Expatriate Panel Recap

Last week we all had the opportunity to experience an interactive Ex-Patriate panel here on campus. An ex-pat is a person who lives outside their native country. We had 3 successful European business leaders come answer questions and give us, young aspiring undergraduates, advice on how to possibly get to where they are now (Ex-pat business leader).

The three panel members were Scott, Cortney and Derek. Scott Newton works primarily with middle markets and their board of directors, CEO and the rest of the executives guiding them with strategy work. Cortney McDermott is a famous writer that also devotes her time in helping with fortune 500 companies and their strategies. Lastly, Derek Keller has spent 11 years with athletic brands while holding multiple leadership roles with a primary focus on marketing.

All 3 of the above expatriates shared many different experiences in order to connect with us undergraduates. Below are my key takeaways from the panel members:

1. Why Study Abroad?

First, you get to see the world. They practically connected back to what Dr. Al first told us, the idea of getting lost. There is nothing better then learning how to travel the world and solving conflict if you do indeed get lost. The panel mentioned how you get to learn a lot about yourself. I have found this to be very true, not to get into a lot of details, but I have indeed learned a thing or two about myself during this semester. Courtney brought up the idea on how studying abroad opens up the endless travel opportunities while you are studying. Which of course has been completely true, especially true with the given amount of travel days CIMBA gives you during the semester. Second, when you return home you will have a new perspective on culture, language skills and willingness to learn. Which all of them are attractive pieces that most young professionals do not have. Lastly, they mentioned that you will find new interests. Most of the panel members expressed how studying abroad sparked the idea and interest of starting a career abroad.

2. Why Learn a New Language?

The panel member’s great way to open up new career opportunities is by learning a new language. The world is changing quickly and so are global companies. Therefore, being able to communicate with countries across the world is a unique asset that many people in the workforce can’t say they have. One panel member talked about learning a new language boosts your brain’s functions. This is something that I never thought of but makes sense when I explained it. Lastly, they mentioned how difficult learning a language can be. Because of that you become a better learner when you add this skill to your resume.

3. Don’t avoid failures, embrace them.

 The most interesting talking point and advice the panel members gave us was to embrace failures. They all touched on how failures are perfect learning points that will lead you better off in the future. I know most people have heard this saying or something similar to it before, but it didn’t really sit with me until 3 successful business people all agreed on this idea in front of 70 aspiring undergraduates. This had to be the most powerful message from this whole seminar.

We are now approaching our second weekend and the final stretch of the 2 last weeks of the semester!

Ciao!

John