This post was written by undergraduate student, Mahd Sharif ’19…

This past weekend, the Babson Muslim Student Association embarked on a trip to Princeton University for the third-annual Princeton InterMSA Summit! Our MSA attend the second-annual summit last year as well and ever since then we have been counting down the days. Last year around 7 members of the MSA attended the trip and it was the most beneficial event we participated in all year. Thanks to Babson College granting us funding for hotels, it became a bonding trip before anything. At the time, MSA bonding was very much needed as the Muslim community was weak on campus and didn’t have much presence. This aspect of last year’s MSA impacted several members of our group to great extremes including myself – our transition to Babson College was made challenging due to identity loss and lack of spiritual and religious support. Through building ourselves as individuals over the course of that year, we knew in order to excel at Babson, we must strategically create a community for ourselves and foster it for years to come. Starting from Fall 2016, we held many events but focused heavily on community building: I am very grateful because we were able to establish a strong working community and offer each other support in such a condensed period of time. This was monumental for our growth as individuals, students, and leaders. For this reason we had pre-marked our calendars for the Princeton trip as we knew it would be the highlight of the year.

This year’s theme was Spiritual Empowerment; the speakers were two globally revered Muslims and individuals by the names of Rumana Ahmed and Omar Suleiman. Rumana Ahmed is a strong and powerful Muslim women who worked with the Obama Administration for five years in the White House and Omar Suleiman is an accomplished global religious scholar. Thanks to Babson College and The Professional Accelerator Fund, we were able secure hotels for the trip once again. We arrived Friday night – the first night consisted of a brief introduction on the meaning of spirituality, followed by a social event to introduce ourselves. The night ended fairly early after a prayer session and we gathered in the hotel. The late-night hotel intervention sessions were essential to the beauty of this trip as we all shared our thoughts on Islam, relationships, Babson, and offered each other advice, support, laughs, and smiles all around. The second day was the official start of the programming. Rumana Ahmed was first to present; she briefed her experience under the Obama administration and told the audience of nearly 300 students – composed of MSA leaders and members from schools all over the coast such Yale, Harvard, and Rutgers – to remain resilient through the pressures of life. Omar Suleiman presented a lecture on spiritual empowerment and reminded us all to remain grateful. Following both speakers, the Princeton MSA led breakout sessions as we all dispersed to our breakout groups assigned to us on our name tags. This portion of the program was useful because it allowed us to develop connections with other Muslims – I was able to make three new friends from Connecticut, New York University, and Rutgers University all in one sitting. Following the programming, our MSA explored Princeton’s beautiful campus and took many pictures that will remain lifetime memories.

The trip was magnificent and the programming revived me, giving an energy boost I truly needed coming back to campus. Along with thirteen Muslim members, we had the great honor of having two non-Muslims accompany us for the weekend. Although, the programming nor the food was my favorite highlight of the weekend. The one aspect of this trip I will remember most clearly was the time we spent together as a MSA. At times I made a conscious effort to step outside of myself and view the setting of us all together as an outsider. This allowed me to see the true progression of the MSA over the past year. I raised in joy and contentment as we walked the distinguished campus of Princeton as one unified group, keeping in the back of my head the work and sacrifices it took to get to this stage. Lastly, the weekend left me satisfied because I effectively captured various moments of tremendous joy and genuine laughter on each members’ face. As compared to last year, with the help of many, I can confidently say the MSA has created a flourishing community, one that we will continue to grow. Most importantly for me, it has outlined for me my purpose as a Muslim and a Babson leader. I am already counting down the days till we take our next trip!

Glavin Global Fellows members, Max Petre, Carla Planz, Cedric Mfuranzima and Salome Mosehle, won 2nd place in a very competitive International Business Case Competition at the University of Missouri, St. Louis this week!

The College of Business and the International Business Institute host this annual Case Competition where global challenges provide eager students with opportunities to showcase their critical thinking skills and business talents. Students from regional universities come together as they square off in teams against one another in this two-day event. The UMSL International Business Case Competition is unique in presenting students with an actual issue that a company is currently confronting in its global business interactions. Students apply their classroom knowledge to real issues just as they would with similar problems in their future careers.

The teams are critiqued by a panel of judges without knowledge of the school they represent. The judges are high-ranked executives from St. Louis companies that are doing business globally. This is a great way for business students to learn how to work in teams, under very tight time constraints, and be able to achieve a solution that is well researched and feasible to reach.

On Thursday, the Babson students traveled to St. Louis where they had a little time to visit the famous Gateway Arch and eat some southern BBQ before they spent the next 24 hours tirelessly preparing for the competition.  Congratulations to Cedric, Salome, Carla and Max! We are so proud of you –  a special thank you to Professor Matt Allen for helping them prepare for the competition and Jamie Kendrioski for traveling with the group to St. Louis!

