Originally from Cumberland Foreside, Maine, Samantha Bowden is a senior at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. She is a Business Administration major focusing specifically on the Accounting and Finance Option. Recently, Samantha was nominated to serve as a collegiate scholar in the International Scholar Laureate Program [1] (ISLP) Delegation on Business during the summer of 2008.
The ISLP is a program designed to provide a lifetime advantage to high-achieving university students from across the United States; it offers a unique combination of experimental learning and a dynamic environment to give scholars the skills and resources they need to succeed in an ever-evolving world and help them reach their full leadership potential. The ISLP Delegation on Business [2]provides scholars with the opportunity to join other future business leaders from across the United States for a career-focused study and an unmatched learning experience in a foreign country.
Samantha earned her nomination through her exemplary leadership and outstanding academic performance as a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society [3], which is a nonprofit international academic honors organization that recognizes the top 15% of juniors and seniors in all undergraduate fields. There are ISLP Delegations on Business in Australia, Central & Eastern Europe, China and India; Samantha will be participating in the delegation in China [4]. There, she will travel with about 55 other scholars to Shanghai, Xi’an, and Beijing to study international business and interact with senior Chinese business leaders in various industries. 
Samantha is very excited to attend the Delegation on Business in China. She states, “I will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to network and learn first-hand from top business leaders. The knowledge I will gain during this trip is certainly nothing I could ever learn from reading a textbook. When I am handed the opportunity to travel and learn like this, I try to utilize it for all it’s worth. I think that this trip will help me make the transition from student to employee; from reading, studying textbooks, and writing case studies to applying that knowledge to the international business world. Learning and studying in other countries always forces me to think in a different way and I think that this trip to China will, without a doubt, benefit me on that level. I am not only honored and grateful to participate in this experience, but I think it will contribute to my development as a woman in the business world, and it will give me something different to bring to the table.”
Samantha and the other scholars will start in Beijing, China’s capital and political center. They will meet privately with one of China’s premier home-grown sport marketing firms, Li Ning [5]Sports Corporation, for a unique look at marketing and advertising in China and its preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics [6]. In addition, they will attend an executive briefing by the American Chamber of Commerce that will provide them with an understanding of the differences between Chinese and American business protocols and practices, which will prepare them for China’s future business and trade development with the US.
The students will then travel to Xi’an, where they will engage in a behind-the-scenes visit to Xian's Economic Technological Development Zone [7], meeting with representatives of large-scale Chinese manufacturers and exploring the factory floor and production lines. They will view the firsthand management and day-to-day functions of a large-scale Chinese enterprise, SIMO Motors. They also will get the chance to network one-on-one with Chinese business students at one of Xi-an’s premier universities.
Finally, they will travel to Shanghai to see China’s city of technology and commerce and to experience China’s financial center. They will meet with international business representatives and consultants to understand how entrepreneurship, strategic manufacturing, finance, and marketing are utilized as methods of courting foreign participation.
The scholars will stay in each of the three cities for 3-4 days. The trip will also include some sight-seeing and recreation. Samantha and the other scholars plan to visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and historic Tiananmen Square. In Xi’an, they plan to visit one of the world’s most incredible archaeological discoveries, the life size statues of 8,000 Terra Cotta warriors. An additional four days will be spent in Guilin, where the scholars will enjoy the outdoors by mountain biking, hiking, caving, taking hot air balloon rides, and doing other cultural activities. After, they travel back to Beijing for one night and then fly back to the United States.
Above all, Samantha believes that her trip to China will help prepare her for a future career in business. Samantha plans to return to WSBE and UNH as a graduate student in the MS in Accounting [8] program and eventually get her CPA.
Story written by Bridget Mercier