- June 7, 2016
- 12:52 am
- no comments
How We Got Here
Greetings from Zagreb, Croatia!
Before we dive in to the details of our exploration, the beauty of this country and the academic rigor with which we are challenged – we should first address how we got here in the first place.
In March of 2015 a group of MBA/MS students at Loyola took a risk, and curated an independent study course lead by Dr. Cliff Shultz, PhD. This course had no syllabus, no final exam, and very few students. Instead, the course involved self-lead study, independent exploration of academic materials, inquiry based learning, and a trip to Colombia to experience the culture and offer some consulting to small businesses. Not only has this trip lead to continued relationships with Loyola students, faculty and alumni – but the students recall it was a life changing experience they won’t soon forget. You can read details of their travels and experiences on their travel blog.
Inspired by this group of high performing students, Magi Zlatkova and myself decided we would like to emulate their process – and if possible, make this project even bigger. We started discussing this last May. We had to build a team, find a faculty member, pick a location, and make all our logistical arrangements on top of doing research, projects and readings for this course. All of this, of course, was on top of our traditional coursework and full time jobs.
Last June, Magi and I had the privilege of volunteering at the International Macromarketing Conference which was held at Loyola University Chicago and run by Dr. Cliff Shultz and Dr. Ray Benton and their international colleagues. During this conference we heard reports on amazing research taking place all across the globe. One region was represented over and over, and was full of unique challenges, beautiful scenery, economic irregularity and intriguing political history. Magi and I looked at each other like the decision had already been made – we’ll be going to Croatia, and experiencing all of this for ourselves.
We first found our professor, Mike Welch, who is kind enough to sacrifice his time, energy and patience with us, has a background in corporate law and teaching in management and entrepreneurship. He has helped us in many ways along the way. His insight was especially helpful during our research and conversations with the different companies and academics we will be meeting with over the course of our trip.
Next, we knew we couldn’t do this project alone! We started seeking out high performing classmates that would be available for such an extensive yearlong project, in addition to a long trip over the summer. We tried to build a well-rounded team. I have experience in research and marketing, and Magi had a background in economics and operations. Emily (concentrating in management) and Amanda (a dual MBA and Masters in Supply Chain student) were happy to join the trip, and have been contributing their own expertise ever since.
This project is over a year in the making. We are so excited to finally be here and see all of the magnificence we had spent the past year reading about. All of the history books, company reports, market research, and articles are finally coming to life. We will post about all of our meetings and adventures throughout our trip. We hope you enjoy reading about our travels!
-Abby Annala (MBA Candidate at Loyola University Chicago, Marketing Concentration and Certificate in Data Warehousing and Business Intellegence; Librarian at Loyola University Chicago)