Glocal-BAL 24 /business/ en From India to Leeds /business/business-at-leeds/2024/india-leeds <span>From India to Leeds</span> <span><span>Elizabeth Knopp</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-17T17:36:58-06:00" title="Tuesday, September 17, 2024 - 17:36">Tue, 09/17/2024 - 17:36</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2024-10/P2GA2770-web.jpg?h=82f92a78&amp;itok=1JmheB-y" width="1200" height="800" alt="Photo of students holding a 91福利社 flag and posing with the 91福利社 hand sign"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/business/taxonomy/term/2480" hreflang="en">Business at Leeds 2024</a> <a href="/business/taxonomy/term/2497" hreflang="en">Glocal-BAL 24</a> <a href="/business/taxonomy/term/2523" hreflang="en">Year in Review 2024 - Leeds Magazine</a> </div> <span>Anna Sheffer</span> <span>,&nbsp;</span> <span>Photography by Glenn Asakawa</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="hero"><em>His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives students the key to compassionate leadership.</em></p><hr> <div class="imageMediaStyle medium_750px_50_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/medium_750px_50_display_size_/public/2024-10/P2GA2770-web.jpg?itok=WHDaZgVI" width="750" height="500" alt="Photo of students holding a 91福利社 flag and posing with the 91福利社 hand sign"> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>Last spring, the Leeds Dalai Lama Fellows participated in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to India鈥攆acilitated by CU鈥檚 Renee Crown Wellness Institute鈥攖o learn about compassionate leadership with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.</p><p>鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think I knew what compassion meant until these talks,鈥 said Nikki Bechtold (Mktg鈥24), one of the attendees. 鈥淚 took away that if I鈥檓 dealing with a conflict as a leader, I want to keep that mindset. Compassion is such an important thing that can often be overlooked in leadership. Because as the Dalai Lama mentioned, hierarchies can be really detrimental to compassion.鈥</p><h3><strong>Bringing the Program to Leeds</strong></h3><p>The trip attendees were part of Renee Crown Wellness Institute鈥檚 Dalai Lama Fellows (DLF) program, a one-year leadership program offered to Leeds students, who learn techniques for building compassion and strengthening empathy. Fellows implement their learnings through an applied project in their local communities.</p><p>In 2021, the Crown Institute at CU entered into a partnership with the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia to offer the Dalai Lama Fellows program, also present on the campus of Stanford University. Thanks to a donation from Paralel CEO and Leeds alumnus Jeremy May (Acctg鈥92), the program expanded in 2023 to include Leeds students for a three-year pilot.</p><p>鈥淭he Crown Institute has been delighted to partner with the Leeds School of Business because our shared work exemplifies how compassionate leadership can be woven into the fabric of business education, preparing students to navigate complex global challenges with care,鈥 said Sona Dimidjian, director and founding faculty fellow of the institute. 鈥淥ur hope is that the message from these conversations and the Dalai Lama Fellows program will ripple out across the world, generating compassionate action and a more caring and just future for our world.鈥</p><p>May, who serves on the Crown Institute advisory board, strives to integrate compassionate leadership into his own work. His personal connection to Leeds made it the logical choice for a pilot program.</p><p>鈥淲hen the Dalai Lama Fellows got connected with Crown, we started talking about how we bring these types of practices into the business world,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been something I鈥檝e tried to do personally, and to bring these conversations into the Leeds school was a natural fit for me.鈥</p><p>Tandean Rustandy Endowed Dean Vijay Khatri stated that the program 鈥渃an significantly contribute to advancing and embodying Leeds鈥 core values,鈥 including social responsibility, global perspective and holistic student development.</p> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/Brown%20Simple%20Photo%20Collage%20%281080%20x%202500%20px%29.png?itok=WtYOip3t" width="375" height="868" alt="Collage of images from India"> </div> </div> <h3><strong>Unforgettable Lessons</strong></h3><p>Even within the program鈥檚 scope, meeting the Dalai Lama was special. For the event, titled 鈥淐ompassion in Action: A Conversation About Leadership With His Holiness the Dalai Lama,鈥 fellows submitted questions for the Dalai Lama.</p><p>One student asked about maintaining compassion as a leader when feeling frustrated.</p><p>鈥淚f we were to keep the basic sense of affection that we received from our mother alive, there鈥檇 be no reason to quarrel with anyone,鈥 the Dalai Lama responded. 鈥淗owever, instead of thinking about what we have in common with other people, we tend to focus on the differences between us.鈥</p><p>This insight resonated with Bechtold.