Go global

By: Emily Riley

Posted: 2/16/07

Last Thursday I was among a large crowd, listening to Richard Parsons speak about his idea of the "Future of Media." Sponsored by the College of Business and funneled mainly toward business-minded individuals, Parsons talked of strategies, entrepreneurship and taking risks, most of which was in business jargon I failed to make a personal connection with. He did emphasize one point, directed toward the entire audience and non-attendees alike, that was relevant to all.

When asked for advice to give to students on how to match his kind of success, he simply said, "Live abroad if you can." He also touched on points of patience and being capable of adapting to new situations and diverse environments. But let us focus on his first comment for a moment.

His advice made perfect sense to me, as I have now gone abroad twice and loved both occasions. I continue to work with the advising aspect of students going abroad, and the value of living in a foreign country and learning a new language has become second nature to me. This head of one of the world's biggest companies made me realize that not everyone thinks the way I do in terms of the imperative worth of going global. I assume that many have, at one time, thought about how cool it would be to do a semester in New Zealand, a year in Italy or a short stay in Sweden, but came out with a similar reason to subdue their seemingly wild imaginations by asking themselves how this really applies to their majors or long-term goals.

Parsons remarked that his days in college in Hawaii taught him one of his most valuable lessons of communicating in a foreign context and the importance of building personal relation skills. He attributed this fact to living amongst a society, in Hawaii, vastly different from his previous inhabitance and birthplace of New York. These primary skills have helped take Parsons from being a major lawyer for the former vice president and mayor of New York Nelson Rockefeller, to the head of a major bank and finally to his current position as CEO of Time Warner. He also mentioned that although Time Warner has its hands mostly on American turf, they are becoming increasingly global.

Parsons' underlining statements showed students the importance of multiculturalism in all corners of the professional world, including careers in business, among others, which are infrequently regarded as areas of study in which a student could benefit by going abroad. This is simply not true. In fact, studying abroad, taking part in an international internship or attending any multicultural event has a place within each major, including sites where English is spoken. Whether your area of focus is in medicine, forestry, engineering or liberal arts, placing yourself in an international context is immeasurably beneficial.

How could an environmental science student say no to working on research in biodiversity or resource conservation in Taiwan? Or a political science major having the choice to live in Germany or France, working for an organization tailored toward their interests and skills? A veterinarian in training could boost their resume with an international internship in the Cook Islands or working with cheetah conservation in Namibia. An internship with an Irish film institute gives a wide variety of students from various disciplines the chance to learn more about cinema while living in a country filled with rich history. There are several opportunities in Africa for business majors to get experience building on their personal relations skills, deemed pertinent by Mr. Parsons. In Ghana, students can profit and contribute to an organization helping women achieve economic independence through small, women-owned businesses. Engineering students can join the club Engineers Without Borders and see just how relevant and advantageous living abroad is.

Mr. Parsons stated that "understanding other cultures and having a sense and scope of a different world will make you, by definition, more valuable than your counterpart." So if working abroad doesn't tempt you, living abroad should. OSU offers student exchanges in South and Central America, in several locations in Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

While giving advice on how to be successful in an ever-changing world, Mr. Parsons also added that learning patience was a crucial ingredient for attaining your goals and seemed to refer to his experience in Hawaii as having helped him develop these crucial skills. "Be patient and have confidence that opportunity will meet preparation at the right time." This comment sums up a large part of my growth during my year exchange in France, followed by my internship in Senegal. These two experiences have taught me the significance and delight of the unknown, rolling with the ambiguity of life. I was forced to trust at times that everything would come together, and, in the mean time, go with the flow. Be comfortable with those challenges and risks.

Before I left for Senegal I was eager to know everything and anything there was to know about the country, the people and more precisely what I was to be doing for my new employer I would be working for in the months to come. I was borderline obsessed with looking up information about Senegal, inquiring with the internship director about what more I could learn. I was curious. Needless to say, I was nervous about the unknown as well. I told myself the more I knew about my upcoming adventure, the better prepared and at ease I would be. Although this may be true in some cases, in terms of my international experience I found the things I loved most about my internship - culturally and through work - were the unplanned and spontaneous situations I found myself in. This has translated directly back to my life in Corvallis, now embracing spontaneity and the opportunity to learn new things, meet new people, and relax - and maybe even take a nap.

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Emily Riley is a senior in French and the international degree in anthropology. The opinions expressed in her columns do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff. Riley can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.