by Kim Lamb Gregory
From opposite sides of the world, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Digital Marketing Lecturer
Shumin Chien and Associate Professor of Management Cynthia Sherman both developed
a passion for the life-changing power of studying abroad.
The pair of faculty members shared their love of learning abroad with 14 students this summer with a trip to Germany to study international business. All of the students were undergraduates or recent graduates from the Martin V. Smith (MVS) School of Business & Economics, including 2024 graduate Gabriel Hoffman.
“The trip exceeded my expectations and I learned a lot about international business, cross-cultural communication, and traveling in general,” Hoffman said “I had an amazing time and would recommend the experience to anyone who has the opportunity.”
The trip was part of an ongoing partnership CSUCI has with a Karlsruhe, Germany university called the Duale Hochschule Baden Württemberg (DHBW). CSUCI students teamed up with other students from Canada, the United Kingdom and the Ukraine for lectures from faculty from each of the visiting universities, meetings with area businesses and visits to cultural sites such as the city of Heidelberg and cultural landmarks in Munich, Germany. They even crossed the border into France for a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Chien is no stranger to world travel. Studying abroad sent her career into hyperdrive. Born and raised in Taipei, she got her first taste of cultural differences while visiting a relative.
“In Asia we are always chasing the A+,” Chien said. “I spent a summer visiting a cousin in Australia and in class one day I was dreaming and I was so nervous because I thought it was wrong. And the teacher said ‘Oh, you were dreaming. It’s good to be dreaming.’”
Chien went home and told her parents she wanted to study abroad and eventually went to pursue her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Boston University on a scholarship. Also, “it’s ver