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 For many undergraduates, winter term is a time to kick
back, relax and forget school for a while. But for Smith
students in the Business Management Honors Fellows program,
the Entrepreneurship Fellows program, the International
Fellows program and the Global Opportunities Fellows
program, winter term is the time to travel.
The Undergraduate Studies Office offers faculty-led
winter-term study trips that allow students and faculty to
visit locations as far-flung as Europe, China and Africa.
The trips inspire interest and understanding of the world of
global business and provide opportunities for action
learning on a range of business topics through site visits,
professional speakers, and cultural events and activities.
They also build community among Smith students, faculty and
staff, and advance international understanding and
relationships.
 Tyser Teaching Fellow Oliver Schlake led the
Entrepreneurship Fellows students on a tour of the European
Union, the highlight of which was a private tour of the
union’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Susan White,
Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow, led the Honors students
on a trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong, with field trips to the
McCormick plant in Shanghai and to the Independent Council
Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong, among other
briefings and visits. The third trip offered was to Tunisia
and was led by Ridha Krizi of the University of Maryland’s
flagship program in Arabic studies. The Tunisia trip
included a number of Smith student leaders, in addition to
students in the International and Global Opportunities
Fellows programs, QUEST and Business Honors.
 Feedback on the trips from students and faculty members
alike has been positive across the board. “In my mind, one
of the highlights of the Tunisia trip was off-roading
through the Sahara desert. We were bouncing across sand
dunes in Toyota Land Cruisers with professional drivers
behind the wheel,” said junior Joel Liebman.
Another favorite experience was recalled by junior Laila
Wardak: “My favorite part of the EU trip was visiting all
the amazing historic sites in Belgium and Germany. I went
inside castles, cathedrals and monuments that had been
around since the 12th century. I was in complete awe of the
craftsmanship put into all the details and incredible amount
of symbolism in nearly every painting and sculpture,” said
Wardak.
As would be expected, the trips also contained surprising
elements for students. “I did not expect Tunisia to show
such a strong European influence,” said freshman Kevin Kirk.
“I was also surprised at the wide diversity in geographic
landscapes included within a relatively small country.”
 The winter study trips were originally created for the
Honors program students, because the curriculum is so
demanding that these students were unable to participate in
any study abroad experiences and still complete their
program requirements. In previous years, the Honors students
have traveled to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China, to study
comparative capital markets, and to Hawaii where they
studied sustainable development.
 “What we found was that, in addition to providing a way
to complete honors requirements, and enriching their
academic studies by traveling abroad on these faculty-led
study trips, these study trips greatly enhanced the sense of
community in the honors program, and built lasting
relationships among participating students, faculty and
staff,” says Patricia Cleveland, associate dean of
Undergraduate Programs.
 Students say they learn far more from traveling together
and experiencing first-hand how business is done abroad than
they ever could in the classroom alone. “The most important
thing that I feel I gained from the China trip was not only
a deeper respect for the challenges of doing business in a
global setting, but also the camaraderie and personal
relationships gained with fellow students. Getting a chance
to meet other Business Honors students outside of a
classroom setting has translated into better group dynamics
and cooperation even after the trip has ended,” says junior
Elaine Miu.
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