The Pamplin College of Business Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) recently held its first-ever international experiential learning program, DEIB Around the World. In partnership with the Global Education Office and the Steger Center for International Scholarship located in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, 26 diverse undergraduate students set off for a 10-day journey through Europe.

Over those 10 days, students gained hands-on knowledge about the opportunities and challenges international firms and managers face when engaging in cross-border business, learned practical skills to create organizational value through international market expansions, applied learned concepts from Pamplin’s international business course, and were exposed to the inner workings of gaining a job or internship abroad while enhancing cross-cultural communication skills through engagement with community members. Student activities included daily journaling, documenting observations, evening reflection discussions, as well as a final group project.

The goal of DEIB Around the World is to increase international access for underrepresented and underserved populations while enhancing student cultural humility and practical skills broadly in a global business context, aligning with the third goal of Pamplin’s implementation plan for Strategic Initiative 5.6, Build a Model Inclusive Community: to advance the academic mission in Pamplin through DEIB.

DEIB Around the World is the first program of its kind to offer students the opportunity to travel abroad without the stressor of finances. All program fees including airfare, lodging, meals, and even passport expenses were covered for students. This program directly aligns with Virginia Tech’s President Tim Sands’ Beyond Boundaries vision, an initiative to dramatically improve the university’s access and affordability for students, which has been identified as a leading strategic priority for the university by Sands and the Board of Visitors.

“DEIB Around the World was created to offer diverse students the opportunity and access to experience learning abroad and all it has to offer,” said Janice Branch Hall, associate dean for DEIB. “Airfare, lodging, passport fees, and more were barriers that many of these students faced with a traditional study abroad program. We are actively working to create a more sustainable model for this experiential learning program in a way that articulates global and societal impact. We will continue to advocate for life-altering programs such as DEIB Around the World to foster greater impact. These students' lives will never be the same thanks to these unforgettable moments.

“This is just the beginning.”

See below for additional photos from the trip. Visit pamplin.vt.edu/DEIB to learn more about DEIB’s programs, events, impact, news, giving, and more.

