Saturday, December 31, 2005

Field Study Venezuelan Style

I came to Caracas on November 26th as part of a group of six students and a faculty advisor from Tuck for the Field Study in International Business program. We were chosen for a project with DHL Venezuela. The team included Vikram Chitkara, Alexis Hoopes, Navin Rajaram, Sienna Rogers, and Michelle Schneider. We were fortunate to be placed in a cohesive group with a variety of personalities, experiences, and perspectives.

Our faculty advisor for the trip was Annie Bauer. Annie is a fascinating woman with a deep background leading teams in a variety of settings across private enterprise and international development. We found Annie to be a tremendous asset in helping us to manage our team dynamic, develop our project goals, facilitate interaction with the client, and adapt our work style to logistical and cultural challenges.

The Caracas experience was split into two parts – the 3 week consulting project (a ton of work) and 1 week of travel (palabra). During the consulting project we used our 2 weekends to explore as well. Following the project, team members chose their own adventures. The following stories highlight some of the experiences that I was fortunate to enjoy on this trip.

The pictures at this link accompany these stories.