Program allows students to earn credit

With this week’s Global Awareness Week emphasizing the importance of international travel and learning, the College of Business Administration reminds students about the international opportunities in Puebla, Mexico, and Quebec, Canada.

But the travel experiences won’t take students away for a whole semester.

Both programs, open to students of any major, will explore the history, culture, business conduct, social and economic factors that shape the areas.

Both programs last three weeks and are scheduled during the same weeks at the end of May and the beginning of June.

“A lot of people don’t have a whole semester to take off to travel. This is an opportunity to get out travel for a short time,” said Kelly Mata, study abroad adviser.

It is a chance to gain first-hand knowledge about other cultures while touring different international locations, said Elizabeth Sinclair-Colando, assistant dean of the College of Business Administration. It is important to gain appreciation for different people and the different business functions in those cultures.

The program in Canada addresses upon topics including international marketing and management, finance and accounting regulations and transportation logistics.

“There are many differences between our cultures,” Sinclair-Colando said. “This allows students to gain better understanding of business in a different culture.”

Students earn credit from the programs, but there is more value to the international experience, Sinclair-Colando said.

“It’s an eye-opener to travel,” she said. “You learn to appreciate what people go through coming from different countries and speaking a different language.”

Natasha Jankowski, International Student and Scholar Service intern, has traveled abroad and said undergraduates should take advantage of the opportunity to travel abroad.

“In an ever expanding global market, why wouldn’t you want to take the experience? It’s the smartest move you could make,” Jankowski said.

Both programs accept students who are at least at the sophomore level.

The deadline for applications is March 31, when the first payment installment is due. For more information about these programs, contact Theresa Wallace at the College of Business Administration at (330) 672-1292 or e-mail her at [email protected].

Contact College of Business Administration reporter Carrie Scully at [email protected].