Written by A'me Dalton

Welcome reception held in the gardens of the Steger Center located in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Welcome reception held in the gardens of the Steger Center located in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
DEIB Around the World students at the top of Monte Generoso, featuring the Swiss Alps in the background. There, students received a guest lecture by Sara Steinert Borella, executive director of the Steger Center, on Swiss culture, particularly related to the mountain tourism industry. “One of the things that we want to share with students studying at the Steger Center is how a sense of place permeates the local culture. In this context, mountains matter,” said Steinert Borella. “Traveling to the top of Monte Generoso with the students from DEIB Around the World let us experience the geographical border between Switzerland and Italy and see what it means for a peak to provide a physical barrier and separation. During the Second World War, this meant that Swiss supporters of the Allied cause joined the Italian partisans in their fight against fascism by crossing an unpoliced border and moving supplies, arms, food, and fighters. This historical reality is something we sometimes overlook when thinking of how Ticino is tied to Italy, culturally and geographically.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
DEIB Around the World students at the top of Monte Generoso, featuring the Swiss Alps in the background. There, students received a guest lecture by Sara Steinert Borella, executive director of the Steger Center, on Swiss culture, particularly related to the mountain tourism industry. “One of the things that we want to share with students studying at the Steger Center is how a sense of place permeates the local culture. In this context, mountains matter,” said Steinert Borella. “Traveling to the top of Monte Generoso with the students from DEIB Around the World let us experience the geographical border between Switzerland and Italy and see what it means for a peak to provide a physical barrier and separation. During the Second World War, this meant that Swiss supporters of the Allied cause joined the Italian partisans in their fight against fascism by crossing an unpoliced border and moving supplies, arms, food, and fighters. This historical reality is something we sometimes overlook when thinking of how Ticino is tied to Italy, culturally and geographically.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Students and facilitators inside the walls of Castlegrande, one of three castles located in Bellinzona. Cantonal tourist officials gave the visitors a presentation about the history of the three castles in Bellinzona, which was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage site in 2000. Students had the opportunity to visit the castles and experience the fortifications and examples of medieval defensive architecture first-hand. Photo by Ryan Hopkins for Virginia Tech.
Students and facilitators inside the walls of Castlegrande, one of three castles located in Bellinzona. Cantonal tourist officials gave the visitors a presentation about the history of the three castles in Bellinzona, which was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage site in 2000. Students had the opportunity to visit the castles and experience the fortifications and examples of medieval defensive architecture first-hand. Photo by Ryan Hopkins for Virginia Tech.
Students gather to listen to Ryan Hopkins, student life coordinator for the Steger Center, as he shares more about the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, a cultural institution that is dedicated to the visual arts, music, and performing arts. “The opportunity for students to experience central Europe through Virginia Tech's Steger Center is a unique one, and the DEIB Around the World program has made it possible for many students who would normally not have the chance to study abroad,” said Hopkins. “The importance of these learning experiences extends beyond their time in Switzerland and continues into the months ahead as they reflect on their time immersed in a different culture. As these students progress through their studies, they have a new vantage point to see their learning because of the impact of being abroad.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Students gather to listen to Ryan Hopkins, student life coordinator for the Steger Center, as he shares more about the LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, a cultural institution that is dedicated to the visual arts, music, and performing arts. “The opportunity for students to experience central Europe through Virginia Tech's Steger Center is a unique one, and the DEIB Around the World program has made it possible for many students who would normally not have the chance to study abroad,” said Hopkins. “The importance of these learning experiences extends beyond their time in Switzerland and continues into the months ahead as they reflect on their time immersed in a different culture. As these students progress through their studies, they have a new vantage point to see their learning because of the impact of being abroad.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Students visit the Swiss Customs Museum to learn more about the history and cultural heritage of the border area. The Swiss Customs Museum, tucked away in a charming corner of Lake Lugano, just a few steps from the Italian border, gave students a glimpse into the past with illustrations of border management, surveillance, and special exhibits covering topics such as illegal trade, counterfeiting, smuggling tobacco, sugar, salt, rice, meat, alcohol, and more. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Students visit the Swiss Customs Museum to learn more about the history and cultural heritage of the border area. The Swiss Customs Museum, tucked away in a charming corner of Lake Lugano, just a few steps from the Italian border, gave students a glimpse into the past with illustrations of border management, surveillance, and special exhibits covering topics such as illegal trade, counterfeiting, smuggling tobacco, sugar, salt, rice, meat, alcohol, and more. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
DEIB Around the World students speak with Edward Buchanan on DEIB topics in the fashion industry. Buchanan, an Ohio native, was formerly the design director and artistic director for Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta. Buchanan is now working in multiple roles in the fashion industry, including serving as the founder and artistic director for fashion brand Sansovino 6, the fashion director for Milano, the founder of KSAT Srl, and the co-founder of WAMNI, the first Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) movement in Italian fashion, which is working to create routes to DEI activation. “Equity for Black fashion professionals, for me, means ownership—having your name on the door without having to ask for a seat at anyone else’s table,” said Buchanan. “I have worked long and hard in an industry that has never been equally balanced. The one thing that I have always promised myself is to stay focused on the goal of building a business that I could call my own which in return would allow me to assist and help others like me.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
