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It is Sunday, May 15th, 2022. The semester is over. Classes and finals are done. Grades books are closed, and students have moved out of the residence halls. Though the semester is over, the students of the Global Entrepreneurship Experience (GEE) are preparing for their final educational experience of the academic year, but it won’t take place in a classroom or even on campus at UNLV.

At 7 a.m. this morning, my classmates and I met at the Harry Reid International Airport, along with our professors, Janet Runge and Huston Pullen. Soon we will take off from Las Vegas and make our way to Italy, where we will learn about entrepreneurship first hand. GEE is a four-year, cohort style program open to students of all majors and gives them an opportunity to learn about global entrepreneurship, marketing, innovation, and so much more. 

Every year a new cohort of 15 to 20 students begins the Lee Business School program and they will continue meeting together in the same group until they graduate. Each class is geared toward a different topic like social entrepreneurship, team building, and creativity. Each cohort has an opportunity to travel internationally. 

This time around, Cohorts 10 and 11 will be traveling internationally together. Over the next few days, we will visit Verona, Bologna, Reggio Emilia, and Torino. I am filled with excitement, anxiety, and curiosity. This trip is something we have all been waiting for, one that was difficult to plan because of the global pandemic, and something we thought might not happen for us. 

Even just a few months ago we were told the trip wasn’t going to be possible because COVID-19 cases were rising again internationally, borders were closing, and the pandemic was wrecking-havoc on the world. We lost our excitement and hope until further into the semester, when Dr. Runge, the founder of the program, told us the trip would happen after all. We spent our semester studying Italian culture, learning about the economy, and the European Union.

Many of us have never been abroad before, let alone to Italy, but all of us are incredibly thankful for the opportunity. Over these next few days, I'm personally excited to learn more about Italian culture, how businesses function in Italy, and eat some delicious food. 

Tomorrow, May 16, 2022, we will all land in Bologna, Italy, and make our way to Reggio Emilia, just North of Tuscany, where we will visit a cheese factory and a recycling center to understand the role of sustainability in this country that is so well known for its cuisine and fashion.

More to Come: As we continue our journey in Italy, we plan to cover more topics outlining how business functions in the various cities of Italy, and will be covering how these experiences may be used for our personal, academic, and professional growth. Stay tuned for more!