If you could peek at Andrew Crosbie's passport, you'd see that this recent grad (B.Comm (co-op) hons.'07), is anything but a homebody. In fact, of the 12 semesters in the commerce program, he was outside of St. John's for six.

During his final year in the commerce program, Mr. Crosbie participated in an exchange through the Centre for International Business Studies (CIBS) that took him half-way around the world.

CIBS has been developing new relationships with partner schools for exchanges, and Mr. Crosbie was the first MUN business student to study at the Auckland University of Technology.

“I think the ink was still wet on the contract when I went to New Zealand,” Mr. Crosbie said with a laugh. “I had done a work term in Scotland and participated in the Harlow program and I was able to see a lot of Europe during that time. The opportunity to go to New Zealand doesn't often present itself, and AUT has really great entrepreneurship courses, so I decided to take advantage.”

Mr. Crosbie is currently studying law at Dalhousie University and he credits his international experiences at Memorial with opening doors and revealing a world of possibilities.

As he said, “My friend who hasn't travelled is thinking of a career and is limiting her thoughts to where she is going to work in Canada. I'm thinking about where I am going to work in the world. I have no hesitation in going back to New Zealand or anywhere else. I'm much more comfortable shifting between cultures.”

Providing a variety of cultural exchanges is a priority for CIBS. As the director of the Centre for International Business Studies, Susan Vaughan, said, “Knowledge of international markets is vital in today's economy. Therefore, we continue to enhance our program with strategic new partners to meet the different interests and needs of our students and potential employers.”

This is the type of strategy that students like Andrew Crosbie heartily endorse.

“I think those who are well travelled have a more holistic approach and appreciate different cultural values,” he explained. “They understand that just because things are done one way here in Canada doesn't mean it's the best way, or the way it's done everywhere else. There are so many ideas happening around the world. There are different types of businesses and different ways of doing things that students can bring back home and the community is enriched from the new ideas.”