DEIB Around the World students speak with Edward Buchanan on DEIB topics in the fashion industry. Buchanan, an Ohio native, was formerly the design director and artistic director for Italian luxury fashion house Bottega Veneta. Buchanan is now working in multiple roles in the fashion industry, including serving as the founder and artistic director for fashion brand Sansovino 6, the fashion director for Milano, the founder of KSAT Srl, and the co-founder of WAMNI, the first Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) movement in Italian fashion, which is working to create routes to DEI activation. “Equity for Black fashion professionals, for me, means ownership—having your name on the door without having to ask for a seat at anyone else’s table,” said Buchanan. “I have worked long and hard in an industry that has never been equally balanced. The one thing that I have always promised myself is to stay focused on the goal of building a business that I could call my own which in return would allow me to assist and help others like me.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo speaks to DEIB Around the World students on topics of activism within different aspects of life. Parliamentarian Brändle-Amolo is an expert on policymaking with fields of expertise in the areas of agriculture and rural development, culture, education, environmental policy, climate change, evidence for policy, and knowledge valorization. She shared insight into her efforts on equal access to opportunities and the fight against discrimination in both her work and art. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo speaks to DEIB Around the World students on topics of activism within different aspects of life. Parliamentarian Brändle-Amolo is an expert on policymaking with fields of expertise in the areas of agriculture and rural development, culture, education, environmental policy, climate change, evidence for policy, and knowledge valorization. She shared insight into her efforts on equal access to opportunities and the fight against discrimination in both her work and art. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Daniela Frau, SML Diversity Management Delegate (left), and Michael Farley, Head of International Development & Projects (right) lead a workshop on what DEIB means in Switzerland. During this workshop, students were tasked with reflection questions and asked to share feedback on ZHAW School of Management and Law’s approach to DEIB in Switzerland and to relate that approach to Pamplin’s own. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Daniela Frau, SML Diversity Management Delegate (left), and Michael Farley, Head of International Development & Projects (right) lead a workshop on what DEIB means in Switzerland. During this workshop, students were tasked with reflection questions and asked to share feedback on ZHAW School of Management and Law’s approach to DEIB in Switzerland and to relate that approach to Pamplin’s own. Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo translating an exhibit from Blind Spots - Zurich and Colonialism. “Before the Black Lives Matter Movement, after the death of George Floyd, we didn’t speak about racism openly in this country at all,” said Parliamentarian Brändle-Amolo when asked about the current state of racial and cultural affairs in Switzerland. “Switzerland never acknowledged it had a racism problem and it has only just openly acknowledged that it had anything to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Before that, it wasn't talked about at all. This exhibition is the first-ever exhibition in this country that is talking about the trans-Atlantic slave trade and what Switzerland, Zürich specifically, had to do with it. So, it is very special. It has never been done before.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo translating an exhibit from Blind Spots - Zurich and Colonialism. “Before the Black Lives Matter Movement, after the death of George Floyd, we didn’t speak about racism openly in this country at all,” said Parliamentarian Brändle-Amolo when asked about the current state of racial and cultural affairs in Switzerland. “Switzerland never acknowledged it had a racism problem and it has only just openly acknowledged that it had anything to do with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Before that, it wasn't talked about at all. This exhibition is the first-ever exhibition in this country that is talking about the trans-Atlantic slave trade and what Switzerland, Zürich specifically, had to do with it. So, it is very special. It has never been done before.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Charis Tucker, a doctoral student in Hospitality and Tourism Management, leads a nightly group reflection. As part of their final projects, students developed consulting firms for global businesses and organizations that want to establish a footprint in Switzerland. This displayed the knowledge the students attained on topics such as international business challenges and opportunities, and how Swiss culture influences daily life and business practices. With a total of six groups, best practices, opportunities for prospective businesses, personal accounts and experiences, and issues of sustainability were brought together and shared with great success. “I was initially intrigued by how a country like Switzerland can be a widespread experience for students to learn about DEIB,” said Priya Chinnareddyvari, a DEIB Around the World student. “However, I learned about the different cultures in the regions of this country and their versatility. Switzerland is an example of a successful country that coexists with multiple languages and cultures. This experience helped facilitate my understanding of how DEIB can be incorporated into various environments.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.
Charis Tucker, a doctoral student in Hospitality and Tourism Management, leads a nightly group reflection. As part of their final projects, students developed consulting firms for global businesses and organizations that want to establish a footprint in Switzerland. This displayed the knowledge the students attained on topics such as international business challenges and opportunities, and how Swiss culture influences daily life and business practices. With a total of six groups, best practices, opportunities for prospective businesses, personal accounts and experiences, and issues of sustainability were brought together and shared with great success. “I was initially intrigued by how a country like Switzerland can be a widespread experience for students to learn about DEIB,” said Priya Chinnareddyvari, a DEIB Around the World student. “However, I learned about the different cultures in the regions of this country and their versatility. Switzerland is an example of a successful country that coexists with multiple languages and cultures. This experience helped facilitate my understanding of how DEIB can be incorporated into various environments.” Photo by A’me Dalton for Virginia Tech.

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