Final Project Overview
For my global activity, I joined Fisher International Friends as a domestic friend to international students. Domestic friends are students from the U.S. who pair up with students who are from anywhere outside of the U.S., this organization helps bring students all over the world together who share an interest in studying business. We each fill out a form with information about ourselves including name, grade, contact information, and our interests & hobbies. This way, we can be paired with others who enjoy the same things as us and bond over more than just Fisher. We had to contact our friend as many times as we could throughout the semester to build our relationship and to follow the rules of the organization. I joined for both Fall and Spring and had two different international friends who both taught me a lot about themselves and where they are from. Unfortunately, COVID-19 made the meetings difficult for the organization, and one-on-one meetings with our international friends because we could only meet new people and make new friends virtually. Events outside of meetings were critical for this organization when it was held in person, but they were limited online. However, this program was still extremely beneficial for every student involved because we were able to learn about different cultures while meeting new people each semester.
Final Project Reflection
Fisher International Friends was so much fun to be a part of. I felt like I truly made friends and connections that I wish I knew my first year here in college. This organization made me realize how different we can all be from one another yet have so many things in common, like us all being business majors and struggling with similar classes online. My first international friend was from a small town in China, and she was a senior majoring in Accounting. Although the organization is all about making the international students feel welcomed and adjust well to the U.S. and Ohio State’s campus, she knew more about the campus than I did because she was here on campus longer than I have been. Fortunately, we were able to focus more on our interests and hobbies rather than resources and questions about campus, however, that is not always bad; my second international friend was a freshman from Mumbai and I was able to give her resources and answer her questions. I love being a mentor, and I had experience from the Fisher F.I.R.S.T. program where I have mentored since my second year here. I love being a resource for students here since I know I needed all the help I could get my freshmen year here. And it truly showed how relationships can go beyond an organizational connection. Mentorships are very important to me, and I was so glad to meet someone who wanted to have a loose, non-obligated mentor relationship. No requirements needed, no one to report back to, just my international friend and I wanting to grow our relationship through mentoring and Fisher International Friends. The organization and my new friends have taught me so much more about myself as a leader too. At every zoom meeting, I definitely tried to initiate many of the conversations when members were able to speak whether it was with everybody in the meeting or in a breakout room because of how uncomfortable zooms can be. I was able to build connections with those who came to the biweekly meetings since I was the one confident person to ask everyone questions about themselves as well as share stuff about me. I definitely feel more comfortable in settings now to keep conversations going and I’m such a better listener because of it. Meeting people with such different backgrounds and part of different cultures was so inspiring. I love that I am a part of diverse groups on campus because I believe every space needs to promote diversity and inclusion, personally and professionally.
Global Option Final Reflection/Accomplishments
I believe I accomplished my goals of obtaining my Global Option in Business Certificate and more. One goal that was important to me was meeting new people, and this was an easy yet the most satisfying goal of mine because I put myself in new environments around new and amazing people which I am so glad the Global Option requirements had allowed me to do so. And the fact I was able to meet new people in a completely virtual setting, which I thought was going to be the most challenging aspect of this goal, yet effortlessly made new friends was the most satisfying part of this whole experience. I am grateful for the required classes, which happen to be my highlights of this experience, like Advanced International Business, International Marketing, and Cross-Cultural Management and for joining Fisher International Friends. If it wasn’t for these experiences, I wouldn’t have met my goal nor made new friends throughout this GO journey. To this day, I still keep in contact with students from my classes, the Executive Board from FIF, and my past coworkers, unfortunately, we have stayed virtual due to the ongoing pandemic, some have graduated and moved away from Columbus, and the distance between my coworkers in Spain. My second goal was to start thinking globally beyond the classrooms and this was definitely a challenge for me. My final semester is enriched with international courses which means my homework assignments have helped me think globally, but without them, it’s been hard for me to sustain a global mindset. However I continue to work on this goal and find myself excited when I am able to discuss things on a global level with other people. For example, my internship this past summer was with Ross Stores, and I was an Assistant Buyer for skincare, sunscreen, and supplements business. My Buyer had vendors in Poland, South Korea, England, and traveled every Spring to a vendor show in Italy, so these were by far my favorite meetings that I was a able to be a part of and watch my Buyer during the appointments adapt to each of her vendors because of the different cultures she works with. So, I’m glad I was able to have a global mindset in my career and hope to continue to do so, but still continuing this long-term goal to use its on a daily basis. Thankfully, my International Communications class has forced us students to follow different news outlets on social media that are outside of the U.S. which has helped me see more international news on a daily basis; I plan on keeping this around beyond the class to continue reaching my goal! Then my third and final goal, similar to many people, is to continue traveling. I have not been able to accomplish this goal internationally, however this is also extremely long-term and hope I can travel when we aren’t in a pandemic anymore.
Through the Global Option experience, I have gained a few things first and foremost being a new perspective. I have learned so much from my international courses that has allowed me to look at products differently and the way companies who deal with business internationally differently. A product goes far beyond what we see on a shelf at a store, the entire supply chain, the product’s entire story, has traveled many different places to be in front of us, and knowing that each and every product at a store, in my home, on my body has gone through a process that had taken many parts of the world to land itself in one single place, either temporarily or permanently, makes me appreciate everything a lot more. My appreciation goes far beyond ‘things’ though, I also appreciate the people who have walked into my life which is why I’m glad I gained friendships throughout this experience as well. It is easy to step out of my comfort zone through a zoom, so being vocal and opening up during meetings had allowed others to open up to me throughout the virtual semesters. Meeting international students is something I wish all students could experience. There’s something about meeting someone from a different country and culture but still share similar interests that is really interesting to me, and may seem so simple, but is truly experience I am grateful for and want to continue enjoying throughout my lifetime. Lastly, I gained the need of learning and diversifying my knowledge daily. Taking multiple courses revolved around a similar idea, I try and find distinct ideas from each course to really hone in on because it is the only way to keep finding diverse ideas. Also just soaking up all of the new information that people are willing to share whether it’s in the classroom or about themselves or their culture is something I have a new respect for when talking to anyone.
I plan on applying my experiences and the knowledge I have gained from the GO experience at my job at E. & J. Gallo Winery after I graduate from Ohio State. It is the biggest wine company in the United States and recognized as one of the leading global producers in more than 100 countries around the globe in wine and spirits. This information has me extremely hopeful hat I will be able to use my knowledge as well as acquire more during my time at this amazing company that I hope will be able to continue expanding, and in California and be a part of a new culture.
It is so important to get out of your comfort zone, finding the love to learn, and to challenge yourself in order to grow beyond the student you are here at Ohio State. If it wasn’t for these three key items that I try and remind myself everyday, I don’t think I would have found my passion of working with products and being near people who are different than me this quickly. The desire to learn has truly helped me seek out what I wanted and what I didn’t what in my life, and this experience had helped me see what I was good at and what I wanted to avoid in my future. Whether you are virtual or not, I definitely recommend pursuing your Global Option in Business certificate in order to achieve the exposure, friends, and experiences you didn’t think were possible.