It was 10:30 on Friday morning, April 7^th when our team was handed a white envelope containing the case that we would dissect and solve in the twenty four hours that followed. Max Petre, Cedric Mfuranzima, Salome Mosehle, Jamie Kendrioski (our team advisor) and I had arrived in St. Louis, Missouri the sunny afternoon before as a team of Glavin Global Fellows members prepared to compete in an International Business Case Competition. After seeing the impressively large and shiny Gateway Arch and walking through some pretty gardens, we had a barbecue feast at Pappy’s Smokehouse, a popular spot in St. Louis, before resting up for the competition the next day.

As we eagerly read the case given us in our designated workspace on the University of St. Louis campus, we realized that we had our work cut out for us. Based on the case, we were to act as consultants for Edward Jones, a financial advisory firm with its headquarters in St. Louis. Our objective was to make recommendations on how Edward Jones could succeed in the future, as the Baby Boomer generation transfers their wealth to Millennials. We were also addressing the fact that the Financial Advisory industry is currently in decline, as less people are entering the field. With these daunting challenges ahead of us, we worked throughout the day and late into the night, racking our brains for possible solutions. We focused on analyzing the pros and cons of each idea that we had, as we knew that explaining alternative solutions and our reasons for our recommendations would be a vital part of giving a high quality and high scoring presentation.

In working together we quickly learned of one another’s strengths and weaknesses, and the sum of our team’s strengths proved to be enough to help us to finish in time to present on Saturday morning. After the first round of presentations, everyone in the competition had lunch together as we waited to hear whether or not we had been selected to advance to the final round. Salome, Cedric, and I found empty seats at the lunch with a team from the University of Richmond. We enjoyed talking with this diverse group of students (two people being international students and two exchange students) before hearing it announced that both the University of Richmond team and our team had advanced on to the final round of presentations! Our teams wished one another luck as we prepared to present one last time.

Before presenting for the second and final time, Jamie helped us to improve our presentation, as he had watched our first presentation. Though we were not allowed to change our presentation slides, we clarified some of our explanations and ideas and improved some of our presenting techniques. Though we felt that we improved in our second presentation in certain ways, we also felt that certain aspects of the second presentation were more challenging. The judges, for example, asked tougher questions at the end of the second presentation than they had in the first round.

As the winners were announced later on that afternoon, I felt a sense of satisfaction as we received second place, knowing that we had worked hard to prepare. I also felt pleased to see the University of Richmond win first place. We had watched their final presentation and seen their excellent analysis of the case. They also showed kindness and good sportsman towards us from before any of us even knew that we were finalists until after they earned first place. I returned to Babson that night feeling exhausted, but also feeling thankful to have bonded with my Babson team and happy to have had the experience of competing against schools from all over the country.

— Carla Planz ’17

The MBA Chile is an association, formed by Chilean MBA students, that holds an annual meeting in which Chilean MBA students around the US gather to talk about their experiences, discuss the challenges that Chile is facing, and how they can contribute to that mission. Entrepreneurs, CEOs, politicians and opinion leaders participate in this conference, enriching the discussion and networking with the students and their families. MBA Chile 2017 was held on the April 7^th, 8th and 9^th at Duke University, Durham.

When I came to Babson to the One Year MBA Program, I knew I wanted to participate in this conference, and in a certain way, bring to MBA Chile the Babson entrepreneurship style and experiential learning that we are so proud of. Besides promoting this conference among our Chilean classmates, I contacted Fernando Fischmann, Chilean entrepreneur and founder of the concept and technology “Crystal Lagoons” (a cutting-edge innovation that develops and manages pristine lagoons in different parts of the world at very low costs and in a sustainable way) to be keynote speaker of the conference and share with us his story and future challenges.

The conference was a real success! We had a very good time and I am sure that Babson, through the Chilean delegation of 4 students that attended the conference, had a strong presence among the 18 universities that participated in the conference. Important innovators and business men, such as Fernando Fischmann, who is strongly connected with Babson, reminded us that what we are learning in our MBA is a set of tools that with perseverance and resilience can be transformed into opportunities that can change our personal and professional lives.

– Juan Pablo Garcia Mardones 

Babson College is pleased to announce that undergraduate students Julianne Carlin ‘17 and Spencer Rivera ‘17 have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the 2017-2018 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. This is the first time in college history that two Babson students have received Fulbright awards in the same year.

Carlin and Rivera join over 1,900 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research, and teach abroad for the 2017-2018 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.

