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Ask Isabelle Cross ’27, a human resources management major, for a snapshot of her Asia-Pacific semester and three scenes surface at once: “Gliding past the limestone cliffs of Thailand’s Phi Phi Islands in a long-tail boat, rumbling an ATV through Bali’s jungle and drifting the Mekong Delta’s quiet canals,” said Cross. “Those weekends showed me the region’s pace and beauty beyond any skyline.”
In an Australian marketing class, Cross dissected Coca-Cola’s vow to be available “anywhere someone reaches for a drink.” Later, on a rural Vietnamese highway, the bus stopped for fuel.
“No billboards, no neon, just a wooden stand with five glass Cokes on melting ice,” Cross recalls. “Seeing the brand that far off the tourist map made the lecture click. Distribution isn’t an ad slogan; it’s trucks, back roads and relationships that reach the last mile.”
Cross spent eight weeks with Allianz Trade, the world’s leading provider of trade-credit insurance and risk analytics. Working for the head of HR for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, she screened résumés, verified expatriate tax invoices and interviewed consulting firms for a Vietnam office launch.
“Watching my supervisor juggle HR across five countries showed me how wide the skill set must be,” Cross said. “I want to build deep expertise in individual areas before I manage a business unit or region of my own.”
Spring break in Ho Chi Minh City began before dawn, weaving through wet market stalls where fish still flapped on ice and herbs were picked only hours earlier. During a company visit, executives from a supermarket chain described plans to compete by undercutting wet market prices.
“It was eye-opening,” she notes. “Strategies like that can erase traditions that define daily life. As a future leader, I want growth that respects the culture it serves.”
Traveling with 11 other Business Fellows amplified every insight. “We compared internships over dinner and mapped the region’s businesses as a team.”
Cross returned to ���ϲ����� convinced that “business, culture and community are inseparable, and the biggest lessons often wait on the back roads.”