Indiana University: Studying abroad provides cultural experience

Adam Williamson, Consortium member, Indiana University-Bloomington class of 2017, wrote this guest post for The Consortium.

A month and a half into the new year 2017, a group of Kelley Consortium students continued their MBA studies abroad. Class of 2017 members Adam Williamson, Jamal Pope, Stan Craft and DeAnna Hoy are studying at universities across the globe, focusing on cultural and business learnings while continuing to enhance their abilities as future global business leaders.

DeAnna Hoy (Kelley ’17) at The Great Wall of China.

DeAnna Hoy (Kelley ’17) at The Great Wall of China.

“Studying abroad in Shanghai, China, has been one of the best decisions of business school,” Hoy said. Her fellow classmates across the globe echo this sentiment. Craft and Pope, who are studying at WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf, Germany, have both found many commonalities between Indiana University and WHU.

“Both are in smaller cities, but have drawn diverse groups of students to their respective programs,” said Pope. The desire to further diversify their MBA experience prompted this group of students to spend the first half of the last semester of their MBA careers studying abroad.

“While we continue to grow within our own communities in both Bloomington and our respective hometowns, gaining a global perspective has continued to shape who we are as both Consortium members and Kelley MBAs,” said Craft.

For Hoy, her studies in Shanghai are more personal:

“Not only am I able to enhance my knowledge of the strength and role of mobile technology in the world’s most populated country, but I have also been given the chance to explore my personal heritage and culture,” she said. “The biggest surprises have been the competitive spirit engrained in everyone here, air pollution, and availability of amazing food on every corner. I can’t wait to see what’s to come.”

With an ever-changing political and social landscape in the United States, traveling abroad has taught our students a lot about how our actions as Americans affect the rest of the world.

For Adam Williamson, while in the midst of studies at Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, the United States pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — in which Chile was one of the 14 nations in the alliance.

“The opportunity to speak with and learn from Chilean classmates regarding this decision and to hear their thoughts and unique perspectives on the matter was an incredible experience,” said Williamson.

While not in class and exploring the cultures of their universities’ countries, these students are seizing the opportunity to travel throughout their regions of study. Hoy is traveling through China and parts of southern Asia, while Pope and Craft are making their way through Western Europe.

Williamson is traveling all through South America. Certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, their experiences and newfound perspectives will continue to add to not only their Consortium and MBA experiences and those of their Kelley classmates when they return to Bloomington for their final term as MBA students.

Pictured Above: Stan Craft (Kelley ‘17) and Jamal Pope (Kelley ’17) with classmates in Düsseldorf, Germany.