Undergraduate Blog / Defining Your Babson

It’s Great to be Back

The last time I wrote, I was halfway around the world in New Delhi, India. A few days had passed since our place touched down for the last stop on my BRIC adventure, but we still had three weeks to go. In the two months since, I’ve had the opportunity to explore New Delhi and reflect on my BRIC experience as a whole as I prepare for another semester at Babson.

The rest of my time in New Delhi was absolutely incredible—from visiting religious sites to exploring Chandni Chowk and Old Delhi to the buzzing bazaar at Dilli Haat, I had an absolute blast. We learned a lot about different religions and worldviews as part of our India coursework, which was really eye-opening for me personally. From Jain temples to Muslim mosques, Sikh gurdwaras to a Tibetan Buddhist colony, I was exposed to more ways of seeing the world in that month than I ever could have imagined.

One major lesson I gleaned from BRIC was the importance of staying curious. Being uprooted from my environment once a month for three months kept me constantly on my toes. As a result, I was forced to look at things in a new way. As we went from place to place, I found myself looking at things with a new perspective, because everything was new and unexpected. I was always trying to connect similarities and draw distinctions between countries; my favorite word became “why” as I tried to understand my new home. I was rewarded for asking outside-the-box questions with key insights about the inner workings of the economies I passed through. This curiosity, I realize, is something I can bring with me, even as I reenter familiar environments, to question why I do what I do, and if, perhaps, there’s a better way to do it.

Another key lesson I learned from BRIC was the undeniable link between business and culture. In St. Petersburg, we read Russian literature, discussed the themes from our readings in class, and then went to historical sites and business visits where we saw those themes play out in real time. This theme repeated itself in Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, and New Delhi. Seeing such a clear connection while abroad shed new light on the importance of our liberal arts classes at Babson.

My BRIC experience was truly unforgettable; I learned a ton, had an absolute blast, and have a lot of great stories to share from my time abroad. Now, I start a new semester with the goals of applying lessons learned and getting back to doing the things I love on campus.

-Josh