by Kim Lamb Gregory
From opposite sides of the world, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Digital Marketing Lecturer
Shumin Chien and Associate Professor of Management Cynthia Sherman both developed
a passion for the life-changing power of studying abroad.
The pair of faculty members shared their love of learning abroad with 14 students this summer with a trip to Germany to study international business. All of the students were undergraduates or recent graduates from the Martin V. Smith (MVS) School of Business & Economics, including 2024 graduate Gabriel Hoffman.
“The trip exceeded my expectations and I learned a lot about international business, cross-cultural communication, and traveling in general,” Hoffman said “I had an amazing time and would recommend the experience to anyone who has the opportunity.”
The trip was part of an ongoing partnership CSUCI has with a Karlsruhe, Germany university called the Duale Hochschule Baden Württemberg (DHBW). CSUCI students teamed up with other students from Canada, the United Kingdom and the Ukraine for lectures from faculty from each of the visiting universities, meetings with area businesses and visits to cultural sites such as the city of Heidelberg and cultural landmarks in Munich, Germany. They even crossed the border into France for a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Chien is no stranger to world travel. Studying abroad sent her career into hyperdrive. Born and raised in Taipei, she got her first taste of cultural differences while visiting a relative.
“In Asia we are always chasing the A+,” Chien said. “I spent a summer visiting a cousin in Australia and in class one day I was dreaming and I was so nervous because I thought it was wrong. And the teacher said ‘Oh, you were dreaming. It’s good to be dreaming.’”
Chien went home and told her parents she wanted to study abroad and eventually went to pursue her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Boston University on a scholarship. Also, “it’s very hot in Taiwan and Boston has a lot of snow,” she said. “I wanted to see snow.”
Her next international adventure occurred when she traveled to Japan with a friend, fell in love with Tokyo, and decided to stay. Chien learned Japanese and in 2017, landed a job with the Japan office of The Trade Desk, which is headquartered in Ventura.
After meeting CEO Jeff Green, he asked her to help him expand the company into China, so she relocated to Hong Kong for a year. In 2019, Chien joined The Trade Desk in Ventura, developing the first customer education platform exclusively for digital marketing in Greater China and the US. Besides teaching digital advertising at CSUCI, she also works with the Jeff Green Family Foundation and is developing the university’s new marketing campaign.
International study, she believes, benefits students and their future careers in ways they can’t even imagine when they first step on a plane.
“Not only can students adjust to unfamiliar situations, but they can also improve their problem-solving abilities and flexibility, both of which are highly valued in personal and professional setting,” Chien said. “I also witnessed the students interact with people from all over the world, and knowing global issues and varied cultural viewpoints promotes a feeling of global duty and citizenship.”
Sherman’s path was different, having grown up in North Dakota and Nebraska, attending the University of Minnesota and Rochester Institute of Technology as an undergraduate. But the pivotal moment came when she studied abroad in picturesque Salzburg, Austria, later returning to Salzburg College to work as an administrative assistant for two years.
“Those three years abroad profoundly changed my perspective on the world, sparking a lifelong passion for travel, culture, art, architecture, people and food,” she said.
Her dedication to expanding horizons was enhanced by mentors she met while pursuing her PhD at Claremont Graduate University, such as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a pioneer in positive psychology and the concept of “flow,” about which he wrote a bestselling book.
“There is a balance of challenge and ability in the “flow” state where one is fully immersed in whatever she is doing,” Sherman said. “Travelling abroad stretches our abilities by giving us new challenges to overcome on a daily basis.”
When Sherman takes the reins as Chair of the MVS School of Business program for the 2024/25 semester, she plans to bring the perspective she gained from watching students broaden their horizons with overseas learning.
“The study abroad experience allows students to gain insight into business, history, culture, and diverse perspectives,” Sherman said. “They learn to be self-sufficient, build self-confidence, navigate unfamiliar situations, and form new friendships. These skills will benefit their professional and personal lives in the future, and for me, it is a wonderful way to make hands-on learning engaging and enjoyable.”