To read more:
http://www.babson.edu/news-events/babson-news/Pages/2017-students-julianne-carlin-and-spencer-rivera-receive-fulbright-awards.aspx

Please see a summary of Glavin Global Fellows activities in the 2016-2017 academic year below.  We have been busy and have done a lot of wonderful things!

	We kicked off the first GGF Living Learning Community for first-year students.  Sixteen (16) students participated in the GGF LLC, had their First-Year Seminar together and lived in a shared space in Park Manor West.
	Four Glavin Global Fellows participated in an International Business Case Competition at Northeastern University in the Fall.
	A large group of Glavin Global Fellows joined the United Nations in celebrating their 70th anniversary at a luncheon in Boston.
	We learned Bangra dancing from Anjali Wali, Associate Director, Friends and Family to let off some stress during winter finals.
	We sent three students to the Third Culture Kid / Global Nomad conference at Clark University.
	We attended a Boston College Colloquium to hear Mary Robinson, Ireland’s former President, speak about making human rights the compass for all ethical globalization.  A special focus was placed on climate justice and its impact on a global scale.
	Four Glavin Global Fellows participated in an International Business Case Competition at the University of Missouri, St. Louis in the Spring.  The team won 2nd prize!
	We sent students to The Netherlands, Costa Rica, South Africa, Chile and Greece this year to embark on independent research project and language learning endeavors.  All the Glavin Global Fellows projects are highlighted here.
	The GGF grantees showcased their projects at the End-of-the-Year event in the Glavin Chapel.
	Twelve graduating seniors earned their Glavin Global Fellows certificates for completing the curricular and co-curricular requirements of the program.  We had a graduate luncheon and they will wear their GGF cords at commencement.

If you are interested in joining the Glavin Global Fellows, please complete the Glavin Global Fellows Interest Form to receive news about upcoming events and opportunities to participate!

The Glavin Global Fellows program is grateful for the philanthropic support of the Babson community of alumni, parents and friends. If you would like to help support GGF, click here.

This blog post was written by Camila and Claudia Gonzalez, participants of the Spain Elective Abroad…

Spending a few days in Madrid and Barcelona with a group of Babson students and well-prepared professors was the best experience for us. Throughout the program, we focused on viewing the cities as texts, allowing us to obtain a complete experience of our visit to Spain. We learned the uniqueness and distinctions that each city has to offer. While Madrid is known as the capital of Spain and Europe’s second greenest city, Barcelona is known for some of the world’s most beautiful Gothic and modernist architecture. Yet, both cities are full of culture and history that fascinates locals and visitors.

Throughout the course, we were able to expand our knowledge by visiting all the main attractions in the cities. We considered the social and political history of both cities by analyzing the innovation of the urban spaces, such as architecture, art, music, food, and cultural activities. In Madrid, we visited the Spanish Stock Exchange, Museo de Arte Reina Sofia, Spanish Congress, Retiro Park, among various neighborhoods. We also supported the Real Madrid at an exciting Soccer game in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In Barcelona, we visited La Pedrera, Casa Batlò, Sagrada Familia, Museu de Picasso, Parc Guell, among others. We also took advantage of the sunny weather to visit Sitges and enjoy the beautiful beach.

In addition to exploring the cultural landmarks in the cities, we focused on understanding how the development of the urban spaces and the sustainability affects the political, economic, and social realities. This made the course a lot more interesting since it require us to practice our observation skills to critically analyze our surroundings in the new environment. We were also exposed to learning from consultants and social entrepreneurs in the cities, helping us to conclude our investigation of the city’s production as spaces of creativity, innovation, and experimentation. After this enriching experience, we were able to apply our knowledge not only academically, but also personally.

Professor Peter Cohan recently wrote an article for the Worcester Telegram about his Elective Abroad in Paris…

About three years ago, I thought it would be fun to teach a course about Paris startups. But I was pretty sure there were none. After some research I found out I was wrong. And so was born Babson College’s Paris Startup Strategy Offshore Elective.

On May 21, I returned from the third running of this annual undergraduate course, and it’s clear that Paris is making some progress. And that progress suggests some lessons for Worcester.

The Paris Startup Strategy Offshore Elective consists of three parts. The first — two day-long classes — explores theories seeking to explain questions: Why do some countries attract more private capital than others? Why does a small handful of cities spawn most startups and most cities do not? What makes the differences between the tiny number of successful startups and the rest?

The second part of the course involves cultural activities in Paris, such as visiting the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay, and meetings with startups, venture capitalists and incubators there.

In the third part, four student teams provide six weeks’ of consulting help to four Paris startups seeking to increase their revenues…

To read the entire article, click here.

