Final Project Overview

One of the activities that I decided to do was to be a global ambassador for the Global Internship Program. The focus of the activity was to speak to different students who were considering participating in the program as well. A large part of it was speaking to them about my experiences and telling them what I got out of it, in hopes of answering any questions they may have had about it. These meetings mostly took place during the fall semester through when the applications for the program were still open in hour-long informational sessions. There would be a presentation of the details of the program that went over all of the necessary details and the resources available to the students. At the end of the presentation they gave us time to give a brief overview of our own experiences including what it was like, what we did while we were there, things we’ve learned, resources we used, and anything that might be able to help them in their decision process prior to applying. Another part was speaking on a panel once or twice during the course that was mandatory for the students who had already applied and had been accepted in to the program, and was a part of the pre-departure requirements. I really enjoy being able to speak about my time abroad, it gives me a chance to share how beneficial the global programs can be as well as the truth behind the challenges and the ways in which the program has helped me grow. I know a large part of the convincing for me to go to Spain the first time was because of all the amazing stories I had the chance to hear at one of the informational sessions. If me telling them about my time abroad can convince even just one student to go on the trip, then I’m grateful.

Final Project Reflection

One of my key takeaways from the activity was being able to see first-hand how being able to see someone like you or in a similar situation doing something you one day would like to and knowing they made it possible for themselves helps make it so much more possible for yourself. When you can really picture yourself doing it, it’s much more real. It’s important to be able to speak to others about experiences I’ve had in hopes of motivating them. My desire to inspire more minorities travel and see the world. A large gap in my experience was the lack of diversity, if I can help make it more possible for them, then I hope to do so and find more ways to in the future. I’ve also been able to realize how important it is to have enough resources for students throughout the entire process of deciding to go abroad and during the time there. Many of the questions received during the period at the end of the presentation were regarding making it financially feasible and what to do while there in case of any situations that might arise. For many, like myself, this is the first time we have ever been abroad, so having that sense of security prior to going gives both the students and the parents a peace of mind, and it heavily influences the decision to go abroad as well. Thirdly, this activity made me so glad that I took pictures and had a formal document of our project throughout the program. Fortunately, having that document has given me something that’s real for me to show perspective Global Program students. I could show them challenges of the program, how it all came together, and how it was perceived by other. This basically showed me that in the future, it is important to keep detailed records of my experiences, if I didn’t have those to go back to and reflect on, it would be difficult to show what we really did. That goes for international trips or even just projects I do in the workplace, being able to know how you arrived at a solution and look back on it is essential to your growth and future progress.

The activity impacted me very personally and I was able to see how fortunate I was to be able to have the opportunities through Fisher that I did. It is something many students would love the opportunity to do, but did not for their own personal reasons, but that I should not take the opportunity I had for granted. I am fortunate, and if I can help other students find resource, or even if I one day could be able to help provide help to getting others the opportunity to travel, that I should. The activity showed me that I really love also hearing other people tell me about their own experiences as well. Every single one of us got something completely different out of our programs based on numerous factors. Whether that had been the location, the members of our groups, or the project we were working on, we all had unique experiences, everyone was impacted in some way and I enjoyed hearing about them all.

Global Option Final Reflection/Accomplishments

I accomplished my goals for the program while getting more out of it than I had originally expected to. I was able to see the value in all the experiences I’ve been able to have throughout the past 2-3 years while accomplishing the Global Option in Business programs. By completing my online portfolio, I was able to reflect on specific events or things about the program that I may have otherwise not realized about myself and the program itself. Without being able to actually sit down and go through what I’ve done in the process of completing everything, I wouldn’t have noticed many things that made it all successful for me and what I went through to get through it all. None of it was easy, but I worked hard to make sure that I got out of it what I was hoping to from the beginning. From the start, I said that I wanted to learn how I wanted to one day apply my degree, minor, and certification in the future, and in the end of it all, I could see all three coming together in a career path that I really could see myself completing, and I’m excited! I also wanted to be able to have something that could let potential employers see the value in my experiences as well, and hopefully making me stand out as an employee, and it has done just that. As I have been going through my job search for my impending graduation in December of 2019, recruiters who look at my resume automatically point out multiple things one my resume. One of those being my work experiences in Spain, an the other being curious as to what the Global Option in Business certification was and what it meant for my undergraduate years. Being able to speak on those and share my passion for what I did with them has helped me out so much.

