Author: Elena Durren | Major: Supply Chain Management and Marketing | Semester: Summer 2024
Pasta making in Paderno del Grappa, Italy!
For four weeks over the Summer of 2024, I had the privilege of studying abroad through CIMBA Italy in Paderno del Grappa, Italy. As an Honors College Fellow, I have constantly been encouraged to study abroad because of the benefits and enrichment the experience would provide as I furthered my education. This encouragement and access to such programs made deciding to study abroad easy. I picked CIMBA Italy as my study abroad program because of its ideal timing and the relevant course content to the Walton College of Business. Student and staff diversity CIMBA provided the diverse experiences I wanted. Studying Italian culture, language, and history, in Italy was something I have always wanted to do. Getting the opportunity of exploring Europe while taking foundational classes and interacting with bright and diverse people has impacted my career and life forever. While studying abroad I was able to complete 6 hours of academic credit relevant to my majors of Supply Chain Management and Marketing taught by two passionate and brilliant professors. I took a 3000 level Introduction to Marketing Strategy taught by Professor Laura McLeod from University of Nebraska and a 3000 level Introductory Financial Management taught by Professor Kelly Welch from the University of Kansas.
Additionally, I attended company visits to Mitsubishi and Tecnica Group manufacturing facilities, which allowed me to see the real-world application of content I learned in class. Taking classes from credible professors in classes of driven students from all over the United States fostered unreplaceable learning environments. While fitting a semester’s worth of class content into a four-week course is not an easy feat, my professors did it gracefully. So much so, that after taking an Introductory Financial Management course, I am now considering adding a Finance major to my degree pursuit. The quality professors, interactive lessons, and passionate students made for a classroom dynamic that I will appreciate and cherish during the rest of my time as a student.
In addition to the one-of-a-kind educational experiences, I had studying abroad, the CIMBA schedule encourages student travel, which allowed me to explore a variety of places in Europe. In total, I visited numerous cities in five countries, Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, and Greece. By traveling to various European cities, I was able to immerse myself in different cultures and gain unique perspectives on the world. Seeing how different places operate in different regions sharpened my critical thinking and communication skills while allowing me to experience a variety of cultures firsthand. Getting to utilize my Spanish to communicate between AirBnB hosts or waiters and my friends made me grateful for my ability to speak multiple languages. However, navigating the metro or simply ordering food would have been much more difficult if English translations had not been provided or if the general public did not speak even just a little bit of English. Although I came into this trip expecting to be able to catch on quicker to the local languages, it made me realize how thankful I am to speak a widely used language such as English. This experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has allowed me to grow both personally and professionally in immeasurable ways. I am forever thankful for the dedicated CIMBA staff and students, and the opportunities provided by the University of Arkansas, that have been crucial to this journey and that have greatly impacted my career and life.