Deanna Meyer

Senior Deanna Meyer just landed her dream internship with La Bicicleta Verde in Chile, for this fall. It’s an opportunity made possible through hard work – Deanna is majoring in international business and parks, recreation and tourism with the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources – networking within the Trulaske College of Business and the personal and professional development she has fostered through her experiences with Trulaske’s study abroad programs.   

“I’m interested in sustainable tourism and creating experiences for people that don’t hurt local economies and the environment and helping to facilitate authentic experiences for people,” she said. 

For Deanna, interning with La Bicicleta Verde, a company that specializes in organizing sustainable walking, wine and bike tours in the Chilean capitol of Santiago is a dream come true.    

“If I didn’t study abroad, I don’t think I would have pursued the opportunity because it would have been too far out of my comfort zone,” she said.

Studying abroad can help students develop a global mindset, leadership skills and the confidence to know that they can handle anything the business world will throw at them. As a student manager for the Trulaske study abroad program, Deanna can speak to this firsthand. 

“We always say that international business and business aren’t really different anymore. Business is business, and it’s happening all over the world,” Deanna said. “If you’re a business student, it’s definitely important to have that global mindset.

“My leadership skills and my confidence have definitely been more developed,” she added. “When you just stick yourself in a different country, you have to rely on yourself to get around and to communicate and be observant of other people who grew up in a completely different continent than you. I’ve definitely reached for bigger experiences than I would have because I now know I can do it.”

Deanna is working as a student manager visiting Alicante, Spain, one last time this summer before flying to Santiago to start her internship in the fall.

“I feel like anything that I apply to do, I know I can do,” she said. “I have the experience of problem solving and thinking on my feet. I took a couple of students to the doctor in Spain, and they didn’t speak any English, and that was crazy!  Having those little ‘what do I do?’ experiences has really helped me. 

“I know that I’ll have a learning curve when I get there, but it’s my dream internship because it’s in sustainable tourism, and it’s in South America. I will be able to use what I have learned from all aspects of my college education and apply it to real-world situations.”