This blog post is written by Jie-Ling, a participant of the 2017 Spain Elective Abroad…

Full of culture, gorgeous architecture, mouth-wateringly delicious tapas, and lovely people, Spain is definitely all it says it is and more. An enriching and rewarding experience, this Elective Abroad provided me with a glimpse into the socio-economic structure of the country. Opening your eyes up to something exceptionally beautiful, interesting and different, there was simply so much to take in within 10 days. We explored, analyzed and deconstructed what we saw in order to reveal, interpret and highlight a deeper meaning. Further, through visually documenting the neighborhoods of Chueca, Lavapiés and Salamanca in Madrid, and Barrio Gótico, El Born, Montjuïc and Barceloneta in Barcelona, we noticed a distinct contrast between each neighborhood, and how gentrification and tourism have affected these areas.

What do you see from this picture? People sitting around, eating, and basking in the sun? Anything else that catches your eye? Through this course, your brain and body will be transported metaphorically and physically, accordingly, to a whole new place. A point of view that you might have noticed, but did not know the pertinent meanings behind. Although we were given a guideline as to what each one of us may explore and learn about, we were also blessed with the freedom to capture and analyze what we felt was important to us. How often do you get the opportunity to use the city, literally, as your main body of text, the focal point of what you must do? Amazing. Just absolutely incredible to be given the opportunity to explore, learn and grow together as a group, even in such a short period.

We also had the honor of visiting BBVA Headquarters with Anxo Lopez, DesignIt Madrid, Endeavor, Morillas Agency with Marc Morillas and Pau Dalmau, Team Labs, and meeting Juan Carlos Belloso. Every encounter brought something new to the table to learn about – whether from strategic designing in a bank, supporting entrepreneurs with social-impact startups, branding companies – think + feel = theel, or re-branding Barcelona. These opportunities allowed us to discuss topics with a different culture; exposing us to varying ways people think, and a peek into the world of working and living in Spain.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my Spain elective abroad experience. I would recommend going on this course if you would love to better understand and immerse yourself in the culture, country, language, architecture and food.

The Glavin Office of Multicultural and International Education is proud to announce that ten Babson students have been chosen as recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, awarded by the U.S. Department of State. Nationally, only 28 percent of applicants receive this prestigious award, however, two thirds of the Babson applicants were awarded the scholarship for fall semester, totaling over $25,000 in awards.

2017 Gilman Scholarship recipients:

Recipients of the scholarship graciously shared with the Glavin Office how the additional funding will help them reach their academic, personal, and professional goals for education abroad. Aidan Dennis, who will be studying in Chile and Argentina, shared:

“As somebody concentrating in Global Business Management, being able to study abroad easily with the Gilman Scholarship is great for my career and my academics. I am able to meet my concentration requirements and get an understanding of the Latin American economy that I can transfer easily into my career. This international experience and my program fits my needs perfectly.”

Priscilla Ning, who will be attending the University of Vienna, also expressed her gratitude:

“The Gilman Scholarship has given me the opportunity to focus my energy on making the most of my study abroad. I will be free to dive deeply into Austrian culture and passionately engage in my classes without worry about daily expenses. By utilizing every second of my study abroad to grow inside and outside of the classroom, I will walk away with invaluable experiences that will allow me to add a unique, global perspective in my professional career.”

The Gilman Scholarship provides an opportunity for students who must consider finances as part of their decision to study abroad. Chris West, who will be studying at Arcadia in Granada, Spain shared:

“For me, I depend on campus jobs and internships to finance my college studies and living expenses, as I am an independent student. The Gilman scholarship helps with expenses, such as travel and other one-off costs, as we are unable to work while abroad.”

Financial barriers are one of the top five reasons that Babson students choose not to study abroad, yet many students are unaware of the ample opportunities that exist for additional funding. In the 2016-2017 academic year, Babson students received more than $125,000 in external scholarships for education abroad programs. Additionally, Babson offers an education abroad grant of up to $4,000 for need-based students to study abroad ($2,000 per program, split across education abroad and elective abroad programs). For additional information, visit the Financing Education Abroad webpage and contact your Education Abroad Advisor, Electives Abroad Program Manager or Student Financial Services counselor to review additional information on how to finance your education abroad experience.

Congratulations to all of the Babson Gilman Scholarship recipients! We look forward to seeing what you accomplish during your term abroad.

Follow the Glavin Office on Instagram to see more from our Gilman Scholarship recipients this Fall.

