An opportunity to live and learn international business

Meeting new people, building lifelong friendships, exploring future careers and experiencing dorm life is a rite of passage for many first-year college students. For 18 Business Buckeyes, their first year included all those experiences, plus an immersive business trip to Toronto.

The students were part of the Global Business Living-Learning Community (GBLLC), an offering at Fisher in which they spent their first year of college living with other globally minded business students. The program culminated in a cultural and business capstone experience in Toronto, Canada, which, for many was their first time abroad.

The capstone gave students a glimpse into Canadian business practices at two organizations, the U.S. Commercial Service and DMZ.

At the U.S. Commercial Service, the students learned how the organization promotes the export of U.S. goods and services to eastern Canada.

“We discussed the role of trade and the importance of good relationships between countries,” said Aidan Scott, a second-year marketing student. “It was interesting to learn about how different government implementations from one country could affect the citizens living within another country.”

On their second stop at DMZ, a tech incubator helping startups grow and scale, Scott and second-year marketing student April St. Clair were impressed by the company’s promotion of “camel startups” ― new companies that have steady and sustainable growth ― rather than “unicorn startups,” which are much more volatile and less adaptable.

“When it came to the startups they were working with, they really focused on new, exciting, and inventive ideas that could have a positive impact on people's day-to-day lives,” said St. Clair.

A tour and discussions with employees gave the students a new perspective on how and why to focus on sustainable growth rather than rapid growth.

“This fascinated me because it changed the way I thought about what determines a business' chance of success,” Scott said.

Scott and St. Clair said the yearlong GBLLC program helped prepare them for their international trip.

“The Global Business Living-Learning Community taught me about the importance of professionalism, especially within other countries and how to incorporate the customs of a host country into a conversation,” Scott said.

During the academic year, GBLLC students took part in international community business tours and cross-cultural workshops and networked with faculty, staff and business professionals through guest lectures, dining experiences with executives, corporate site visits and panel discussions with company representatives. They also participated in career, resume and social media workshops to develop professional and leadership skills centered around global business.

“The activities that really impacted me the most were those that involved guest speakers from Ohio State’s Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies and the East Asian Studies Center,” said St. Clair. “These discussions further opened my mind up to cultures I had not previously had the chance to learn much about. We discussed basic geography, cultural practices and business etiquette in these areas.”

St. Clair joined GBLLC to mix her business major with an interest in travel and global relations. She said the program and the trip to Toronto have expanded her ideas of what a business degree can do for her.

“Business has so many different opportunities, and I loved seeing first-hand things that I could be doing in a couple years,” St. Clair said.