{"id":27494,"date":"2022-07-06T17:05:44","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T21:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=27494"},"modified":"2022-08-19T14:09:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T18:09:17","slug":"madi-jenkins-learns-global-leadership-gets-inspired-by-fashion-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2022\/07\/madi-jenkins-learns-global-leadership-gets-inspired-by-fashion-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Madi Jenkins Learns Global Leadership, Gets Inspired by Fashion Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Mary Giuffrida<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wilson College of Textiles student Madi Jenkins, going abroad wasn\u2019t just a chance to sightsee, it was the opportunity to spend a semester learning global leadership skills with other talented NC State students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See Jenkins, a rising senior studying fashion and textile management (FTM)<\/a> with a concentration in fashion development and product management, was one of 16 students in this semester’s Global Leadership and Team Decision-Making Minor<\/a> cohort. The minor is a collaboration between the Shelton Leadership Center<\/a> and the NC State European Center in Prague<\/a>, which aims to give students a competitive edge in the global workforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a nine week program, and we went to three different countries,\u201d Jenkins explains. \u201cWe went to the Czech Republic and studied in Prague, Germany and studied in Reutlingen and Munich, and in Austria we went to Innsbruck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all these places the students studied business and leadership at local universities, attending classes with the university’s students and immersing themselves in the culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Madi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe took classes about leadership and decision making, and how to be aware of your own habits and leadership styles,\u201d Jenkins says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest learning experience, according to Jenkins, was putting the interpersonal skills they were learning into action as they collaborated with local students, all the while getting practice at forming connections with other global leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe studied with a whole class of German students, and it was really fun because we got to build a personal relationship with them,\u201d Jenkins says. \u201cThey were able to show us around their town, and when we went to Munich they even came to visit us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond building relationships with other students, the cohort\u2019s trips were filled with off-campus visits to different companies and businesses where they were able to learn from professionals working in a global market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of this experience I\u2019m going to be able to hold myself accountable and be consistent in the working world,\u201d Jenkins says. \u201cIt\u2019s given me the skills to be a better advocate for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Madi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Jenkins, it wasn\u2019t hard to see how the curriculum and lessons they were learning tied back to her studies at the Wilson College. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had a lot of decision making models we learned, which is really helpful for fashion and product development,\u201d Jenkins explains. \u201cHaving these classes with a bunch of engineers and seeing how they make decisions, I was able to use that to complement my skills, which are more interpersonal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with improving her decision making and leadership skills, Jenkins was also exposed to a new world of fashion abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI kept a log of all the trends I saw,\u201d she says. \u201cJust different things I noticed in different cultures and how they used fashion to express themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the professional style of her German classmates, to the self-expression before functionality mindset of the French students, Jenkins was able to take inspiration from the people and cultures around her and apply it to her own work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenkins encourages other Wilson College students to consider the Global Leadership Minor when looking at study abroad programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really appreciated this time that I got to be with engineers and accounting students and a bunch of different majors,\u201d she says. \u201cIt forced me to get to know other people, and I think it\u2019s going to be so helpful going into a global industry like the fashion industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n