MHC students, from left, Janine Zuniga, Barrett Long and Tara Holland pose for a photo in Lima, Peru during a recent study-abroad opportunity funded by scholarships.--HANDOUT PHOTO
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Three students studying at Medicine Hat College recently had the opportunity to travel to Lima, Peru for four days on a scholarship to gain insights into how business culture differs from North and South America.
During the Feb. 16-20 reading week, Tara Holland, Barrett Long and Janine Zuniga utilized a $3,500 scholarship from University Mobility in Asia, which is a consortium of higher education institutions and partners, to travel to Lima for a study-abroad opportunity.
During their visit the trio attended lectures delivered by business instructors and had the opportunity to tour large-scale businesses in the region, including the Coca-Cola office and logistics factories.
Each of the students comes from different educational backgrounds, but they were able to connect in their desire to travel the world.
Zuniga, a first-year education student, says along with the experience of seeing behind the scenes at large-scale businesses, she also enjoyed sharing the English language with native Spanish speakers.
“Those were super fun because I got to meet people I’ve never met before and just talk to them,” said Zuniga.
Holland, a student in the social work program, says the experience forced the group to adapt to the language barrier and communication style of the Peruvian people.
“There’s learning cultural diversity and differences being high context versus low context direct versus indirect communication style, so those were the two biggest learning curves for me,” said Holland. “And also just a developing country versus a developed country. I just learned better communication styles, working with different people, and the differences among Peruvians and Canadians.”
Long, who plans to enrol in the college’s addiction counselling program this fall, indicated the trip added value to his future studies.
“I’ve learned how to make connections with people that are hard to communicate with and I feel like I’ve seen a new part of the world that’s given me new insight into how to carry myself,” said Long.
Upcoming study-abroad opportunities for students at MHC include semester exchange programs in Finland, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Taiwan, France, Vietnam, Ecuador and New Zealand.
Details, pre-requisites and scholarship opportunities can be found by visiting the college webpage.
