My sophomore year was full of many surprises. I had no plans to go to South Africa for Spring Break, but after attending the learning abroad info session and speaking to Dr. Ruth, the professor leading the class, I was sold! This is basically college in a nutshell: allowing new opportunities to find you, and taking full advantage of them. You never know, you could end up on another continent..
As a marketing major, I enrolled in the Doing Business in South Africa course for Spring 2015. From March 12-24 we spent half the trip in the city of Cape Town, and the other half in Johannesburg. It was a phenomenal experience (Cape Town was my favorite). I encourage students from any major to sign up and go! The experience introduced me to a wonderful country and its rich history, culture, and business practices. I will never forget the beautiful memories I made and friends I met through the program. We visited many places such as Table Mountain, Robben Island, Kruger National Park (safari), visited the Cape of Good Hope, spent time with kids at Kalksteenfontein Primary School, and even visited PepsiCo headquarters. Through this program I was able to network with business leaders, compare South African business operations to practices in the U.S, and strengthen my communications skills. To this day I still keep in touch with them.
Initially I didn't know much about South Africa, but once I took the course and traveled there, I saw the country in all its beauty, and how far they have come since the Apartheid era. It's truly a life-changing experience.