I think my highlight for the program has actually been the full reflection process. It started out as difficult to go back and reflect on the things I’ve done and try to really dive into them to see what I got out of them. But, after doing so and in completing this final reflection, I can see just how far I really have come from the beginning of the program. I would not have been able to put everything into words the way that I have, and I enjoy seeing how much I’ve grown as a student and a professional since beginning the program, or even prior to doing my first internship abroad.

Completing the GO Business Certification is particularly important as a global professional because I’ve gained so much perspective. It is not a one-sided program, but a very well-rounded and complete experience. By having emphasized multiple dimensions of learning that all support each other I’ve gotten more out of it. I have had the global experience with the classes to support it as well as having to complete global activities that further encourage the learning that has allowed me to take it in a more personal direction. This program is also important because companies ask about this program all the time and ask me about my takeaway from completing it, having this real and tangible accomplishment helps me stand out. Being able to show what I’ve done and say that not only did I do something in a different part of the world, but to be able to share why I did it, what I got out of it, and how it can make me a good candidate and better professional is what they are really looking to hear. Thirdly, I have gained a real-life experience that opened my mind. In the future, I can use this to be able to think about global business more critically and use my own perspectives to support it. I know how to do critical research on locations to help a business be successful in international situations, and I plan to one day be able to gain a role within a global leadership position for the Human Resources department of a company. And until that point in my life, I have a better idea of how to continue my learning so that when the time comes for that role, I am prepared.

It is worth the hard work to be able to look back and reflect on everything you’ve done throughout the process of completing the Global Option in Business. You have the chance to fully see everything come together as one piece, and then look back and see where you’ve started. The classes and activities I’ve done to achieve this goal have all complemented one another and it’s a chance to really see what you enjoyed about the global business world. Chances are, if you are looking into completing this program, you have thought about following through in some way in the future a career involved with international business, or something that relates to it. My wrapping up of this entire process has showed me how I want to exemplify those skills one day and given me the tools to support why I want to do it, and how I plan to. So, if you are someone questioning whether completing the Global Option in Business is for you, I highly recommend you do it. Take a look at the other portfolios and blogs of the students have done to get a more holistic view of what you might be able to get out of it, and how you can fully maximize your overall experience.

SPAN 4561: Culture of Spain 

Class Description

This class is an advanced level Spanish course that digs deep into the history of the culture of Spain and the things in its past that have made it the Spain it is today. We look into their history of the politics, the food, dialects that differ from city to city as I have mentioned in a number of my posts. When we’ve taken a further dive into the history of Spain, we go back to the 18^th century and make our way up from there. The readings speak about some artists who have had large cultural impacts during a given era as well as groups of people who largely contributed to the cultural development or political movements of Spain.

One of my favorite parts of the class is the discussions we’ll have about every class or every other class. We go into conversations that branch off the readings or videos that we had as assignments prior to coming in, and we have the chance to express our feelings towards it or any other immediate reactions we have from those assignments. It doesn’t usually spark into any debates, but everyone has the chance to say their pieces on it. We get to learn more about our own culture as the United States during those discussions as well as seeing how those relate or don’t relate to those of Spain.

Class Reflection

This class is the final course requirement for my Spanish Minor prior to graduating, and I think it has been one of the most impactful for me. In this class, we no longer are learning about grammar, the basics, or the things you most likely learn in the intro level or early minor classes. But instead, we are actually putting it all to use every day. Our professor only speaks to us in Spanish, our assignments test us on the material of our readings and in class assignments, while forcing us to put everything to use that we’ve been learning over the past 3-4 years in our previous Spanish courses.

The focus of the course is on the culture and the history of Spain, basically leading up to how Spain has become the country it is today and all of the factors that have contributed to its growth. This course appealed to me mostly because of the trips that I had taken in the past with Fisher through the Office of Global Business. I had been to multiple cities within Spain for an extended period of time, so I felt that I would be able to better relate to the material that they present to us in the course. I couldn’t have been any more correct about that. In fact, everything we’ve been learning in class has contributed to all of the experiences that I’ve had and has helped me understand it all at the same time. We’ve gone into the politics, the culture, the food, the dialects, and it has all made me understand why my two experiences within Spain (in Salamanca and Madrid) were so different.

As we’ve gone into different topics regarding the culture, the food, cinema, art and travel, the class goes into discussions that can be related back to any career. Many people in the class are in majors completely different from mine. They’re either going into the medical field, are studying history, engineering, etc. but, the course is still relevant to all of us and will help us out in the future for multiple reasons. One, it encourages us to travel and see the world, while being able to communicate with a wider group of people, it also just makes it easier for us to navigate the world. Secondly, it can help us gain some perspective. We’ve learned to appreciate what we have, while being able to see our own culture and be able to see both the good and the bad. Finally, it opens the doors for us to other different opportunities, both domestically and around the world.

