Why I Study International Business at Concordia

Kali Vinson ’19, St. Louis Park, Minn.
Majors: International Business, Spanish

For me, business has a perfect balance of critical thinking and creativity, with a manageable amount of numbers.

Once I decided to study business, I had to pick a specific concentration. Even though I enjoyed all the intro classes to different concentrations (marketing, management, etc.), I have always been particularly interested in the aspect of different cultures. I have studied Spanish since kindergarten and all the way through high school, where teachers from a variety of Spanish-speaking countries taught about their home cultures and covered a variety of subjects. I never knew how valuable my previous education and personal interest in culture could be in deciding what I want to study.

But since the international business major covers so many other concentrations, I got a taste of what other disciplines deal with. I learned how to manage an organization, performed a financial analysis of a company, and marketed a product and tried to sell it in a “Shark Tank” simulation. Within my international business classes specifically, I learned how to do all of these things but from a different perspective. There are cultural aspects such as laws, exchange rates, practices, processes, and risks that need to be taken into consideration when doing business. And these aspects can greatly affect when, were, why, and how business is done.

This is important because as businesses are expanding on a global scale, studying international business taught me to better understand different cultures while developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in a competitive field.

There are many reasons to study international business at Concordia. The business foundation and core classes will give you a basic understanding of what business is all about and a better idea of what area you’ll want to concentrate in. During the process, you will be shaped into a global, ethical, and entrepreneurial leader. One way this is done is through the language minor requirement, which will ultimately benefit you as it is becoming more common to know a second language in this globalizing business world.

Another way is through the great professors who have real-world experience and who will guide you through your academic journey. Speaking of experience, after you leave Concordia, professors won’t be the only ones with it – you will too! As an international business student, you will get the opportunity to apply your knowledge in the classroom, through internships, and during your time abroad – which is probably the best requirement of the major.