My Portfolio
by Kyle DesVergnes
The Bachelor’s of Interdisciplinary Studies
program at Arizona state University is the one that I chose to do. This degree program allows the student to select two concentration
areas, and study both of them equally. In addition to these concentration area classes, there are also four core classes.
They are BIS 301, BIS 302, BIS 401, and BIS 402. These classes help to connect the concepts and theories learned in each concentration
area. The BIS classes show the student how they can combine the skills they learn, even though they may not seem related.
The combining of these skills will benefit the student as they apply for, as well as work for a company.
I chose the Bachelor’s of Interdisciplinary
Studies program because I liked the thought of studying two concentration areas equally, rather that choosing a major and
a minor, and focusing primarily on the major. The two concentration areas that I chose to study are business and tourism.
I feel that these two areas of study relate really well, and I wanted to study them both the same, not one more than the other.
The four core classes provided me with real-world
knowledge, as well as a deeper understanding of my two concentration areas. BIS 301 (Introduction to interdisciplinary studies)
provided me with group work experience that I will use throughout my career. This class also taught me how to properly create
my resume. BIS 302 also focused on work in small groups, as well as methods of research. In this class I learned how to research
scholarly information for writing a paper. This knowledge will make the papers that I write, as well as any type of research
that I do in the future much more credible, since the sources are from reliable sources. BIS 401 is an applied study course.
This class accompanies an internship that I did at the Radisson Resort and Casino. The internship allowed me to use all of
the theories and concepts that I learned in my concentration classes, as well as in the four BIS classes, in a real-world
setting. This class also taught my to analyze the company, find out where it needs improvement, and then come up with an interdisciplinary
solution for the problem. The final core class was BIS 402 (senior seminar). This class is the capstone to all of the interdisciplinary
classes. It combines all of the research skills that I learned in my other BIS classes for one research paper that tries to
solve a real-world problem with an interdisciplinary approach.
CONCENTRATION AREA #1 (Tourism)
Sem/yr
Concentration Area #1
Skills Learned
Knowledge Learned
Knowledge that I received from this class would be, an understanding of the history
of leisure around the world, and why it is so important. I also learned about the different ways in which people recreate.
Semester/yr
Concentration Area #1
Skills Learned
Knowledge Learned
Skills Learned
Skills that I learned in this class are mostly ways to
continue having tourism in tourism areas, but to do it without destroying the environment. This ensures that an area will
be able to have tourism far into the future. Some tourism destinations now promote environmental preservation.
Knowledge Learned
In this tourism class I learned a lot about how tourism
negatively affects the environment. We talked about how the cruise ships spill oil in the harbors, and how their anchors tear
up the coral reefs on the bottom of the sea, which take thousands of years to grow. We also talked about eco-tourism, and
how people are attempting to preserve the environment. Eco-tourism is a great idea, but with how many people that are going
on these eco-friendly trips, the environments in these areas are still being polluted, and stripped of their natural resources.
Sem/yr
Concentration Area #1
Skills Learned
In this class I learned how to set up tourism events for
large of small groups of people. This skill will be helpful because most tourism destinations set up activities for the tourists
while they stay there.
Knowledge Learned
This class taught me what types of activities are preferred
at certain types of tourism destinations, as well as how to plan them. I also learned about many different types of tourism
destinations that are out of the ordinary.
Semester/yr Concentration Area #1
Skills To Be Learned
This class taught me how to continue having tourism to
other countries, but at the same time try to preserve the native peoples’ cultures as well as their way of life. Most
of the time when tourism is introduced into an area, the peoples’ way of life is changed because they are catering to
the tourists, and trying to make money from them.
Knowledge To Be Learned
This class looked at tourism to other countries, as well
it’s effect on the countries’ economies. I also learned how tourism affects the people who live at the tourism
destination
Semester/yr
Concentration Area #1
CONCENTRATION AREA #2 (Business)
Sem/yr
Concentration Area #2
Skills Learned
In this class I learned many skills. The first one is
how to create a fair, as well as efficient environment in the work place, by rewarding those who actually excel in their fields.
We learned that companies that compensate their workers equally, are less efficient than those that compensate their workers
according to what they accomplish. For example, if someone who is working very hard to get a job done is paid the same as
someone who is always late, and does nothing while they are there, that person working hard will develop a negative attitude,
and will probably slack off on the next job. I also learned how to identify someone’s locus of control. The meaning
of locus of control is that, if someone has an internal locus of control, the feel that they create their own destiny, meaning
that they are in complete control of their lives. If someone has an external locus of control, they feel as if they have little
or no control over what happens to them, as well as where they end up in life.
Knowledge Learned
In this class we talked a lot about theories, such as
the “Vroom Motivation Theory” which basically says that if someone achieves success in a task that they are given,
they will feel more job-satisfaction. I also learned about how decisions are made in corporations, as well as how to make
decisions in groups.
Semester/yr
Concentration Area #2
Skills Learned
Knowledge
Learned
In this class I learned a
lot about the laws about real estate, such as the rights that tenants have when they rent a place from someone, and how the
taxes work when you sell a house. I also learned about the duties of a real estate agent when they are helping their principle
(person who the agent represents) buy or sell a house.
Semester/yr Concentration Area #2
Skills Learned
Knowledge Learned
This class basically gives you an idea about how businesses operate, and how they use their retained
earnings to invest back into the company to make the company bigger, and more competitive in the future. In class we look
at certain companies and discuss their current financial situations. For example, we talked about General Motors and how they
are loosing market share to Toyota and Honda because these foreign companies have been investing in fuel-efficient technology
for the last 10-15 years.
Semester/yr
Concentration Area #2
Knowledge Learned
This class provides a basic
understanding of how to create personal wealth. It explores the possible investments, and what their average yields are. I
can now read the Wall Street Journal and know what every number and symbol means in the stock and bond sections, as well as
select the best investment for me with the information provided.
Sem/yr
Concentration Area #2
Skills Learned
This class provided me with the knowledge to market a
certain destination or product to the target market. It also taught me how to identify what demographic I am trying to appeal
to, and how to do this. Unlike the Tourism Marketing class that I have had, this one was more general, and focused on many
products to market, not just tourism destinations and services.
Knowledge Learned
This class provided me with many examples of different
types of marketing techniques used to attract the targeted demographic group. We discussed what we liked about the method
used, and also how we would improve the advertisement to maximize the results.
Semester/yr
Concentration Area #2
Skills Learned
This class taught me how to identify what price to charge
for a product or service, in order to maximize profits for the company. I will also be able to identify what the demand is
for our products, as well as our competitors’ products.
Knowledge Learned
I will be able to make a business run as efficiently as possible by being able to understand how to
identify what the market is like for our product or service.