I’ve been able to already apply what I’ve learned in the class to my own personal experiences. To better be able to tell people who ask me about certain things I may have encountered while I was there what the reasoning or backgrounds of the situation was. Being able to contribute my own experiences in the class have been such a huge help to me. In addition to just being able to use it to contribute to my own understandings of Spain, but also for the day that I decide to go back to Spain. I think it is so important to be able to know the history of different places you visit, and now, being able to go with more of the background and knowledge about Spain, it can better my experiences no matter where I go.

Class Description

I chose to take a course in International Labor and Human Resources as my global course within my major. We were able to look at the implications HR has to deal with when working for MNCs or Multi National Corporations. There was a large focus on staffing, training, and how to work with people going into those international roles. The preparation and steps you have to go through when dealing with international assignments, and what the needs of those employees are. Another focus was looking at the challenges of actually managing an international team and the implications you have to look out for in order to make sure that your team and organization can both be successful. In the class we looked at the laws and regulations in regards to the international location and differences you have to be aware of when planning to go global as a company. International companies have different concerns in addition to those every organization has to go through, which just makes it that much more important to be sure that all of the HR and other functions all work together.

Class Reflection

It was interesting being able to see how much globalization is growing, and compare the perception of a business going global now, to how they used to think about it in the past. We got to see trends in companies growing and what made companies successful and unsuccessful in the global market. Most importantly, to me, was being able to see what role HR played in the globalization process and the importance of that role. One of the most relevant things we started with in the class was in the discussion of why the world is not flat. Through all of the technological advancements and the growing interconnectedness of the world, how the actual globalization of businesses isn’t as advanced as we thought it would be. But, even though it may not be there yet, it will be one day.

While taking this class, I realized just how much I enjoyed the course. One day, I could very easily see myself working for an MNC, and hopefully within their global HR department. I saw how much I enjoyed seeing the role that HR played, and the way it would challenge me in the workplace. I’ve gone through 4.5 years of learning Spanish, and one day I want to be sure that I am able to use that, whether that be in the workplace, or just being able to helping the company in any way that it can. To start, I think I want to move to an area of the US that has a large Spanish-speaking population. One of the main things I learned from my trips abroad to Spain is that sometimes you just have to be immersed in the culture or language in order to truly learn it while actually practicing it as much as possible, and for a few years right out of school, I would really love to be able to do that.

This class not only taught me how to be an HR professional in a company working with global situations, but it also taught me a lot about dealing with difficult situations and making those tough decisions for a company that people don’t really want to make. We had so many group projects and opportunities to work with the other students in the class on how to deal with tough situations, and it’s so eye opening. You never know what choice you’ll make when a problem arises until you are put into those situations. But, after learning about how to make those better decisions and how to confront those problems or conflicts head on, it is so much easier to be prepared for those if they were to come up. This class helped me prepare for so many different career possibilities. And, like I mentioned earlier, not just situations within MNCs, or those relating to international business, but in any one where you may be working with people from different countries, or with different trainings/backgrounds and that will just overall help me become a better professional.

Program Overview

During the month of May of 2019, I participated in Fisher’s Global Project with Deloitte in Salamanca, Spain. It lasted four weeks and I was with a group of 3 other Fisher students of varying majors and ranks in the university. The focus of the program was to act as a group of consultants for a company in a different country and work together to find a solution to a given situation. For us, the situation was to analyze the impacts of disruptive technologies on the clients of Deloitte. We were to figure out possible implications of new, disruptive tech like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) on the future of the company and to be creative in possible scenarios that could arise.

Our days were those of every employee in our office, we came in at 8:00am and left around 6:00pm every night, so it was a full-time job. We were able to collaborate with their team, and they were extremely generous with their resources as well. This program forced me to think in ways that I never had before and helped me develop a number of skills that I didn’t have before while also being able to explore the amazing city of Salamanca.

Pre-Departure Reflection

A few years before this previous summer I was fortunate to have been able to be a part of the Global Internship Program in Madrid, Spain where I was able to intern with a company for two months out of the summer. The year after this program is when I decided to investigate different global pathways my career could take me in. Over the year, I couldn’t stop thinking of different ways that I could be able to experience another international opportunity. One that wouldn’t be the same, and where I would be able to develop new skills and challenge my business knowledge in a different way. At the end of the summer was when I had begun really searching for options I had that I could participate in prior to my graduation at the end of 2019 (this December). I knew that I had another summer, which gave me a good number of programs to look in to.

