Small-group travel shaping career-ready graduates

When Shelly Bartosek logged into this year’s fully virtual AAC&U Global Learning Conference alongside CMU students Kennedy Burns and Alina Brown, she wasn’t just presenting a session— she was helping lead a collaborative panel on the transformative power of faculty-led travel.  

AAC&U — the American Association of Colleges and Universities — is a global organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purpose of higher education through equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Its annual Global Learning Conference brings together educators committed to improving student success through meaningful international experiences. 

Together, Bartosek, Burns, and Brown shared how small-group study abroad experiences prepare students not only to navigate new cultures, but to step into the workforce with greater clarity, confidence, and career readiness.   

Bartosek, a business communication faculty member, built the session around a simple but resonant question rooted in her PhD research on helping emerging adults transition from four-year universities into the workforce: What happens when global learning is intentionally designed to build career readiness?  

Drawing on that research and her passion for study abroad, experiential and immersive learning, she answered through stories—her own and her students’—and through a framework that connects global immersion with the skills employers value most. 

“Study abroad plays an integral part in this,” she said. “When you take a faculty-led experience, specifically BIS 342WI Intercultural Business Communication Abroad, and how it’s designed in creating small communities of learning, it’s almost a microcosm of the best of simulations, active learning, and residential college. All of that—and probably a little more.”  

The impact of small-group travel 

At the heart of their AAC&U panel discussion was the idea that small-group travel accelerates personal and professional growth in ways that classroom learning alone cannot. In tight-knit cohorts, students learn to navigate uncertainty, collaborate across difference, and articulate how those experiences shape who they’re becoming as emerging business professionals. 

These experiences are intentionally designed. As Bartosek shared during the session, faculty-led programs create space for guided reflection before, during, and after travel—helping students connect experience to identity, and identity to future career choices.  

Kennedy and Alina’s perspectives 

Burns and Brown brought the student voice that grounded the presentation. They shared how their experiences abroad reshaped their confidence, broadened their worldview, and allowed them to practice the skills they now carry into internships and interviews. 

“This experience gave me a chance to slow down and really live what I was learning,” said Burns, a senior marketing major. “Traveling in a small cohort helped me build community, try new things even when they felt intimidating, and understand how those moments shape the kind of professional I want to be. It was one of the most meaningful parts of my college career, and it completely shifted my confidence.” 

“Sharing my experiences with our group of listeners gave me the opportunity to truly reflect on how transformative study abroad has been not only to my academic life, but my personal one as well,” said Brown, a junior HR major. “I often catch myself thinking, 'If I can navigate another country, what can’t I do?'! Before I traveled to Italy, I struggled to understand the 'value proposition’ of the opportunity, and after our presenting at our panel, it’s never been clearer. Increased confidence and thirst for knowledge about life outside of my 'bubble' were two main effects, and I’m excited to see them translate this summer as I intern for Casey’s in Iowa!” 

Their stories reinforced a core takeaway of Bartosek’s work: students don’t just gain cultural fluency—they become more adaptable, reflective, and capable decision-makers. 

Why this matters for business students 

CMU’s business programs emphasize real-world readiness, and global learning is an increasingly essential part of that preparation. Today’s workplace requires cultural competence, teamwork under pressure, and the ability to navigate ambiguity—all skills shaped through immersive international learning. 

“Here at CBA, we can create space that allows students to thrive in a global society,” Bartosek said. “In Baxter Magolda’s tandem bike metaphor, educators pedal from the back while students steer from the front. Study abroad helps students shift into that lead position. That premise has not changed.”  

A message for educators everywhere 

Their AAC&U panel also reached an audience beyond CMU. By sharing a faculty-student model that integrates business communication, reflection, and intercultural learning, Bartosek, Burns, and Brown demonstrated how universities can make global learning more accessible—especially through short-term, faculty-led programs that increase participation and equity.  

For CMU, it’s another example of how the College of Business prepares students for a complex world: through mentorship, meaningful travel, and experiences that stretch their sense of what’s possible. 

Curious about studying abroad? 

Faculty across the College of Business lead transformative short-term programs each year. Start a conversation with your advisor or connect with study abroad faculty to learn how these experiences can shape your growth.