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For Steven Pichardo ‘25 and Alyssa Rannekliev ‘25, what began as a class requirement ended with international aspirations.

The students were two of more than a dozen taking MGT 330: Principles of Management with Assistant Professor of Management Ashley Salaiz this spring, which included a travel component in Madrid.

The group conducted business visits, which included Acciona SA, a holding company that engages in development and management of infrastructure and renewable energy; Famosa, the premiere toy manufacturer in Spain and Portugal; and the offices of La Liga, a men’s professional soccer league.

“I thought something super helpful was the company visits, because as an international business major, I wanted to learn more about how companies in different countries operate,” Rannekliev said. 

Rannekliev and Pichardo agreed the visit to La Liga was a highlight of the experience. The group also had the opportunity to tour a soccer stadium after the visit.

Pichardo said that touring the businesses was “really cool,” because firsthand experiences don’t come from PowerPoints or presentations in the classroom.

In between class time with Salaiz and hearing from guest speakers each day, the group had time for activities like a Flamenco show and a tour of a bullfighting ring.

Rannekliev said that had she not been on the trip, the trip to the bullfighting stadium wouldn’t have been something she would have thought to do. However, it ended up being a highlight of her trip. 

“We were able to go inside and go on the actual grounds of where the bull and the fighters perform for the audience" Pichardo said. "That was also one of the class' favorite moments, too.”

Pichardo said the most important thing that he learned was the importance of the environment that you’re working in. He observed that the workers all appeared genuinely happy and noted that when he pursues starting his own business, he plans to keep in mind how his employees feel.

Rannekliev said the impact was more literal, as she said it opened her up to the possibility of working in Europe in the future.