Marketer Finds Her Niche in Germany

Some people wait until they travel abroad to develop a global mindset. But Elaine Oves ’15, a marketing associate with Interel Group, says the process starts at home. “You don't have to travel far,” she says. “You just have to step outside your comfort zone and interact with people unlike yourself. The more you do it, the more you learn.”

Oves says the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business played an important role in framing her global mindset. “Of the countless case studies we did, many were related to U.S. businesses succeeding or failing in the global market,” she says.

As an international business major, Oves studied abroad in Austria and completed two internships in Germany. She says her cultural curiosity began at birth, as she was raised in both U.S. and Russian cultures.

After graduating from the Smith School in 2015, she went on to pursue a Master in Management at HEC Paris and a Master in Public Policy at the Freie Universitaet Berlin. Oves is studying the latter while working part-time at Interel.

In her travels, Oves learned how to settle into a new place. “It's daunting,” she says. “You don't have friends and a routine. You have to make your nest.”

She experienced this firsthand at HEC. Many of her classmates knew each other from prépa, a two-year preparatory program prior to university. This creates a divide between the French and international students, as international students come from different backgrounds, sometimes for just one year.

“To get to know people, I had to put myself out there and use what I know about culture and language,” Oves says.

Her ability to understand and appreciate diversity has served her well in her professional life too. Oves is able to leverage multiple languages to widen the scope in market research. And her awareness of German culture and the German approach to public policy has been helpful to her internship at Interel.

“It seems the U.S. is more macro in terms of assessing the political environment," Oves says. “In Germany, the approach is often micro to macro. They make local adjustments to legislation and promote changes from the grassroots up. It's more public-oriented.”

She says she learned this on the job. “Now, I can better collaborate in a cross-cultural setting, as I can identify and translate cultural differences in business. I recognize what could pose a challenge or an advantage.”

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