How students used winter break to embrace the global classroom
For many Cal State Long Beach students, winter break is a time for transformative journeys around the globe.
The Beach offered several short-term study abroad programs this January. Each introduced students to new ways of seeing their chosen fields — and the world.
“In business, you’re rarely working with just one type of person or perspective, and this experience has emphasized how valuable cultural awareness and communication skills are,” said Isabella Garcia, a second-year business administration student who joined a trip to South Africa.
A fashionable time in Italy
Sustainability and fashion combine for Madalyn Ladendorf, a third-year fashion merchandising student who learned how Italian craftspeople produce handmade goods.
One highlight: Seeing recycled materials, even cashmere, returning to the production chain.
“This really solidified my desire to pursue working in a sustainable sector of the fashion industry,” Ladendorf said.
Marine Aghekyan, associate professor of fashion merchandising, coordinated a journey to Milan, Florence and Praton for Made in Italy, a selected topics course offered through the Fashion Merchandising & Design Department. The itinerary introduced students to places where craftspeople mix perfumes, build theater sets and produce leather goods.
“Fashion to me is everything but the clothes; it is pop culture, history, art, social justice, design, math, engineering, and more, and this trip embodies that,” Ladendorf said.
International justice in The Netherlands
Makenzie Shane, aspiring to a service as a criminal prosecutor, joined a trip to the Netherlands to view International Court of Justice proceedings in The Hague.
“This experience has allowed me to explore how law operates beyond the U.S. legal system,” Shane, a second-year political science student, said. “This is incredibly valuable to students like me because it helps me understand I am a moving part in a much bigger picture.”
Faculty member Ann Johnson organizes the trip for Argumentation and Debate, a Communication Studies Department course. Students this year observed prosecutors representing The Gambia try Myanmar’s government for allegations of genocide against the Rohingya people.
Observing the trial was intense, but it also bolstered Shane’s interest in a career as a criminal prosecutor.
“It reinforced everything I wanted to know about becoming a lawyer,” she said. “Being able to see so many women in the courtroom was inspiring as well.”
Sustainability in South Africa
Visiting Cape Town, Julia Regil found inspiration while getting a close look at a resort engineered for ultra-level sustainability and while visiting a community where people live with the legacy of apartheid.
“Africa has long been at the top of my bucket list,” Regil, a fourth-year environmental engineering student, said. “I have always felt drawn to the continent as the Motherland, not only because of my ancestry, but also because of its deep cultural history and resilience.”
Chemical engineering faculty member Elena Bourbour led a class that traveled to South Africa for her Environmental Compliance course. Their itinerary included Hotel Verde, a resort that Regil called a “marvel,” and the Khayelitsha township.
Hotel Verde boasts hydroponically grown vegetables, stormwater storage, solar panels and power-generating gym equipment. Regil’s favorite feature? Rooftop gardens that help the functional spaces below stay cool.
Whereas Hotel Verde is an exemplar of green engineering, the densely populated Khayelitsha township is a place where Regil saw people living in makeshift housing and in need of clean water and safe electricity.
“It is one thing to study engineering, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, but being immersed in the communities made me critically think about what systems to design for the communities’ betterment,” Regil said.
