{"id":16604,"date":"2020-10-07T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=16604"},"modified":"2024-05-06T10:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T14:41:13","slug":"eye-of-the-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2020\/10\/eye-of-the-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye of the Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Torrential rains driven by gale-force winds rattled the windows of Holborn Tower, a landmark office building on a narrow street near the British Museum in London. But storm clouds of another sort were on the minds of executives inside Team England\u2019s fifth-floor suite in February.<\/p>\n\n\n
The organization represents England in the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, an international athletics competition slated to be held in Birmingham, the country\u2019s second-largest city, in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n
Anxious executives had their eye on Brexit, Britain\u2019s chaotic exit from the European Union, which is threatening to upend planning for the games and drive up its cost, already projected to top $1 billion. Adding another level of uncertainty was news of an emerging coronavirus outbreak in China.<\/p>\n\n\n
Arriving in London on the tailwinds of Storm Ciara \u2014 which brought high winds, heavy rainfall and widespread flooding to the UK \u2014 nine NC State undergraduates got the chance of a lifetime when they were invited to Holborn Tower for a meeting with Team England\u2019s top management.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cI can’t think of an industry that has been more impacted by COVID-19 and Brexit than the sports and tourism industry,\u201d says Jason Bocarro, professor of parks, recreation and tourism. \u201cFor the students, it was a unique experience in a unique setting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
It was just one stop on an eight-week journey that began in January at NC State\u2019s European Center in Prague<\/a>. From there, the students traveled to London, then on to the industrial town of Reutlingen, at the foot of Germany\u2019s Swabian Mountains. During the whirlwind tour, the students completed 12 credit hours toward a minor in Global Leadership and Team Decision-Making<\/a>. They wrapped up a capstone project after returning to the United States in March.<\/p>\n\n\n The global leadership minor is a new academic offering available to students across the university that combines classroom instruction and hands-on experience under the guidance of faculty from NC State and partner institutions in host cities overseas. In each city, students got behind-the-scenes access to leading business and industry sites, including Kontoor Brands\u2019 distribution center for Wrangler and Lee apparel in Prague, Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young\u2019s headquarters in London and the Mercedes-Benz Logistics Center in Reutlingen.<\/p>\n\n\n Think of it as study abroad on steroids.<\/p>\n\n\n