For many Cal State Long Beach students, winter break is a time for transformative journeys around the globe.<\/p>\n
The Beach offered several short-term study abroad programs<\/a> this January. Each introduced students to new ways of seeing their chosen fields \u2014 and the world.<\/p>\n \u201cIn business, you\u2019re rarely working with just one type of person or perspective, and this experience has emphasized how valuable cultural awareness and communication skills are,\u201d said Isabella Garcia, a second-year business administration student who joined a trip to South Africa. \u00a0<\/p>\n A fashionable time in Italy<\/p>\n Sustainability and fashion combine for Madalyn Ladendorf, a third-year fashion merchandising student who learned how Italian craftspeople produce handmade goods.<\/p>\n One highlight: Seeing recycled materials, even cashmere, returning to the production chain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis really solidified my desire to pursue working in a sustainable sector of the fashion industry,\u201d Ladendorf said.<\/p>\n Marine Aghekyan, associate professor of fashion merchandising, coordinated a journey to Milan, Florence and Praton for Made in Italy, a selected topics course offered through the Fashion Merchandising & Design Department<\/a>. The itinerary introduced students to places where craftspeople mix perfumes, build theater sets and produce leather goods.<\/p>\n \u201cFashion to me is everything but the clothes; it is pop culture, history, art, social justice, design, math, engineering, and more, and this trip embodies that,\u201d Ladendorf said.<\/p>\n In Italy, students observed how handcrafted fashions are made.<\/p>\n International justice in The Netherlands\u00a0<\/p>\n Makenzie Shane, aspiring to a service as a criminal prosecutor, joined a trip to the Netherlands to view International Court of Justice proceedings in The Hague.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis experience has allowed me to explore how law operates beyond the U.S. legal system,\u201d Shane, a second-year political science student, said. \u201cThis is incredibly valuable to students like me because it helps me understand I am a moving part in a much bigger picture.\u201d<\/p>\n