Clemson business student reflects on her time in Japan with the Dean’s Global Leadership Program

When Olivia Bledsoe first toured Clemson University, she didn’t know much about the campus. What she did know was that she immediately felt at home. Years later, she felt that same sense of belonging in Japan, where she spent two and a half weeks with classmates in the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business Dean’s Global Leadership Program (DGLP).

The DGLP was created to provide the opportunity for students to learn about the knowledge, behaviors and attitudes necessary to lead positive change in the larger global context. This Signature Program is designed to accommodate students’ schedules, with some completing the program in as little as a year and a half and others electing to spread the coursework out over their time at Clemson.

Bledsoe first heard about the DGLP from one of her professors, Judson Jahn, senior lecturer in the School of Accountancy. He invited her to an information session, and she decided to check it out. As she listened to him speak about the opportunities the program offered, she knew she wanted to apply.

Throughout her time in the program, she has learned a lot about leadership in a global context, and this past summer, she was able to experience it in a real-world context in Japan.

“I was so nervous going to Japan,” she admitted. “I didn’t know anyone else on the trip, and I was intimidated. But once we were there, I grew so much, not just academically, but socially and personally. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

From the moment she landed in Japan, Bledsoe spent every moment to learn all she could about the country. While there, she and the other students studied international business law and global leadership perspectives with Jahn and Carl Hollingsworth, professor and senior associate dean of the Powers College of Business. Through visits to Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, students met with business leaders and saw firsthand how cultural values influence professional environments.

“I thought I already had a good grasp of global perspectives because I’ve traveled a lot,” she said. “But I quickly realized how much I still had to learn. In Japan, loyalty and perfectionism are so important in their work culture. I learned how people there often stay with one company their entire careers and take pride in perfecting their craft. That was eye-opening for me.”

One of Bledsoe’s favorite memories came during a weekend trip to Okinawa, where she and her classmates spent the day exploring and eventually made their way to the beach.

“We wandered around, tried different foods and spent time out by the water,” Bledsoe said. “It’s the day I think back to the most. I remember sitting there and realizing how lucky I was to be experiencing all of it.”

Now back on campus, Bledsoe is preparing for the next steps in her last year as an undergraduate at Clemson. After being in the DGLP, she encourages students to consider joining.

“It takes an already incredible education to the next level,” she said. “You gain new skills, new perspectives and deeper connections with your professors and peers. I would tell any student considering it to just go for it. It’s worth it.”

About the Dean’s Global Leadership Program

The Dean’s Global Leadership Program combines academic and experiential learning in a collaborative approach to help students develop the skills necessary to lead in the 21st-century global economy. Students may complete the DGLP as a stand-alone program or may use it as an entry point into the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business Leadership Signature Program.

The program may be completed in as little as one and a half years or stretched over multiple years to accommodate a student’s schedule. All students will take the two core courses, Global Business Negotiations and Global Leadership Lessons, and will have flexibility in completing the remaining DGLP requirements of: 1) at least one International Business Perspectives course, 2) two credits of leadership practicums, and 3) a Global Experience.

While specific business majors prepare students for a chosen profession, the focus of the DGLP is to help students develop the skills and knowledge needed to be leaders in those professions and be contributing and engaged members of a global society. These skills and knowledge align with essential 21st-century skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and collaboration.