Global Classroom--University of Aruba

As educators, students are why we do what we do.  These are students from my Destination Marketing and Management class.  The University of Aruba students are serious, smart, and hard-working.  The university attracts students from all over the world, including native Aruban, Dutch, and from Latin American countries such as Colombia.  These students are very interested in owning tourism and hospitality related-businesses or working for destination management organizations (DMOs).  Although many of them have some first-hand experience with tourism by working in local hotels and restaurants, they appreciate learning about the industry from a global perspective.  But hey, this is Aruba, and as you can see from the second photo below these students also love to have fun!  Currently, three University of Aruba students are attending the University of South Carolina's College of Hospitality, Retail, & Sport Management.  As part of the exchange, USC students will have the opportunity to attend the University of Aruba's Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Studies.  I also envision USC student groups traveling to Aruba during the summer to conduct tourism research with their Aruban counterparts, similar to USC's May research program in the Dominican Republic.