This post was written by undergraduate student, Tali Kadoch, who is currently abroad while participating in the BRIC Program…

The topic of this blog was easily chosen. Since the moment we arrived to St. Petersburg I’ve been fascinated with every single building in this city, there’s not a single modern or regular looking building here, everything is imposing, excessive and full of history. It is impossible not to look at them with extreme amusement and take pictures- they are simply beautiful. But there’s one thing about them that makes me skeptical, and as professor Seitz reminded us one of the last days of classes: it is necessary to enjoy the buildings, but even more important to keep in mind that there is something powerful behind those constructions, we need to analyze and be critical about it.

This European influenced architectural styles, are intentionally designed to intimidate, to create fear, they scream “power”. Not too many years ago, while over 90% of the population of this country was illiterate and lived across the rural areas of the Russian steppe, very few monarchs lived in those beautiful buildings that today we all admire. The tsarist society, those corrupted power-abuser, serf-owner families are the reason why St. Petersburg’s streets are so delightful to walk around.

As George Bernard Shaw said: “We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” Maybe the fact that UNESCO declared it a world heritage site, means the defeat of that era. But regardless of that, we can’t ignore the history this city. We must never lose our innate curiosity and ask ourselves “why?”. Just so we don’t stay in the superficial phase of being a tourist, without ever digging deeper.

This blog post was written by Amani Mehta and Debbie Cohen, two undergraduate students currently participating on the BRIC Program…

So far, BRIC has been a complex and beautiful array of introductions, adventures, and teachings. It’s crazy to think that just over a month ago we were back at Babson excitedly anticipating our pre-departure. After much thought, we found the words to capture the essence of this program: growth.

Personal Growth:

It takes a certain measure of courage to step out your comfort zone and enter a foreign country, expose yourself to a new culture, and explore unfamiliar places. We think it will be fascinating to observe where we stand at different moments in time as we conquer another country.

Professional Growth:

We networked with local students, entrepreneurs, and other young professionals. It was extremely relevant to hear their take and experiences navigating the Russian business environment.

We had the opportunity to visit several businesses such as: Solopharm, the American Chamber of Commerce and Imperial Porcelain. It was interesting to meet people who worked in different fields and get to know their perspective about working in Russia. Each company we visited was completely unique, so we could compare and contrast various industries and working environments. Also getting to know the CEO of Solopharm was inspiring. The cohort was impressed by his entrepreneurial spirit, his honesty and his humble attitude. In less than five years, he started a business that distributes around 30% of the medicines in Russia.  As well, through his business career, he maintained his transparency. Even though, he acknowledges bribing people in Russia is common, he does not follow that trend. Additionally, he mentioned the importance of balancing his life at work and at home. He wishes that in some years he can retire, so he spends time with his family.

Knowledge Growth:

We were made aware that Russia was going to be the academically rigorous leg of our trip and “8 credits” certainly lived up to its standard. Combining language classes, site visits, historical context through poetry and novels, and the numerous reflective essays we definitely exceeded our expectations with what we could accomplish. Simultaneously, we opened up to Saint Petersburg and got a taste of the metro, the hockey fandom, the rich architecture, and delicious meals.

Also interacting with twenty-four people from all over the world, is a learning opportunity. We can learn about everyone’s culture and unique traditions.

Cohort Growth:

Affectionately dubbed “the squad” our group has come together and supported each other in an infinite number of ways and it has been integral to the success and overall happiness of these memories. We learned about each other’s passions, ambitions–how we manage stress and how we fight our health battles. We also learned much about teamwork and adaptation given our diverse group background.

This blog post was written by Eva Chen Chen ’18, who studied abroad in Spain last Spring…

Everyone who I’ve talked to that has gone abroad has told me stories of their life changing experience; they emphasize their personal growth, immersion in different cultures, and the formation of lifelong friendships. But what about after abroad? Where does this life changing amazing experience come in? Your internships (or future jobs for seniors out there). In this post, I’m going to talk about my experience of using the skill sets that I brought from my study abroad to my summer internship.

{A little background: This summer, I worked for a lighting manufacturing company as a supply chain intern serving as a buyer/planner and worked on multiple inventory reduction projects.}

The most obvious skill set that you bring back is language. I was able to use my new level of Spanish fluency to communicate with the team and take down that language barrier. There’s nothing more satisfying than being able to explain your idea (albeit with a lot of hand motions and some Google translate) to people who usually would have a hard time understanding it in English. This allowed for my ideas for example, of improving processes, to be implemented faster and more efficiently.

Another skill set that came into use was the “YOLO” fearlessness or in other words, being more spontaneous. While abroad, I encountered challenges that often times required quick decisions on the spot. It taught me to “just do it” instead of taking the time to think it through. This type of fearlessness came into play whenever I identified a problem at my workplace. Instead of creating a thorough plan of action, I simply went to my manager, explained the problem identified, and went ahead with actions that often times resulted in failures but also small successes.