</p><p>鈥淚f I can become a leader someday and a manager and all these things, I鈥檒l remember how important being compassionate is,鈥 she said. 鈥淚n the society that we have right now, sometimes it can be hard to be compassionate in all circumstances.鈥</p><p>Khatri also attended the trip, calling the experience 鈥渢ransformational.鈥</p><p>鈥淚 am filled with inspiration and gratitude after witnessing young social innovators who are creatively addressing global challenges in ways that are tailored to their local communities, all the while fostering the well-being of our planet,鈥 he said.</p><p>Khatri noted that trip attendees received instruction not only in compassion but also in interconnectedness and ethical leadership.</p><p>鈥淏y integrating these lessons, students can contribute to creating more compassionate, mindful and cohesive communities, both at Leeds and beyond,鈥 Khatri said.</p><p>During their fellowship year, participants expand their empathy and self-awareness. Meghan Fall (Mktg鈥26), one of the 2023鈥24 fellows, runs Good Grief, a grief support group for students. Since visiting Dharamsala, she has been collaborating with Khatri and Birdie Reznicek, associate dean for culture and community, to establish a community grief group specifically for Leeds faculty, staff and students. Her DLF year allowed her to do 鈥渢he internal work I needed to do the external work this year.鈥</p><p>鈥淭he fellowship itself was definitely a holistic experience for developing myself鈥攎y ability to have compassion with people and my ability to regulate myself in really hard emotional situations,鈥 she said.</p><p>May called the DLF program鈥檚 teachings 鈥渢he future of leadership鈥 and stressed that the program鈥檚 impact will expand beyond the fellows themselves.</p><p>鈥淭his is an exponential thing,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen you can observe somebody applying these practices, then that鈥檚 the exponential impact we have&nbsp;here.鈥</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives students the key to compassionate leadership.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 17 Sep 2024 23:36:58 +0000 Elizabeth Knopp 18243 at /business Anna in Italy (In Her Words) /business/business-at-leeds/2024/anna-italy <span>Anna in Italy (In Her Words)</span> <span><span>Elizabeth Knopp</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-09-17T17:23:53-06:00" title="Tuesday, September 17, 2024 - 17:23">Tue, 09/17/2024 - 17:23</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2024-10/anna_in_italy_2x.png?h=99f9538e&amp;itok=AsMW4WpO" width="1200" height="800" alt="Anna holding a 91福利社 flag at Duomo in Milan, Italy"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/business/taxonomy/term/2480" hreflang="en">Business at Leeds 2024</a> <a href="/business/taxonomy/term/2497" hreflang="en">Glocal-BAL 24</a> </div> <span>Anna Bedell (Mktg鈥25)</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p class="hero"><em>Anna Bedell鈥檚 semester abroad in Milan wasn鈥檛 all pizza and pasta ... it was a lesson in risk-taking and pushing through fear.</em></p><hr> <div class="align-left image_style-small_500px_25_display_size_"> <div class="imageMediaStyle small_500px_25_display_size_"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/small_500px_25_display_size_/public/2024-10/anna_in_italy_2x.png?itok=LIrtw-4w" width="375" height="500" alt="Anna holding a 91福利社 flag at Duomo in Milan, Italy"> </div> </div> <p>I called my mom, tears in my eyes. I told her I was terrified I wouldn鈥檛 make any friends; I wouldn鈥檛 adjust to the culture; and I wouldn鈥檛 do well in my classes. I thought, <em>Maybe this wasn鈥檛 the best decision. Maybe I shouldn鈥檛 have gone abroad.</em></p><p>I had been in Italy for less than 24 hours.</p><p>I had chosen to do an exchange program at Bocconi University, a premier business school in Europe鈥攁nd an amazing opportunity to earn some elective credits through the First-Year Global Experience (FGX) at Leeds School of Business.</p><p>And now, here I was in Milan, fearful, excited and steeling myself for a fall semester like no other.</p><h3><strong>An Attitude Adjustment</strong></h3><p>The acclimation to Italian culture was difficult. My sense of direction was horrible, and with all the buildings looking somewhat the same, I was using Google Maps just to get two blocks from my apartment. Since one-stop shopping doesn鈥檛 exist in Milan, I spent a full day running around the city, getting a SIM card from one store, food from another and bed sheets from a place across town. I was forced to use the trams and metro system, which, frankly, freaked me out. I had never even been on a train before, unless you count Denver airport鈥檚 shuttle train between concourses.</p><p>There was an obvious language barrier, and my couple of months of Duolingo Italian did not prepare me for conversations with the locals. Thankfully, nearly everyone in Milan spoke English to some degree, and once they heard my American accent and bungled pronunciations, they quickly switched to English. But that was frustrating at times鈥擨 had hoped to practice my Italian and had even learned how to place my gelato order perfectly.