Starting off the trip in Venice, Italy.

Author: Catie Little | Majors: Supply Chain Management and Marketing

My name is Catie Little and I am a senior at the University of Arkansas. I am double majoring in Supply Chain Management and Marketing, and minoring in Finance with a Real Estate Concentration. This summer I studied with CIMBA Study Abroad Programs in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy. I learned a tremendous amount in the month I spent abroad and am beyond grateful for the experience.

Sitting in my Freshman Business Connections course three years ago, I remember a woman coming in to talk about a study abroad program where I could live on a campus in Northern Italy and learn from the best professors during the week, then travel to wherever my heart desired on the weekends. I was intrigued and thought this program sounded perfect to me. With COVID and hesitations, it wasn’t until my junior year that I decided it was time to apply to go. I got accepted and spent the first month of my summer before senior year at CIMBA. It was a summer to remember.

CIMBA advanced both my academic and professional goals in ways I will always remember. By having two classes every morning, I learned the importance of time management, as I had to have my assignments done each day. In the afternoons, we would attend business tours, which allowed me to gain knowledge about business processes and professional etiquette. One of my favorite trips was going to tour Hausbrandt Trieste, where we were able to try their coffee and see the manufacturing processes behind it. My classes at CIMBA were top notch, with excellent professors. I took The Global Consumer with Dr. Molly Rapert and International Marketing with Professor Swinder Janda. This was my first class I have taken with Dr. Rapert, who is a professor at the University of Arkansas. Her class was discussion based and incorporated topics regarding issues all over the world. I was pleasantly surprised with how active everyone was in discussion and learned a lot from hearing what my classmates had to say about the readings. I hope to take another course that Dr. Rapert teaches back at the U of A. Professor Janda’s International Marketing class fit an abundance of great information regarding business all over the world within the four short weeks. I loved his class, as he always had jokes within his lectures had clear objectives. Both classes were like ones at the U of A but were a little more fun because of the field trips we got to take and the view of the beautiful Italian Alps right outside the classroom window. I was amazed by how much I was able to learn in the classroom in one short month.

I also got to do some incredible things outside of class at CIMBA. On the weekends, I traveled to Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, and Rome. Traveling is where I learned the most. From our train getting canceled and having to stay the night in a town in the middle of Italy to meeting new friends from London during a hike, I loved every experience. One of my favorite things I did was quite a funny story. I was in my 8 AM class when several girls convinced me to go paragliding with them after our field trip that afternoon. Next thing I knew I was in the sky with a random Italian man and a glider attached to me taking in the beauty of the mountains. I learned that it was the unexpected times that ended up being some of the highlights of the trip, which led me to take risks and connect with new people.

I would recommend CIMBA to other students, as it was the experience of a lifetime. The staff was there for us if we needed help but encouraged us to figure stuff out on our own. The schedule of the program kept us busy yet gave us freedom to do as little or as much as we wanted. I wish I would have known before that it is okay to not have every little detail planned out. We booked one of our weekends just two days before and it ended up being my favorite weekend of the trip. It is possible to meet new people while at the program and decide to travel with them. The first thing I am going to do when I return home is mail out all the fun postcards I got to my friends and family. I am beyond grateful for this experience and all the things it taught me!