Smith Freshmen Take on the World

Kevin Li, class of 2019 marketing and information systems double major, writes about the Global Young Professional’s Institute on Nov. 10, 2017, at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.

What would you do if you had a whole new culture? Freshmen Smith students tackled this question at the Global Young Professional’s Institute on Nov. 10 at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on campus. This event was lead in part by the Center for Global Business and was the final event of the Smith Start program for the fall semester.

Associate Director Kristin LaRiviere kicked off the event with an impromptu dance party filled with the top pop hits of the 90s. The freshmen students got up off their feet and energized themselves with awkward dabs and quick movements. Shortly thereafter, Managing Director for the Center for Global Business, Rebecca Bellinger, introduced the concept of a global mindset.

When asked why a global mindset is so important, Bellinger emphasized how a global mindset makes “better [people], and so better [professionals].” She also spoke about how “there is no doubt that [students] will be engaged in business that crosses the globe.” By connecting the concept of a global mindset to the need of finding a job, Bellinger clarified the importance of such a mindset when it comes to the professional world.

Students then were divided up into four fake cultures and given prompts for each culture. With these cultures in mind, they dove into a group case study for a fake company with the name “VisionFuture.” At first, students worked with others in the same culture then worked with others in different cultures forming structures with K’NEX. The dichotomy of collaboration between the same culture and different cultures could be seen by people struggling to complete their tasks when working with those that did not share the same behaviors.

The event ended with an explanation of the seven global competencies that the Center for Global Business believes make up a global mindset. Professionals from T. Rowe Price and EY gave examples from their daily work life to portray how these competencies actually do play out in the professional world.

Smith students were able to broaden their horizons right on campus. Amara Kamal, a freshman operations management and business analytics major, enjoyed that the event was “interactive and allowed [her] to get out of her comfort zone which was a main takeaway.” The Center for Global Business flawlessly conveyed the importance of a global mindset with support from young professionals from T. Rowe Price and EY.

The Center for Global Business is sponsored in part by a Title VI grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education known as CIBER (Center for International Business Education and Research).