Riverside, Calif. (June 27, 2016) – Twenty-two MBA students from California Baptist University embarked on a trip to Asia in order to gain global business experience by spending time with corporate executives. The students traveled to Hong Kong and Taiwan as part of their Global Business Management course from June 3-12.

Dr. Steve Strombeck, interim dean of the Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business, accompanied the students on their trip. 

"We want to give them a taste of what business is like overseas, how companies are operating, how they're competing," Strombeck said. "It's one thing to read about these experiences in a textbook, it's another thing to see it and to hear it."

The CBU class visited corporations such as FedEx, Nestle, Acer Corp. (computer hardware manufacturer) and Giant Corp. (bicycle manufacturer) and heard executives speak on a variety of topics related to day-to-day operations.

Student Robert Sekula said his experience went beyond anything he could gain from a textbook.

"Meeting with all of the executives on the trip was very interesting, and not something you could ever get from a case study or textbook," Sekula said. "Everyone we met reinforced one of the key leadership concepts we have learned about throughout the MBA program: that people are your most valuable resource."

Student Nicole DeFranco said the trip opened her eyes to working internationally.

"The idea of working abroad sounds great, but without actually going to the cities and visiting corporations, you'll never have any idea of [what it's like]," DeFranco said. "CBU offered a first-hand experience for me."