At the end of my search, I concluded that I wanted to choose the Global Project for several reasons. First, the location was the number one thing I looked at in the search. As a Spanish minor, I knew that if I wanted to be able to test my comprehension and speaking skills, that I would need to be immersed in the culture for a period that forced me to apply them, and Spain was the most ideal of the given locations. Secondly, the timing. I knew that I was graduating in about a year, which gave me one more semester after the program to do a career search. However, I wanted to be able to still complete a full-length internship program within the US to be able to assist in that job search, while also being able to complete the entire global program. And this program did exactly that – I was able to do the program for the month of May in Spain and it ended on June 1, the internship that I ended up completing throughout the remainder of the summer began June 3^rd, and that was perfect for me. Thirdly and the final reason I went with this program, was due to me wanting to diversify my skills. All of the internships I had done prior to this were with the Human Resources teams, even when I was in Spain for the first time. I wanted something that would challenge me and force me to think in more analytical ways than I had been used to, something that would push me out of my comfort zone a little, and that is how I landed on the Global Project Program – Salamanca.

I had been to Spain before, so I knew a little of what to expect, but many cities in Spain are extremely unique, and unlike the neighboring city. From what I researched, Salamanca was supposed to be a small city with a large university focus with one of the oldest universities in the entire world. I assumed there would be a huge number of college students, and not very many families throughout the area. Because I had been able to some research prior, I really didn’t have many concerns going in. I had thought about the difficulty of being so far from a major city though, how the culture and community would be to students who, very obviously, weren’t from that area.

While Abroad Reflection

While I was in Salamanca, it was unique from my experience in Madrid. As I mentioned earlier, even neighboring cities are going to be different from one another. I saw this in their culture, values, language dialects and accents, and the overall feel of the city. Salamanca was a smaller town, where not everyone knew each other, but you could walk straight through the city in about 30-45 minutes. There were a few spots in the center of the city that had regulars, but there were also a few hidden gems. Restaurants began to recognize us and our orders after around the second week. I loved to be able to feel so comfortable and know the city so well by the end of the program.

In the country, many of the challenges during the work we did came from the differences in work styles with the group I was with. There were four of us and that included 3 different majors working on one common goal. Through classes, we’ve come to learn different styles of getting our work done and being effective, so when we brought those together, it unsurprisingly presented challenges. Overcoming those took a lot of open communication that forced us all to be open to different ways of accomplishing the same goal and working together to do so and over the course of the program. We learned more about each other and how to work with people from whom you differ. For myself, this was a personal highlight especially because it had been one of my major goals from the start of the program. I wanted to be able to develop professionally as a leader and to challenge my knowledge and skills by stepping out of my comfort zone. Without a little challenge I would not have been able to learn those skills when I did and then be able to apply those in my internship afterwards.

In Spain, most of the differences were focused around the perception of work itself and the role it played in their everyday lives. I think one of the things most people know when it comes to working in European countries is that they are very relationship focused. This includes both workplace relationships and having a well-balanced life at home. They took longer lunch breaks in order to have lunch with their families every day and would come back to finish the work day after.

Its so interesting, because until I went to Salamanca and saw it for myself, I was able to see for myself how distinct the different Spanish cities were. I discovered the small differences that made one unique from the other. For Salamanca, it was definitely the architecture. There was so much extremely detailed stone that was basically the foundation for just about every building in the center of the city. I saw how willing and generous everyone was with wanting us to actually improve while we were there. They helped me make huge improvements on my Spanish speaking skills, and I discovered just how capable I was to actually live and function in a foreign country where I was unfamiliar to my surroundings. I was correct for the most part in what I had imagined for the city, but it exceeded my expectations.

After Return Reflection

One of the main takeaways from the program was that challenging yourself is worth it, and in order to grow and learn, you sometimes need to be pushed out of your comfort zone. Secondly, I learned so much from doing the program about how to work with people from different backgrounds, skills, and with different ways of solving problems. This just exemplified the importance of having a diverse set of skills on a team and how it can only benefit the overall end goal. Without the different backgrounds we brought to the table, the project would not have come to be what it did and we would not have arrived at the same solutions. And the entire project was so much better from that. Finally, I realized just how much I want to continue learning and practicing to improve my Spanish, so that maybe one day I may become fluent. I love the study of languages and how unique they are, so I can only try to learn them as best as I can, maybe one day learning a third..!

I learned so much through these global experiences. I learned about the importance of exposing yourself to different cultures in the world. I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted to do in the future from those international experiences I had, and I wish the same for everyone else. I want to one day help expand the abilities of different groups to be able to have similar opportunities as well to allow them to explore the world and hopefully learn more about themselves in the process as well.

