SAN FRANCISCO- NEW YORK CITY 2015
Theme: "East Coast vs. West Coast Business"
Locations:
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Silicon Valley- San Francisco Bay Area
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New York City, New York
Time:
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June 2015
Group:
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8 high potential future business leaders from California State University, Chico
Program:
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Through networking with top managers, being immersed in east/west coast US culture, volunteering in a local service project, and completing a hands-on academic curriculum focused on leadership development, students will gain perspecitves that will enable them to become true leaders.
Expeditions to Planet Earth develops leaders through purposeful travel
OVERVIEW
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In June 2015, Expeditions took a high performance team of eight CSU, Chico business students on a leadership development journey to the Silicon Valley, San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.
TRAINING
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The ten day trip marked the capstone for the students’ one dozen training sessions on business etiquette, individual strengths, effective communication, professional networking, cultural awareness and community fundraising.
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An important focus throughout the program was crafting a positive organizational culture; for example, each day of the excursion concluded with a game of Positive Points; Expeditions staff and students reflected, and recognized students’ extraordinary behavior, effort, or performance both big and small. Prizes were also awarded at the end of the program, celebrating each member’s individual strengths.
BUSINESS VISITS
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During the journey, group members met with a variety of organizations, learning about corporate culture and daily business practices, engaging in meaningful discussions, and getting a behind the scenes peek at the offices.
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In the Bay Area of California, they visited Linkedin, Pandora, and Swissnex.
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In New York, members visited Bloomberg, Deloitte, Madison Square Park Conservancy, Credit Suisse, Grey Group, the Guggenheim Museum, and Coach.
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Teams also participated in a personal mentoring session with a Chevron business planning coordinator, the founder of Shift, and the President of Urban Space Management.
CULTURAL IMMERSION
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The teams co-created the agenda of cultural activities, and leader pairs alternated being in charge of logistics each day.
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In SF, The group attended Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition at the SF Symphony, visited Golden Gate Park, and explored the various SF neighborhoods like the Financial District and Mission.
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In New York, the students paid their respects at the 911 Memorial, and saw Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at the NYC Ballet and the Lion King on Broadway. They also explored Central Park, took a cruise to the Statue of Liberty, and toured Times Square.
SERVICE
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Another element of the program was service, so before departing, the team fundraised $1,000 for the North Valley Boys and Girls Club through a crowdfunding campaign, and also volunteered for the afternoon, interacting on site with the kids- playing basketball, coloring, and putting puzzles together.
RESULTS
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The leadership development program helped participants gain insight into business and culture on both coasts of the country, exercise leadership and business etiquette skills through experiences, problem solve in real time, and give back to their local community. Group members created strong relationships and accomplished extraordinary achievements together.