Hello Blog! My name is Ben Schaller and I am a sophomore here in the CBA at Pitt. I’m currently majoring in Accounting and Finance, minoring in Korean and Economics, and pursuing the Certificate in International Business! I’m from Montgomery County, PA, from a town that’s about 35-45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. Other than that I love to travel, hang out with friends, go to the gym, and listen to music.
Whether it be academically, professionally, or personally, this trip/program has given me the chance to achieve many of my goals! To start, academically, I think that a Global-Service Learning (GSL) experience like the one I’m currently participating in, is rare to find. Not only will I gain valuable insight into a culture I know little to nothing about prior to this experience, but I will also have the chance to learn about consulting practices at a level that is challenging, but manageable. This also goes hand-in-hand with a professional goal. As a sophomore college student who has been exploring options into what I want to work as after college, this is the perfect dip into the world of consulting. Also, once I graduate, I have a dream of being able to work abroad. This program will give me experience in doing so which can help me stand out as a candidate to future employers. Personally, before coming to Pitt, I’ve never had the privilege to travel outside of the United States. After getting accepted to the Plus3 Business program in Cyprus I was able to have this first abroad experience. I’ve said many times to peers, professors, and friends that applying to Plus3 was the best decision I’ve ever made. Since that program, I’ve had the travel bug, with the goal of wanting to explore the world, taking any opportunity that presents itself to me. This program gives me another great opportunity, combining all of the goals I’ve just mentioned and I can’t wait to touch down this spring break!
As for why I chose this program specifically, I knew that over this upcoming spring break I wanted to travel again, particularly to a country in either the Caribbean or South or Central America, so when I got the email introducing the GSL program, I was ecstatic. Also, I was interested in getting involved in some sort of service or volunteer work while travelling, even more of a reason to apply as it seemed to be the perfect fit!
GSL in itself is essentially the integration of study with hands-on activity outside the classroom, typically through a collaborative effort to address a community problem. One reason why the Pitt GSL program differs from volunteering efforts is due to the fact that Pitt creates a long-term partnership with each of the organizations that we are working with. This differs from volunteering and other study abroad experiences as they are typically one-and-done. A one-and-done volunteering experience in specific can cause more harm than good in certain instances. Money and time being lost in training the volunteers, can outweigh the domestic benefits. In my case, going to Trinidad and Tobago, we are working with a non-governmental organization (NGO), called Nature Seekers. Nature Seekers strives to protect the 5 various turtle species native to Trinidad. One way they do this is by conducting nature tours, watching the turtles move from the beach to the sea, during their nesting season that occurs from March to September. Along with this, they also complete various tasks to monitor nature conservation on their beaches located in Matura. One of which being having multiple drone monitoring flights conducted throughout the coastline each week. Matura is one of three nesting hubs in Trinidad so this is imperative for them. Despite the name, Nature Seekers isn’t just limited to nature based projects and also is very involved with the community surrounding them. Nature Seekers works with a subscription service that allocates them food and other necessary supplies to give to the poor. They also accept donations from people located nearby to distribute as well. Nature Seekers also partners with nearby schools to present learning exhibits to raise awareness amongst the local youth. Their goal being that the earlier they can raise awareness, the more people will care about the cause.
As business students, myself along with a group of 5 other peers, are focusing on problems that Nature Seekers face on their business side of operations. After talking with a representative from Nature Seekers, it was made clear that Nature Seekers needs a bit of help with a paperless fixed asset management system. Nature Seekers as an NGO receives a lot of data requests in which they need a convenient way to respond to. On top of creating a new way for them to manage their fixed assets, while in country, our group will also assist them in using our system. Furthermore, we also made the decision that we could help provide assistance with their social media marketing. These two tasks are something the group and I are definitely excited to start working on!
Overall, the GSL program at Pitt is the perfect combination of going abroad, learning about valuable business topics, and helping a community while at that. Already on this program I have learned so much about consulting, which prior to this semester I knew little to nothing about. This growth that I’ve already experienced throughout the beginning of the semester has been extremely rewarding. For example, when we began our scope of work, our group was honestly very confused on how to start, however, after feedback from our professors along with discussions with the client and stakeholders, our vision became clearer. While that may be a small example of growth, when the puzzles pieces finally fell into place, the feeling was more than just satisfying. I cannot wait to actually go to Trinidad and Tobago to one, experience and immerse myself in a new culture and country, but two, help Nature Seekers with the issues we have discovered within the business and provide them a fix.