Going abroad gave me a new set of skills and capabilities that are going to be so beneficial in the future. I had to learn about how to tailor those skills to be able to apply those in the future in whatever I do. What I’ve done in the past won’t only be useful to me if I decided to one day work in international business, but in everything I do in the future. Skills like an open mindset, abilities to communicate, cross-cultural knowledge are all useful no matter what I decide to do.

To any students who are considering going abroad, please don’t let the fear of not being successful keep you from trying something challenging. Because like I mentioned earlier, I think it’s difficult to be able to grow without facing some challenges in life. Before coming to college, I never could have imagined that I would be able to go abroad once, and better yet twice. But, after speaking with other students who had done them before and told me about what they did and how it helped them become who they are today, I was so determined to find my way into one of those programs. You should ask tons of questions to students who have done the programs before, we’ve all had unique experiences and have gotten different things out of the program, it’s important to be able to see that there is more than just a few outcomes of the program.

Biography

My name is Tori Miller and I am majoring in Human Resources and Minoring in Spanish while pursuing the Global Option in Business certification. Within OSU, I have been heavily involved in the organization within Fisher called the Council of Black Students in Administration. My sophomore year I was the Director of Communications for the organization, and then the previous year (2018-2019), I was the President. In addition to that, I currently work in the Keith B. Key Center for Student Leadership and Service in the Ohio Union and am a manager. I served as a Fisher F.I.R.S.T. mentor where I was able to mentor two incoming freshman students. I was also a GetInvolved student presenter where I could speak to the incoming students about the importance of getting involved on Ohio State’s campus and different ways that they would be able to do so. I am from Cincinnati, OH, where I was born and raised my entire life. I used to play softball all the way from intermediate school through my Junior year of High School, but I still really enjoy being active and playing sports. Now, I would say that my favorite thing to do in my free time is traveling or going to the movies. I really try to go somewhere new whenever I can, and I think that my favorite place I’ve ever been to thus far has been Porto, Portugal and my favorite movie I’ve seen recently was Spiderman!

Why I decided to pursue Global Option

I came into college not knowing much about where I wanted to take my degree or what my future goal was in the future. I knew that I wanted to do business, I just was not yet sure what type. Throughout college, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things until I had certain experiences that helped me define what I wanted to get out of it. It wasn’t until after my Spanish class my freshman year that I learned how much I enjoyed studying a different language, and it wasn’t until after my first international experience with Fisher my junior year that I learned how much I enjoyed working in an international business. After having declared my major, I wanted something that would help show employers that I was capable of working in a global capacity, and my coursework and international experiences would be able to support that. The Global Option in Business degree helped me define the remainder of my time in undergrad. I wanted to do a program that would complement the rest of my degree (Spanish minor, HR major), while giving me more of a competitive edge. Since the experiences I have had and the courses I’ve been able to learn from as a result of the program, I can say that it truly has developed me into a better professional with more global knowledge.

My Goal for Global Options

My goal for the global options certification has been to gain a better understanding of how global business works on a larger scale, as well as how it relates specifically to my Major. By being able to take a course about the international functions of HR, I was able to help decide what I could do with my major internationally.

By choosing the Global Option program, it gave me more direction in how I decided to pursue my international interests. I knew that I didn’t have enough to add an international business minor to my course load, but I wanted a way to display to future employers my global knowledge and interests in pursuing a career eventually in an international manner. Because I had already participated in a global program, this helped me put my experiences and knowledge in a more concrete and visible way, giving me path to see how I’ve developed my international knowledge.

As I mentioned earlier, I knew that I wanted to do some sort of business internationally, and hopefully this would be HR. By completing the program, I was hoping that my mindset of being able to think globally in professional situations. Having a global mindset for me wasn’t just about being able to think about international implications or solving problems in MNCs, it was about being able to think critically with an open mind. Being aware of the influence that decisions can make, and just being open to different ideas or solutions that may come. To think globally doesn’t always mean to work globally, it could be having people on your team from different countries/cultures or those who natively speak a different language. Being able to get a team of diverse individuals to come together, work effectively, and to learn from each other was a huge part of that goal.

Welcome to my e-portfolio for Global Option (GO)! I will be using this page to archive my experiences as I pursue the program at OSU. The Global Option is a program that will allow me to explore the world, enhance my global awareness, gain global knowledge, and distinguish myself from my peers by building a global mindset in my major.

Join me on my journey, as I share my experiences and reflections on Global Option. I hope it inspires you and encourage you to build your global mindset as well!