Lastly, studying abroad has taught me to work with people from other cultures. Living in a homestay with mi family espanola tested my ability to quickly adapt and being open to the cultures. First of all, I would like to point out that as a fairly introverted human being, this was a learning curve. I challenged myself during the first month to always eat meals at home with my family and spend quality time with them either chatting or watching TV. I gained valuable insight on how I personally immerse myself in a different culture: for me it was about being a good listener and sharing a meal. Taking these lessons, I used them yet again to immerse myself in the work culture. I was able to adapt to my workplace environment very quickly by being attentive and taking opportunities to go out to lunch with coworker or bringing in donuts. There’s nothing like bonding with others than “oh man this donut is good”.

This blog post was written by Education Abroad Peer Advisor, Ziqian “Zoe” Feng…

Friday 2pm, Nørreport, Copenhagen, DK.

I just got out of school for the week. It was raining hard outside, but I needed to get to my B&B on the northern top tip of the North Zealand by the end of the day. By bike. By myself. Snekkersten is 39km away from Copenhagen, and the travel time would take a little more than 2 hours. The route to this biking trip and the destination B&B were both recommended by the young man working in a boutique next to my classroom, and life is always funny enough to make sure you end up going to these places in the exact raincoat he sold you.

I came from a country where people would use umbrellas under minimal sunlight, but here in Denmark, men and women strode, or biked, casually in the pouring rain with no rain protection as if it was nothing at all. Humor is contagious, so are strength and acceptance. So I felt like “no big deal” when I ventured into the rain with myself in a standard Danish raincoat and my backpack in 2 plastic bags. Biking up along the coast, with the Baltic Sea on my right, I felt so welcomed when I finally understood the rain as indeed a greeting from the ocean, so inspired when I kept passing by fellow joggers and dog walkers along the route, and very comical when a rushing-by car totally soaked me through.

“You swam all the way from Copenhagen?” “Here, let me open the door for you.” “Honey, why don’t you help her with the bike?” While due to the weather, I did not get to meet the B&B owners until the second day, the fellow residents there made me feel at home immediately upon my arrival. I had a long, late-night conversation in the common room with this Swedish couple on their start-up business and on Swedish culture – the exact foci for my Babson and DIS summer abroad studies – and it was a conversation so good that the guy even brought out his new bottle of wine to celebrate.

I studied abroad for this. I studied abroad for crazy, unexpected adventures. I studied abroad to appreciate the power and beauty of nature, to discover myself and my ties to it amidst a pouring rain. I studied abroad to challenge my courage, strength, positivity, and problem-solving skills on the road. I studied abroad to stumble upon an absolutely beautiful B&B that ignited passion in my heart like nothing before. I studied abroad to see a different part of the world, to connect with more people and cultures, and to become a better me with a bigger heart.

This blog post is written by Education Abroad Peer Advisor, Nadia Mendes ’17…

I’ve been fortunate enough to study abroad in many places, but my favorite trip has to be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa. Not only was I really excited to further my studies of the impacts of the European Standard of Beauty on Black women, but I was really excited to experience being black in a predominantly black country. I’ve never had that experience before, and  I was eager to see what it would be like. There were small things, like how people viewed me and interacted with me that made my time there special. I was able to speak candidly with strangers, and feel comfortable in a foreign space. I remember one of my Uber drivers telling me that it was refreshing to have a conversation with someone that went beyond asking about the best tourist spots. I learned about the racial climate, the experience, politics, and employment in South Africa from the backseat of a car. Every minute was exciting, and I was overlooked sometimes, as though I was just another citizen who belonged there. Compared to when I was in Argentina, and my identity as a black woman resulted in being called “negrita,” because they weren’t used to seeing many black people in their country; or being in Malaysia and having high school girls take pictures with me because I was simply a foreign object. It was nice to be in a new space but feel completely welcomed. The city is truly beautiful and I admire the spirit of the people there.

My research in Cape Town was in pursuit of studying beauty and understanding the harmful effects of beauty standards. I chose Cape Town because, I initially studied beauty standards within America, and was curious if this is a global phenomenon, and ,unfortunately, it is. There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Cape Town and America due to slavery and links between the apartheid and segregation. These defining moments in history have had lasting effects in both locations, with beauty and the business of beauty as side effects to the racism, wealth gap, and other larger problems created by both apartheid and slavery. South Africa is a predominantly black country with diversity abound. Beyond getting a deeper understanding of beauty in South Africa, I also paid attention to the advertisements to see if the marketing campaigns of a variety of companies featured some of the rich diversity that Cape Town has to offer. To obtain details for my research, I visited museums, a Fashion Week show, read books at Cape Town University’s library, and spoke to everyone: students, waitresses, Uber drivers, my AirBnb host, my South African family, people in line in front of me, anyone that wanted to share their beauty story or talk about their experience in South Africa. The experience was amazing, and Cape Town has become my new favorite city!