</p><p>Despite all this, the longer I lived in Italy, the easier things got. It turned out I shouldn鈥檛 have worried about making friends鈥擨 made quite a few by the end of the first week, including my roommates, who were from everywhere: Amsterdam, Sa虄o Paulo and Tokyo.</p><h3><strong>Oh Yeah, There Was Studying</strong></h3><p>Classes were both easier and more difficult than I thought they would be. The good news was that Italian universities don鈥檛 assign homework; everything is lecture-based, with a midterm and final that counts for your entire grade.</p><p>I figured my classes would be effortless. No homework meant time for travel and exploring鈥攁ll I had to do was pass. But as midterms loomed closer, I began to worry: What if I didn鈥檛 pass? After getting a terrible midterm score, I realized that studying abroad was about living abroad, traveling abroad and <em>studying </em>abroad. It was an important lesson, even though I鈥檇 had to learn it the hard way.</p><p>It made me realize that the experience of being a student at an international university was one of the most amazing parts of the experience. Seeing firsthand what life was like for Italian students and how it compared and contrasted with mine back at Leeds was so interesting. I also realized there was so much to learn about business from the international perspective of my Italian professors. My studies from that point on became a priority and an incredibly valuable part of my experience.</p><h3><strong>Just Me, Myself and I</strong></h3><p>One bright day in late October, I realized I had eight weeks left of my time abroad ... and panicked. How was it almost over? It felt like I had only been in the country for a couple of weeks, and I was just starting to get acclimated鈥揑 wasn鈥檛 ready to go back home. I began mourning the end.</p><p>But my friends gave me some wise advice: Make the most of the time you have left. So, I did something bold, something I never thought I鈥檇 do: I booked a whirlwind solo trip by train across Eastern Europe.</p><p>Within six days, I checked off five countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czechia and Germany.</p><p>Looking back, it was one of the most transformative experiences of my life in terms of personal growth. Previously, I hadn鈥檛 felt confident in my ability to do unfamiliar things, partly due to how much I hated asking for help, even when I was clueless.</p> <div class="align-center image_style-original_image_size"> <div class="imageMediaStyle original_image_size"> <img loading="lazy" src="/business/sites/default/files/styles/original_image_size/public/2024-10/gold-bar-news-at-leeds-boulder_1.png?itok=9qguwy_F" width="178" height="11" alt="golden bar"> </div> </div> <p class="text-align-center hero"><strong>鈥淚 thought,&nbsp;Maybe this wasn鈥檛 the best decision... Looking back, it was one of the most transformative experiences of my life in terms of personal growth.鈥</strong></p><p class="text-align-center"><em>Anna Bedell (Mktg鈥25)</em></p><p>But being on my own forced me to push past my pride and fear and lean on strangers. Whether it was approaching two French girls for directions to my hostel in Prague or spending 15 minutes going back and forth with a middle-aged woman on Google Translate, trying to get directions to the bus stop in a tiny Czech town, I learned that asking for help made my trip an even richer experience.</p><p>Most of all, it made me feel more capable as an independent person. When you鈥檙e on your own, you learn to notice your surroundings and keep yourself safe. Now I feel confident that if I were dropped off at a random location without my phone, I could get back home in one piece.</p><h3><strong>Ciao, Milan</strong></h3><p>I had a new perspective on everything, especially the impending conclusion of my Italian adventure. Instead of panicking, the opposite happened: I accepted it.</p><p>I started planning for the years to come. The cities I didn鈥檛 see this time became places to visit in the future. I had a friend who was going to work in London and two roommates from Amsterdam, which meant that I鈥檇 have free housing when I returned to explore more of the continent. And someday, I would return to Milan and go to all my favorite restaurants and gelato shops and be able to say, 鈥淣ow this is true Italian food.鈥</p><p>Nowadays, I鈥檓 interested in both the national and international news. I plan to explore job opportunities in Europe after graduation. Everything I learned from the people I met鈥攖heir cultures, perspectives and ways of life鈥攎ade me see the world differently, and I鈥檓 excited to see more of that. My journeys abroad have just begun.</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div>Anna Bedell鈥檚 semester abroad in Milan wasn鈥檛 all pizza and pasta ... it was a lesson in risk-taking and pushing through fear.</div> <h2> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--ucb-related-articles-block paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div>Off</div> </div> </h2> <div>Traditional</div> <div>0</div> <div>On</div> <div>White</div> Tue, 17 Sep 2024 23:23:53 +0000 Elizabeth Knopp 18242 at /business