A Rewarding Education- updated

This fall term has been a challenging one, on many fronts. Disappointments in my personal life, difficult students, and uninspiring colleagues in my department, to name a few. While I will get my formal course evaluations in a couple of months, some students have given me feedback, and more...
These are some comments I have received from students in my Global Business, International Marketing and FYS Local Choices Global Effects (Sustainability) courses. The students truly educate me- that is the greatest reward I can get.

• Once again, your class this semester has proven to be extremely interesting and enjoyable! Thanks for all the movies clips!!
• Because of this course, I have realized that there is morecompetition than I ever realized in the international business world. Because globalization has really boomed around the world, not only do I have to compete with other college students from Illinois or the United States, but also with students from various places around the world such as India or Japan. Seeing as there are now more people competing for the same amount of jobs, there is more of an importance for me to make sure that I do well in school.
• It was very beneficial for me that current news and events were used when we were learning about different aspects of global business. Having a real-world application gives the lesson more purpose and meaning, and makes it much easier to understand. I really appreciated the interactive teaching methods used in this course, since this is how I learn best.
• The impact this course can have on an individual is very essential and must be respected. Certain aspects of this course teach building blocks that will not only be useful in other classes, but also in the business world. I have become a much more globally conscious person and a much more ready person to go out in the business world because of it. I would not just recommend taking this course as a Gen. Ed. I would suggest requiring it as it is very mind opening and enables people to think more outside the box concerning business.
• Thank you for challenging me in this class. I still have a lot to learn, but this class was a good way to start.
• Globalization of capital helped me understand the current financial crisis and the housing bubble that popped. When I would watch the news before, I could not comprehend whose fault it was. On top of that, I did not even know how it had started. The drawings on the board made perfect sense of it though. This further sparked my interest in the economic and social problems of the 2008 election. By breaking down what the candidates were saying issue-by-issue I was able to vote confidently this year.
• This class has broadened my knowledge of the business world. I don’t feel uncomfortable speaking of such dynamic topics, such as our current events. I have a new perspective and see things from the business approach now. I was ignorant when it came to business, so thank you for sharing all the information you could.
• Overall, I feel that I now have a much better understanding of sustainability and what it takes to create a sustainable community. Even if we are not successful in implementing all of our proposed changes to Elmhurst College, I have learned a lot in this class that will help me to have a more sustainable lifestyle myself.
• My favorite parts of the class however were the video clips we watched sparingly throughout the duration of the semester, our role playing assignments we did, and the guest speakers we had the pleasure of listening to. They provided me with an insight into the real business world and proved to be a lot more effective than reading it out of a textbook. They involved real stories and included real people telling us how to be successful in an increasingly competitive world. The role playing assignments my favorite of which was the one we did on the presidential candidates really gave me an insight to the way both the Republican and Democratic parties viewed our country. It was the source of my knowledge of both the Presidential candidates and really increased my level of interest in the race. Lastly, the guest speakers who either represented a successful company or was an entrepreneur who started their own real business. Their insight and lessons they taught us from real life experience are truly valuable and are still in my head. I can not thank them enough nor did I know how valuable their lessons were going to be before I heard them. You cannot replace real life experience so that fact that our own professor was a very successful business man did not hurt either. All in all everything we did as a class and everything our professor provided us really did increase my understanding of an increasingly global business world and really has better prepared me to work in it.
• In this last couple of chapters, I have seen the importance in the differences between cultures and how one should respond to those. Some might find this as a nuisance having to cater to each culture but I find this as an opportunity for a more diverse business not only in just culture but also in ideas and in thought. Also, I am now prepared to make better arguments for free trade not only in the business that I am in but also for arguments that America should be involved in free trade. I feel that this class has been more beneficial to me in my daily life then any other class I have taken thus far. I will be sure to recommend it to everyone even if it is not part of the essential classes. Usually people just hear of the negative impacts of free trade from the media but after this class, one can see the necessity of free trade in the market.
• Overall, this semester has been much more than just a class. It has helped each and every one of us realize our place in the world and how it is our responsibility to take care of it.
• This semester has greatly increased my knowledge of the global business world and prepared me to work in it. You really care a lot for your students and it shows by how much effort you have put into teaching us as much as possible. I have probably learned more information I will actually use in my career in my two semesters with you than all my other classes combined. Thanks for the great year Professor Gopal.
• By taking Business 271 with Dr. Gopal, I feel like I truly have a better understanding of the world, how it operates, and its culture.
• I think the biggest thing that I will be able to use from this class is the concept of keeping an open mind. It doesn’t matter if you are doing business domestically or globally, it is very important to always have an open mind about differences.

One that really made me happy..
***I PASSED accounting!! I didn't like the grade that I got, but I still passed! Thought I would share the great news with you!***