My Summer Glavin Global Fellows Opportunity: An International Business Challenge in Valencia
This blog post was written by Jasmine Rucker ’20, Glavin Global Fellows member…
I did not think that week-long trip to Valencia, Spain would leave such a lasting impact on my academic, professional, and personal life. Thanks to an opportunity through the Glavin Global Fellows, I participated in an International Business Challenge at EDEM in Valencia, Spain. In one week, I built relationships with an assortment of young professionals from around the world, learned essential modes of thinking by current industry professionals, and immersed myself in the rich local culture of Valencia.
I quickly realized that EDEM Escuela de Empresarios could easily be looked to as Spain’s Babson but on hyper-speed. They are equipped with amazing industry 
professionals whose passion could be fell from the next city over. Their energy made it easy for me to really engross myself in the complexity of this challenge. The initial challenge was to create a digital marketing strategy for Spain’s leading snack company, Grufsa. We primarily focused on Snatt’s, Grufsa’s healthy-snack line, and how to make it a staple in the local homes of Spain. We had the opportunity to do a company visit to learn about their history, goals and future projections. We then toured their main manufacturing factory and grounds. I was also able to learn about the local social culture of Valencia. By the end of this week, I had formed friendships with an array of people from all over the world.
Throughout this week-long program, I learned a lot about myself as a business student and rising professional. I learned the power of being true to oneself and utilizing the power of mentors. Before this program, I regretfully underestimated the influence of a mentor’s perspective. In Valencia, I was able to really build a connection with the two mentors who spent the week with us, Igor and Kelsie. Their drive and constructive feedback was key to helping shape the idea that was our final proposal.
Words can hardly sum up the impact this opportunity has had on me. It was beyond anything I could have ever imagine. For the first-time, I was fully outside of my comfort level. My participation in EDEM International Business Challenge made me realize how many different perspectives there are in the business world and across the globe. It was nice to be outside of the ‘Babson Bubble’ and talk to young professionals who are extremely intelligent with such varied interests. In my group alone, we had people who wanted to pursue politics, marketing, law, and even technology. This trip helped me realized how diverse interests can, in the end, make all the pieces come together. A group is stronger when our outlooks are broad. It is amazing to witness how over the course of one week of hard-work, a group of multi-disciplinary young professionals came together to develop and propose an extensive digital marketing strategy.
Moving forward, I will continue to be fearless in environments that are new to me. I will embrace that uncomfortable feeling that I feel when I push the envelope. I learned how truly critical it is to actively aspire to have a global mindset. This is something that Babson tries to instill in us early on but the urgency of it is not felt until you are put in an unfamiliar situation. I really appreciate this opportunity that the Glavin Global Fellows at Babson and EDEM gave to me.