Kelley students to take trip to Greece

Twenty students from the Kelley School of Business will depart for Athens, Greece, on May 9 and will return May 19. The students’ objectives are to learn more about international business practices.

The class began last year with the direction of Senior Lecturer Tatiana Kolovou.
“That’s my hometown,” Kolovou said. “I have lots of connections still there. The relationship building, the connection there is a lot stronger.” 

She said the course grew out of a new Kelley initiative that will have students take “global foundations core” courses during their sophomore year.

“We will be offering a lot more courses like this in the future,” she said.

Students have to apply to take the course, and Kolovou said there was a waiting list this year. She said seniors who haven’t traveled before are often chosen.

“We want students to have an international experience,” she said.

Kolovou said Greece is in the “hotbed” of the European economic crisis, and it is imperative that business students learn what is happening in this country.

While in Greece, the students will give presentations they recently finished rehearsing in front of Kelley professors. The group of 20 is split into five teams. They will help a prominent Greek cosmetics brand, Apivita, learn to market in the United States through social media.

“They don’t know how to play in the U.S. market,” Kolovou said. “Our students are giving them ideas.”

The students will present to executives of the company. Kolovou said she has tried to find a project with which students can apply what they have learned in class.

Last year, the class helped the Greek-American company Tempur-Pedic decide whether it should attempt to sell its product in the Greek market.

Each week, the students discuss a different area of Greek life, such as the history of Greece and Greek politics.

Kolovou said the students will learn a little Greek before the trip.

“My first language is Greek, so I help them get around, and lots of people speak English in Greece,” she said.

Last year, the students met with two political leaders and witnessed a session of
parliament.

“They were very impressed with that visit,” Kolovou said.

She said it will not be possible to do that this year due to the elections and possible protests outside parliament.

This year, they will also visit the site of the 2004 Olympic Games and one of the islands. She said this trip can help students make their own impressions of Greece.

“I want to see American students get out of the U.S.,” Kolovou said. “You get a different perspective on life.”

Sophomore Ellie Hay is one of the students participating in the trip. She said she took a previous class with Kolovou, heard a lot about the trip and thought it might a good experience.

“I want to do international business, and I’ve never been out of the country,” she said. “It’s interesting not just to go to Greece but be immersed in the culture with someone who’s from the area.”

She said she is a little apprehensive about the presentations.

“I’m nervous just because we are actually presenting in front of these owners,” Hay said. “It’s a pretty serious matter. I want to do well and help that company as much as
I can.”

Hay said Kolovou helped the students with their presentations.

“She was really involved in all of our ideas,” Hay said. “She helped guide us really well.”

Junior Christian Fritz went on the trip last year.

He said he wanted to participate as an alternative to not being able to study abroad.
“I thought, ‘What better way to do it than going abroad and doing it with things I’m interested in?’” he said.