Reflection on Croatia – Jacob Burton

Our main focus for the trip was stimulating the economy of Neum, Bosnia following the construction of the Pelje?ac Bridge that eliminated the need for traveling through Neum. I found this to be a really rewarding experience both in terms of culture and learning. My group was in charge of the website design and we spent many hours working to make it the best we could. I was able to learn new design programs and more importantly, working with clients and meeting their needs and expectations. It was clear that something needed to be done to help their city and economy and I felt as though we provided a good outlet to do that. Working with the clients was extremely rewarding and being able to understand differences in cultures and how they function in business. While visiting Neum we really got an idea of the city and how it operated. Much of what we did was focused on bringing to light the unique aspects of Neum and why it is a place that deserves to be visited. From olive groves to a beautiful coastline, it truly has a lot to offer. Being able to hear from Aggies who had moved to the area really helped us get an idea of how businesses operate and how different things are from American businesses. Working in groups really strengthened our bond as classmates and as Aggies. We learned to source ideas and content from each other that could benefit the project as a whole and it really helped to bring things together towards the end of our visit. Presenting our ideas to the clients was also a crucial aspect of the trip and of our learning experience. It was a really good outlet for us to learn from. I expected to have a great time and to learn a lot in Croatia, but week after week it kept providing us with more opportunities to grow and learn as Aggies and as people. I will forever cherish the memories made on this trip.