Ryo Shibasaki MBA’19

The following post is from Ryo Shibasaki MBA’19, founder of Path to Success. Path to Success realizes that there is a world where people have equal opportunities to tackle with new challenges.  Their first product aims to help people learn English.

During the university I qualified as a CPA, and then obtained a position at Ernst & Young. Optimistic about my future, I met a student from a single-mother family who told me she had to give up becoming a medical professional because her mother had told her that the family could not afford it. Recognizing my own good fortune, I also realized that many people have to give up their dreams due to circumstances they cannot control. This made me strongly aspire to create a world where every person has equal opportunities to tackle new challenges regardless of their circumstances or background. However, without a clue about how to realize this, I decided to solidify my business foundation by pursuing a career in accounting first.

I started working as an auditor in the IPO division at EY then invited by one of my clients, a smartphone venture company, to join them and aim for IPO together. 2 years later, we successfully achieved IPO. After accomplishing my role in the accounting division, I transferred to the investment division, reporting to CFO directly. The company expanded its business dramatically and globally in a few years, which made me truly realized the importance of English.

I could hardly speak English at that time. Also, I did not forget my dream to be an entrepreneur to create a better world. In July 2016, I quit my job and decided to improve my English and pursue an MBA abroad. Finally, I was accepted by Babson, the best school to foster entrepreneurial mind.

During the MBA and after graduating from Babson, I aspire to create a platform to help people realize their dreams. Now, using social networks and sites such as TripAdvisor and Google Map, people enjoy sharing their opinions and experiences on the Internet, and those sharing definitely help other people to enrich their lives. Likewise, I want to create a platform for people to share know-how about learning and how to realize their goals. I intend to gather best practices from around the world and arrange them systematically, thereby helping people to find their own best teachers, schools, textbooks, and study methods.

I started from a small area, a language education platform, from English. Since the average TOEFL score of Japanese is 26^th out of 30 countries in Asia, I believe it is necessary to improve the overall English proficiency in Japan. The platform will help not only Japanese, but also other English learners in any corner of the world with limited access to excellent education resources.

After that, I will expand the language to Chinese, German, Spanish etc. and make more successful examples. Leveraging this, I will expand to cover a wide variety of professions, including nursing, engineering, design, and even piano, making it a platform to help people realize any goals and to change the world for the better.

Are you a non-native English speaker and would you like to share your experience in learning English? Contact me. Your Experience will help other people to pave their own path to success.

もし、あなたが日本人で、英語の勉強に苦労していたら、是非私のWEBサイトに来てみてください。 英語学習の先輩達が、どう英語を勉強し、どの教材を使い、どう英語を上達させたのかわかります。あなたの目標を達成してください。そして、あなたの英語学習の成功・失敗体験をシェアしてください。

This blog post was written by Education Abroad Peer Advisor, Shazeem Siddiqi ’18…

It has been a little over a year since I studied abroad in Accra, Ghana and that experience is still making an impact on me today. It helped me become a better problem-solver and more confident individual.

While being abroad, one lesson I learned pretty quickly was that things will go wrong. That was a fact I could not escape but I could control the way I handled those situations. Before going abroad, I used to get very stressed and frazzled when things went wrong. This obviously did nothing to help the situation. My travels forced me to become a level-headed person. I was able to calm myself down and think through all of the steps needed to solving the problem. These skills helped me when I was planning recruitment for Delta Sigma Pi. There were many moving parts but I was able to organize myself and not get overwhelmed. Whenever things went wrong, I did not stress out instead I focused all of my efforts on solving the problem in front of me. I envision this skill helping me in the future.

Last Fall was my first time in Africa and that scared me but I knew I wanted to do something radical if I wanted to change my life. Being in a new country for four months allowed me to grow thicker skin. Everywhere my friends and I went, people looked and stared not because they were rude but they were genuinely interested in us. This really bothered us but we realized that in order to enjoy our semester we had to ignore all of it. The level of confidence I had when trying to speak the native language in the marketplace is something I am so happy I brought back to Babson. Before going abroad, I used to be hesitant going to networking events because I was intimidated and unsure of myself. Now I look forward to those events because I believe in my skills and abilities. All of this development happened because I pushed myself to go abroad and I would go through the process again if given the chance.

Babson will be celebrating International Education Week (IEW) November 27th-December 1st! IEW is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This is Babson’s 12th year celebrating International Education Week and we hope you will join us! 

