Flexible-use gifts open gateway to the world

Studying abroad wasn't part of the plan when Michael Yee of Honolulu chose OSU. Yet when he graduates this spring, he'll take away not only an Honors Baccalaureate in Business Administration but experiences in three Asian countries as well.

"I have found greater opportunities here than I ever dreamed possible," he says.

Yee's international adventures began in South Korea, where he was a counselor with a camp program for children of military and Foreign Service personnel. Next he spent a term in Japan through an Oregon University System program.

Finally, Yee traveled to Taiwan with an OSU team to conduct a comparative analysis of business practices in Oregon and Taiwan. Sponsored by the DeLoach Work Scholarship Program in the University Honors College and led by Dr. Ping-Hung Hsieh from the College of Business, the students interviewed executives at the highest level of major corporations like KPMG, UBS, and Herbalife.

"It was the kind of experience many professionals can only dream about," Yee says, "so to have this opportunity as an undergraduate student was amazing."

While the student team has been presenting their findings back in Oregon, a new group of four students will continue the multiyear project this summer. This time, the group will go to Shanghai, where they will conduct similar interviews with Chinese business executives who are involved in international trade, particularly in the food industry.

Based on their interviews, the team will produce course materials on the challenges and opportunities unique to international business, to share what they've learned with all OSU business students.

Much of the funding for the project, including assistance for the students' travel, comes from the flexible-use funds in the College of Business and University Honors College.

"Our Dean's Fund for Excellence allows us to invest in students who invest in themselves, and this is a great example," notes Ilene Kleinsorge, Sara Hart Kimball Dean of the College of Business.

One of the university's key goals is to help all its students acquire global perspectives, adds Dan Arp, University Honors College Dean. "Private gifts make it possible for us to offer these opportunities," he says.