IBSA Kick-off Meeting
After a year of virtual meetings and a semester of hiatus due to the pandemic, the International Business Student Association (IBSA) is up and running again. After a successful recruitment of new leadership for the club, president Vicky Chen, vice-president Nik Mihalik, secretary Anya Pennisi, marketing chair Amaya Crawford, and event chair Shea Raiola utilized this past fall semester to reinvent the club and prepare for the official club start in the spring semester of 2022.
According to the new leadership, the main mission and purpose of the club is to, “educate students and faculty on the importance of incorporating a global perspective into business.” IBSA started their club season with a kick-off meeting Wednesday, February 23 with great success and a good amount of attendees. This meeting was followed by the International Students Welcome Dinner for exchange students that are attending Appalachian State University this semester.
Amber Kaziur, an exchange student from the Netherlands who attended the event was fascinated and mentioned, “I have never had dinner with so many people coming from so many different places. I enjoyed it a lot”. Meredith Pipes, the global and civic engagement specialist for the Walker College of Business described the event as “energetic” and was overjoyed by finally being able to bring groups back together after the long restricted time of the pandemic.
IBSA will host further meetings, events and workshops to give students and staff the opportunity to learn more about global perspectives and opportunities in the business world. Anya Pennisi, when asked why people should join the club, responded enthusiastically that, “it is about the community and the togetherness we build amongst a very diverse group of people. And a nice side effect is that you will help lots of students in the Walker College of Business broaden their horizons to a global perspective”.
You can view a photo gallery from the IBSA Kick-off and International Student Welcome. If you want to learn more about the club or are interested in being an active member, feel free to reach out to the president Vicky Chen under chenvy@appstate.edu.
