The résumé of Kevin Lavelle (’08) brings to mind the Johnny Cash recording of “I’ve Been Everywhere.” The President’s Scholar took advantage of the University’s education abroad programs in Britain, Spain, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Thus, it seemed only natural that Lavelle would join Oliver Wyman, an international management-consulting firm, to begin his career. Although he expected to work as an analyst in the Dallas office, he didn’t hesitate to accept an offer to relocate to the firm’s office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing real estate markets. Lavelle, who was a management science major in the Lyle School of Engineering, now works with 120 other employees of 34 different nationalities, mainly from the Middle East, India and Europe.
Alumnus Kevin Lavelle with an alternative mode of transportation in Dubai.
Although new on the job, Lavelle already considers his relocation to Dubai a career-making move. “I think it is essential in business and life today to be able to think about global opportunities and consequences,” he says. “Many U.S. corporations are looking beyond the borders to emerging markets for growth potential.”
Lavelle’s willingness to travel and work abroad places him squarely in the middle of a generation that pollster John Zogby calls the “First Globals, 18 to
29 year olds who are as likely to say ‘I’m a citizen of Planet Earth’ as those who say ‘I’m a citizen of the United States,’” Zogby recently said in a speech at SMU. “Sixty percent have passports. Twenty-three percent say they expect to live and work in a foreign capital at some point in their lives.”
In that regard, the recent report by SMU’s Task Force on International Education could not be more timely. Appointed in 2006, the Task Force was charged with recommending ways to broaden global perspectives as part of SMU’s educational mission.
One goal is to double the percentage of seniors who graduate with an education abroad experience (from nearly 25 percent to 50 percent). The Task Force also recommends that SMU increase the numbers and locations of education abroad programs. In the past year, SMU added programs in Australia, Asia, India, South Africa, Cairo and Oaxaca, Mexico, for a total of 30 programs in 16 counties smu.edu/studyabroad. An International Center was created to work with education abroad programs as well as international students attending SMU.
SMU Magazine looks at some of the University’s international connections – education abroad, faculty research and alumni who work overseas – to understand how SMU is going global.
- SMU-in-Britain: Students Worldwide Compete For Coveted Spots
- International Internships Show Students The Ropes On How
The World Works - Examining the Business Dimensions of a Flat World
- Lost In Translation: Cultural Sensitivity Goes A Long Way In Advertising
- An American In Cyprus: Seeing Past The Postcard Facade
- West Meets East: Finding Common Theological Ground
- Teaching International Relations: It’s A Whole New World Order
- Digging The Etruscans: Student Unearth Treasures In Italy
3 replies on “Going Global”
Working and living overseas is a very unique opportunity. It is also a state of mind; not everyone is able to manage the challenges that come along, but once you get past the usual stereotypes, the rewards that come along are unbelievable. People tend to think that everything is defined by the economic growth and those who look different and speak different languages are not well educated: this is a very big mistake. Looking different does not mean being deficient and not expressing yourself in the best of English has nothing to do with the knowledge that one might have in a specific subject; it just means that the person has learned that specific subject in another language. If you remember the film “The Terminal”, with Tom Hanks and Catherina Zeta-Jones, you know what I am talking about. People are smart no matter the language they speak and I truly encourage young and old students from SMU or other Universities to open themselves to those challenges and accept and embrace diversities (cultural, physical, ideological) as a new way of life. It will help you understand others better and will help them grow. I was born in Cameroon and graduated from high school there. After my first college degree at 21, I move to Germany. From there, I have lived all over the world, but I am still hungry for discovering the world. I am fluent in English, French and German as well as some languages that are not listed in modern encyclopedia. After spending a few years to raise my children, I am back to school and a graduate student at SMU in the Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management Program; at 43, I think that all those adventures have helped me understand the humans and the world better. It helps me get along with people without any prejudgment of their behavior. There is one think that I know for sure: “I cannot change anyone, but I can change myself and every day, I learn to make better decisions.” Good luck to all of you who are in the verge of hitting the roads, not matter where you are going, trust your instinct, be polite, respectful to others and to their cultures, make no bold statements, and remember that eating a piece of snake meat might save your life somewhere around the globe.
Valerie W. Batta
SMU Student and Stay-at-home Mom
Travel is the quickest way to an open mind. It also gives you excellent problem-solving skills and quickly tunes your priorities.
You can always tell adults who haven’t traveled. They seem a bit lost and confused personally and politically.
Kim Corbet
Music History Dept
It makes me want to say to every young person: get out…do it while you can…while you’re resilient and young..see other places…try all kinds of things….get to know all kinds of people…get out of your town and live somewhere else, at least for a while.