Bassano by night. We had a tremendous amount of opportunities to visit a nearby city called Bassano del Grappa. Here I enjoyed amazing food, all with friends, and especially the friendly locals!

Author: Anthony Wilson | Major: Accounting | Semester: Summer 2023

Originating as a simple joke with friends, my journey abroad unfolded to become a chapter of my life that I hope to convey to other students seeking life-altering opportunities. To tell you a little about myself, my name is Anthony Wilson. I’m an incoming junior at the University of Arkansas, under the Same M. Walton College of Business, and I will be majoring in accounting with a minor in business analytics. Throughout my summer 2023 term abroad, I was stationed in Paderno del Grappa, Italy. I was blessed to be able to study at a small boarding school called Istituti Filippin, where I was accompanied by more than 300 other students from around the U.S. I can’t begin to express how amazing my experience abroad was, and I hope this blog can shed some light on why I think everyone should have the same opportunity.

To begin, I was studying through a program called CIMBA, which is led by the University of Iowa. There were a few key reasons I decided to choose this program among the numerous other options that were provided. My first reason was that CIMBA offers diverse business classes that fit perfectly into my major track. I was able to take two courses, one called “The Global Consumer”, and the other “Introduction to Marketing Strategy”. These were phenomenal courses, and even more so because they allowed me to get six credit hours toward my degree. My second reason for choosing CIMBA was the vast travel opportunities they present. Classes through this program run from Monday morning to Thursday afternoon. After that, every student was free to travel around the country or even hop on a plane to visit other countries in Europe. I saw this as a win-win. I knew I wanted to experience different cities in Italy, but I also had my eyes set on France, Switzerland, and Croatia. With these two reasons, it was a no-brainer why I picked this program.

Back to my courses: my key takeaway that will help me toward my academic and professional goals was during my Global Consumer course taught by Dr. Molly Rapert. She helped us explore aspects surrounding China’s and Africa’s political and economic movements. I didn’t see these topics relating to my specific major, but I came to find out that many of the actions that China and Africa take are affecting the world economy. I’ve had many eye-opening experiences while I was abroad, but this is one that will help guide me in working for businesses that aim to help solve these policies. I couldn’t have asked for a better course to take while abroad, but this wasn’t the only course that was eye-opening. Throughout my Introduction to Marketing Strategy course taught by Professor Simon, he was able to help us discover the essential techniques to develop effective marketing strategies that drive business growth and how to capture the attention of a target audience.

For anyone interested in this program, I highly recommend this pair of courses and guarantee that you will take away a lifetime’s worth of information. Compared to my classes at the University of Arkansas, the courses at CIMBA were slightly different. My global consumer course was discussion-oriented, which allowed for the origination and aggregation of so many ideas that everyone could take away from. I have never experienced a class with such a unique way of teaching. I honestly wish this form of discussion-based course could be more relevant at the University of Arkansas. Overall, my academic experiences through the CIMBA program completely blew me away. With beyond qualified professors and staff members, this program is dedicated to helping the student gain a better understanding of business culture, economies, and life overseas.

Now, for what many people ask about: How was the culture? If I had to put it in one word, I would say astonishing. The food ranged from different strands of pasta to the most delicious pizza you will ever have. When traveling to other countries, the food didn’t stop there. We were constantly surrounded by world-renowned architecture, which makes you think, “How was this built with little to no technology?”. But it didn’t stop there; the local people you were surrounded by were where you learned the most. Many of the locals were constantly helping us students learn the cultural norms and how people live day to day in Italy. We all made many friends along the way, and this made the time abroad one hundred times better. My favorite part about the culture overall was how different society could be when you hop on an hour-and-a half plane ride. When we first landed in France, it was crazy to think about. We were now speaking a completely new language and had to learn new cultural norms. This was shocking, but a moment I wish to never forget.

To end this blog, I want to share a few pieces of advice to make your next experience even better. Before studying abroad, specifically at CIMBA, where travel opportunities are endless, research and plan out where you want to go before you leave. You don’t have to have all the details figured out, but at least have a country or city that you wish to visit. I wasted numerous hours trying to decide with friends where our next adventure would be. Take a few hours, sit down, and make a rough plan. Another piece of advice I like to give is to try to learn the basics of the language you’ll be surrounded by. If you have a decent base of greetings and thank-yous, this will go a long way. Locals love it when foreigners try to speak the language, specifically here in Italy. They will then help guide you in correcting and finishing your sentences. This is where a small bond starts to form. My final piece of advice would be that for anyone looking to study abroad, please consider the CIMBA program. I know I touched on it before, but the vast opportunities that they provide to their students are unbelievable. I can wholeheartedly say that if you choose this program, you will not regret it.