This blog post was written by Education Abroad Peer Advisor, Danielle Cataldo ’17…

“What did you just say?” was the first phrase that came to mind when a local friend approached me and asked if I was going to the braai later on that night. In that moment I went through numerous options as to what a “braai” could be: a restaurant, a place downtown Rondebosch, a club, a sports game, etc. What did not come to mind was a barbeque. Not just the type of American barbeque where people cook hamburgers and hotdogs, but a South African braai with friends, irresistible boerewors (spicy sausages), and air filled with only laughter and music. I chose to study abroad in Cape Town to leave my cultural comfort zone, which is exactly what happened at every braai I attended. I was fortunate enough to be in Cape Town on Braai Day, a national holiday where everyone celebrated their heritage and forgot about any political controversies or hardships in their lives to focus on what matters the most in life: appreciating family and friends.

While you may wonder how obvious this life lesson is, it was hard for me to accept. To imagine one day or even one event where people only emphasize the positive happenings in their lives despite how many challenges have been thrown at them (and let me tell you, South African people have not had it easy) is astounding. From birthday celebrations to a lazy Tuesday afternoon, locals would find any reason they could for a braai and I was extremely grateful they “dragged me along” with them. People were welcoming on first encounters, willing to share when they barely had any food, and enthusiastic to tell me personal stories as I questioned differences between my home environment of Boston, MA and my new placement in Mowbray, South Africa. Braais with my club volleyball and club yacht teams, my housemates and my classmates each taught me to love outsiders without hesitation or judgment; however, it took me about half the semester to leave my cozy comfort zone and speak with new people.

In Boston we do not normally give strangers the benefit of the doubt when we first meet even if we are introduced through a mutual friend. What a braai represents for me is the chance to give and receive love in an appreciative manner; additionally, this culture consists of reminding myself to love in unexpected places, to support others in all endeavors (including learning how to braai), and to absorb as much as possible from everyone I meet. It humbles me knowing these random people I only spent a semester with turned into my family who still supports me from halfway across the world and teaches me the power of appreciation when I forget how lucky I have it. Whether it is a reminder by message or only a memory running through my head, I will carry the blessing of gratitude with me in my future business endeavors and travel adventures. Eat, braai, and love with all your heart as we will soon be the leaders of this world and we need to encourage an environment of thankfulness for others and their cultures to truly be the best we can be.

Babson will be celebrating International Education Week (IEW) November 27th-December 1st! IEW is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This is Babson’s 12th year celebrating International Education Week and we hope you will join us! 

International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange here at Babson College and worldwide. Babson has students representing 83 different countries and now offers over 100 different international opportunities between Education Abroad (semester/year-long) programs, Electives Abroad, International Consulting, Service Immersion Opportunities, etc. – these are just some of the hallmarks that will be celebrated during International Education Week!

Like many other institutions around the world that are hosting events to emphasize the importance of increasing knowledge and awareness of the world’s cultures, peoples and languages, Babson will also be observing IEW through a variety of events that highlight food, dance, customs and culture next week (November 27th – December 1st). This is Babson’s 12^th year celebrating IEW, and we hope you will join us!

Kicking off IEW is the Multicultural Festival on Monday night – you can learn more about the cultural organizations on campus while eating food from around the world! Interested in learning about business etiquette in other parts of the world? Register for the Kiss Bow Shake lunch on Wednesday.  These are just two of the great events that are planned for next week.  Click here for a full schedule of events and to learn more!

This blog post was written by BRIC participants Cole Kraus and Leonard Henry…

The Babson BRIC Program is centered around learning the cultural intricacies of Russia, China, and India and then connecting that to the business environment. Yet the out of classroom learning is what sets the BRIC Program apart. This study abroad experience forces students to adapt, as they are thrown into a new country right when comfort begins to set in. Saint Petersburg’s European mindset and the western energy of Shanghai made the transition to comfortable extremely easy; New Delhi is proving to be different. Nothing about this city says foreign comfort. With very few cultural or social similarities, Delhi pushes us to our limits, testing problem solving skills of all kinds.

The only way to survive the chaos of New Delhi is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Finding a sense of calm is close to impossible, yet embracing the sounds, smells, and sights of the city can potentially redefine what one considers normal. Our time in New Delhi also challenges each of our core beliefs. The focus on world religions, and site visits to the place of worship for every major India religion, gives the cohort the opportunity to either completely redevelop their beliefs or further solidify what we know to be true. Although the world of Babson is not nearly as chaotic as the streets of New Delhi, students encounter uncomfortable situations every day. By learning to accept the uncomfortable, BRIC alumni become far greater problem solvers back on campus, and look at the daily stresses of life as fuel.