Student and Professor Spotlight: Rudy Garza with Dr. Andy Little and Dr. Jim Litton

“I hope students realize that I am learning from them and developing my own faith in the process.  Students bless me more than I could ever hope to bless them,” says Dr. Andy Little.
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Rudy Garza values the relationships he built with Dr. Jim Litton and Dr. Andy Little this summer while studying abroad in Central America.

Studying abroad is beneficial for students for a variety of reasons. They are given the opportunity to learn and expand their worldview by getting to know another culture. It is also a chance for students and faculty to have concentrated time in a new setting to build relationships with each other founded on unique learning experiences.

Dr. Andy Little believes in the positive impact that COBA has with its students. He believes that the culture COBA provides is one where the faculty deeply and genuinely cares about the students and their Christian development in life and in their career paths. He loves being around students and walking alongside them as they learn and develop as Christian people.

Rudy Garza, a junior marketing major, values the experiential learning that COBA offers. Professors aim for students to learn through experience, providing unique opportunities and tasking students with real work that will equip them for success in the marketplace. He says that he will always treasure studying abroad in Honduras with two of his favorite professors, remembering all of the impactful experiences they were able to share.

With innovative, intelligent, and experienced professors, COBA students are given access to wisdom from a Christian and business perspective. Our community empowers students to strive to reach their potential. The combination of study abroad trips, student organizations, and opportunities to build strong and lasting relationships with professors and fellow students allows students to get involved and excel. In COBA, we believe that everything starts with a relationship.

 

Next Stop: COBA Heads to Central America

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Group at the Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua.

At the end of the the summer, 18 students along with Dr. Andy Little and Dr. Jim Litton, traveled south to study abroad in Central America. Students had the opportunity to earn credit in Global Entrepreneurship as well as MGMT 440, including special topics: Business Practicum in Central America. COBA also co-taught an Honors College colloquium on social entrepreneurship in developing countries. The group spent the first two days in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, stayed at Mission Lazarus for nine days, and ended the trip in Leon, Nicaragua.

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The trip challenged the students to evaluate how they want to conduct business in the future. They were able to use their business skills in social entrepreneurship, learning how to apply these skills in a missional context. Because the group was surrounded by widespread poverty, this study abroad trip was unlike other COBA programs. Working in Central America gave students and professors a chance to see the complexity and difficulties of globalization and economic development in third world countries.

Throughout the trip, students were able to tour local businesses, go behind the scenes with ACU alum Jarrod Brown at Mission Lazarus, visit a local Honduran co-operative coffee company, and speak to several different business leaders in Honduras. Unlike the local co-op, Mission Lazarus had a much smaller profit margin; because of their commitment to operating the business in a godly manner, they strive to treat employees fairly and with dignity.

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Stephanie Day, a senior accounting major from Oklahoma City, was highly encouraged by the trip. She believes in the power of the business principles she learned this summer, even if in the future she does not work in social entrepreneurship. Stephanie encourages students to get plugged in and study abroad at some point in their college career. She says, “There are so many incredible things we can learn in a classroom setting, but there’s something about seeing those principles applied firsthand in other countries that makes the learning experience so much more valuable.”

The encounters students get to experience while studying abroad are truly one of a kind. In Central America, students were able to see firsthand how businesses function in developing countries. COBA is intentional with providing students unique opportunities to integrate learning key business principles with developing students to reach their potential and find their missional calling.

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“Because each culture is so different, God is able to manifest himself in different ways; studying abroad is so remarkable because not only does it expose you to a new way of learning, but it also gives students the opportunity to see God in an entirely new light,” says Stephanie Day, a senior accounting major.

Student and Professor Spotlight: Bailey Thomas with Dr. Orneita Burton and Dr. Don Pope

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“I love how COBA integrates education with building relationships with us. Learning in such a positive and uplifting Christian environment has encouraged me and made such a huge difference in my experience,” says junior marketing major, Bailey Thomas.

ACU and COBA take pride in building a strong community and relationships between students and professors. COBA professors take on the role of teachers and mentors, preparing students for the world with an exceptional academic experience as well as teaching life lessons. By prioritizing God first, COBA believes other life and career successes will surely follow.

This summer, Bailey Thomas, a junior from Lubbock, studied abroad in Oxford with Dr. Orneita Burton and Dr. Don Pope. In Oxford, the professors were able to get to know students on a deeper and more personal level. Dr. Pope enjoyed punting on the river and traveling with students during his free time. He says that his favorite thing about teaching in COBA is the ministry aspect, educating students about business and guiding them to lives of faith and service.

Dr. Orneita Burton says she enjoyed sharing travel experiences with students while abroad. She loves working in a Christ-led business environment where she can freely have “one-on-one conversations with her students, talking about their lives and developing genuinely true relationships.”

COBA’s culture is truly one of kind, pushing students to excel in all aspects of their lives. When students graduate, their lives and hearts have been touched and transformed by COBA’s faculty and staff.

First Stop Around the Globe: On to Oxford!

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This summer, COBA was represented throughout the world as students had the opportunity to study abroad with COBA. Dr. Don Pope and Dr. Orneita Burton along with a group of 18 students headed to Oxford for the month of June.

The classes offered included Operations Management, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and International Business. The focus for the trip was specifically on operations and the UK auto industry. In Oxford, students had the opportunity to visit a mini Cooper factory as well as the Morgan Auto Company factory in Malvern, learning firsthand how production and supply chain management work behind the scenes. Students were also able to meet and have dinner with the ACU Board of Directors, discussing real estate options in Oxford related to ACU’s ongoing study abroad programs in the UK.

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Dr. Pope says he enjoyed getting to know and spend time with his students, punting down the Cherwell River and attending evening worship at Christ Church in Oxford. He hopes that after the trip, students came to see, appreciate, and understand God’s love for every diverse culture.

Logan Stevens, a junior Accounting major from Allen, TX, really enjoyed exploring Oxford and traveling during the day. He also loved getting to know the professors on a deeper and more personal level outside of the classroom.

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“This summer in Oxford, I learned how God is present and amazing in all parts of the world. There are no boundaries for God’s love.”

COBA encourages students to broaden their horizons and expand their worldview by experiencing business and faith in different cultures. By offering COBA study abroad programs across the globe, students continue to excel in their growth and development in higher education.

Punting on the Cherwell River in Oxford

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boys at Utah Beach