley Spires


Emily Back and Cecilia Manrique at Stonehenge


Cecilia and Emil in front of protestors at Trafalgar Square:

The UW-La Crosse Chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society held its New Member Recognition/Induction ceremony on Sunday, October 25 at 3:30 p.m. in Valhalla. Cecilia Manrique, Political Science/Public Administration, chapter co-advisor and International leadership Council President delivered the Greetings from GK headquarters. Carla Burkhardt, College of Science and Health, chapter co-advisor, introduced the GK officers. Five new Honorary Members were inducted and they are pictured below with Provost Kathleen Enz-Finken who delivered the Welcome for the University, Carla and Cecilia:



Left to right: Carla Burkhardt, Al Trapp, Dr. Thomas Thompson, Representative Jennifer Shilling, Provost Enz-Finken, Dean Ruthann Benson, Dr. Jon Hageseth (who gave the keynote address) and Cecilia Manrique.

UWL 100 Trick or Treat

Carla Burkhardt and Cecilia Manrique together with their UWL 100 Freshman Seminar class would like to thank all those offices, departments and faculty members in Wimberly who contributed to their trick or treat for cans on Wednesday, October 28 – Economics, English, Management, Marketing, Political Science, Sociology, the Small Business Development Center. The cartful of canned goods and other foods was brought to the Involvement Center for the campus food pantry. THANK YOU for your generosity!



Front: Carla Burkhardt, Jennifer DeGrave, Caitlyn Bednarek, Kayla Szydel
Middle: Abigail Diehl, Taylor Smith, Marissa Riordan, Ashley Salwey, Cecilia Manrique, Alec Fitzsimmons
Back: Ricky Pulido, JR Lewis, Kelsey Campbell, Steve Brooks, Blake Ward

Ateneans in Toronto

There are indeed ties that bind and in our case, the Ateneo is a tie that strongly binds. My wife and I spent a thoroughly enjoyable evening with KOB – Toronto, fellow Ateneans I have not seen for more than 38 years. Rey Domondon graciously hosted a gathering that included Mon Carluen, Al Roldan, Ding Bautista, Robert Farolan and Mon Leuterio. Spouses were also present to share the laughs and the camaraderie.
Of course there was a lot of food including a full lechon – we are talking about Pinoys after all. There were reminiscences about Ateneo. There were updates about where life had taken us. But most of all, we got to share our thoughts not just about the Philippines but also about our experiences as immigrants who, whether we choose to or not, still straddle two cultures. Naturally, there were other things we talked about but as Ding said, what happens in Toronto, stays in Toronto.
Ces and I thank the guys and gals who made our brief visit to Toronto very memorable. I do hope we get a chance to visit again. Toronto is a beautiful and cosmopolitan city.
And Louie G. – thanks for establishing and maintaining this group. It is a very valuable tool for maintaining our ties.