The Program
Through the study abroad program, I learned a great deal about the European Union, its complex, multilayered bureaucracy, and the people that inhabit it. I also learned about conducting international business and met several times with French students attending EM Strasbourg to discuss the differences and similarities in our education and society as a whole. They were particularly interested in things they had seen through memes online, like Raising Canes, Taco Bell, Buc-ees and more. Dr. Rossi was an excellent professor and despite the shortened length of our class due to the nature of the program, I believe I doubled my knowledge of finance and intuitive understanding of fundamental concepts. He is great to travel with, easy to communicate with, and will do everything possible to help you succeed. The course material covers important international business concepts such as exposure risk to changes in exchange rates, hedging against those risks utilizing derivatives, capital budgeting for international corporations, and more. This makes the material challenging, especially when trying to travel Europe, but not impossible, and it is applicable and interesting.
The Places
Strasbourg is a great city to live in and utilize as a base when studying for class or planning adventures across the rest of Europe. The city is a UNESCO heritage site, which conserves it beautifully as a medieval looking city with a massive cathedral (arguably more ornate and grand than Notre Dame in Paris) in its center. There are plenty of places to explore, and during my time there I studied in half a dozen different cafes, tried at least fifteen different restaurants, and ventured out to several different clubs. Strasbourg is also within walking distance of Germany, but I recommend taking a tram out and enjoying dinner across the border for an evening. As part of the program, we were able to visit Colmar; which has also retained much of its medieval flair and was fun to explore, in addition to the Belgian capital of Brussels, which is also home to the European Commission’s headquarters. Both of these cities were excellent, and I highly recommend Brussels’ military museum. Our study abroad program was also able to visit Strasbourg’s hospital, which is home to a massive wine cellar that attracts and hosts many of the best wines in the Alsatian region, and the castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg, which was a beautiful castle restored at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. There was also plenty of time to ourselves on the weekends, and our study abroad group was able to visit Nice, Barcelona, Paris, and Zurich over the course of our month in France.
The People
One of my favorite parts of the trip was definitely the people I got to experience it with. There were 18 students total, all of us accounting or finance students, but from very different backgrounds and as a result, dramatically differing views on life. It was great to spend a month experiencing the same adventures, meals, assignments, and tests, and getting to bond over all of them. Even when I bought groceries to eat at home, I found myself going to restaurants with other students just to continue socializing and getting to know them better. Over the course of the trip, I made many friendships that I hope will continue as we return to College Station and even after once we have left A&M. I highly recommend this study abroad program to those interested for both the personal and professional growth you develop from it.
