International Travelers: CAGLE celebrates decade of offering study abroad scholarships

Friday, June 21, 2024

Media Contact: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communication | 405-744-2703 | [email protected]

Rafael Rodriguez wasn't much of a world traveler when he arrived at Oklahoma State University in 2012. That changed when the son of Puerto Rican immigrants moved from his Stillwater home to OSU student housing as a freshman.

By the time he walked across the Gallagher-Iba Arena stage four years later to receive his degree, Rodriguez wasn't just a world traveler, he was also sold on the benefits of exploring the world and appreciating other cultures. Through the Spears Business School Center for Advanced Global Leadership and Engagement (CAGLE), Rodriguez experienced three life-changing study abroad trips as a student.

Professionally, these trips gave me an appreciation for unique cultures around the world and a sense of how interdependent global trade is, Rodriguez said. On a personal note, traveling allowed me to step out of my comfort zone of living in a small town and gain a love for exploring the world and appreciating other cultures.

In May 2014, Rodriguez was part of a course in Australia with a sports management emphasis, including the group that visited the facilities of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Students learned about Australia's sustainable use of facilities for their professional sports teams.

He then traveled to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam) in 2015. This course focused on small businesses/traders in developing countries as well as gaining an understanding of the region. The students visited parts of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ho Chi Minh City and visited the famous Angkor Wat temple in Siam Reap, Cambodia.

His favorite experience was spring break in 2016, when a group of OSU students traveled to Cuba while the country was briefly open for student visas. The group researched the economic implications of opening up the government to tourism for United States citizens. They also had the rare experience of visiting the Partagas cigar factory, meeting local farmers and exploring Havana's historic Latin jazz club, La Zorra y El Cuervo.

These trips enable me to connect and work more effectively with my international colleagues and better embrace the unique cultures and worldviews they bring to the workplace, said Rodriguez.

None of this would be possible without financial assistance. Rodriguez received two CAGLE scholarships to travel to Australia in 2014 and visit Cuba in 2016, and the trip to Thailand was part of the Spears Scholar Leader program, in which students receive an all-expenses paid study abroad trip.

Rodriguez and hundreds of other business students have been able to travel abroad thanks to the generosity of Roger and Cindy Cagle, the namesake of CAGLE, which coordinates and supports all global activities at Spears Business. The Cagles made a gift in 2014 to fund the center. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the center, which engages with students, faculty, global alumni, academic partners, industry leaders and government officials to prepare Spears business students for leadership positions in a dynamic international business environment.

In 2014, CAGLE's first year, Rodriguez was one of 22 students to receive a scholarship to participate in a study abroad trip. In the past 10 years, over $450,000 in scholarships have been awarded to 396 OSU students to help pay for the experience.

The impact of Roger and Cindy's gift is making a difference in the lives of our students, said Dr. Marlys Mason, who oversees CAGLE as assistant dean for undergraduate programs. Many of the students would not have been able to participate in these international experiences without the scholarships. Through Roger and Cindy's generosity, students are experiencing the global business environment firsthand.

Rodriguez said he thinks studying abroad should be a requirement for all business students in today's global marketplace.

It's highly unlikely that students will go a few more years of their careers without having some sort of global peers or contacts, be it their managers, co-workers or vendors, he said. Therefore, the sooner they start thinking like global citizens, the better off they will be in business.

Roger and Cindy Cagle worked in the oil and gas exploration business for most of their lives and enjoyed life abroad, including spending time in Russia in the 1990s before eventually settling in London. Between jobs from 1989-92, they also cruised the South Pacific on a 60-foot yacht with Cindy's parents.

The couple spent nearly 40 years working around the world and co-founded oil exploration businesses, including SOCO International, which they managed from London until their retirement in 2018, when they returned to the United States.

After taking the sailing trip and deciding to go back to work, we just knew we were going to work internationally, Cindy said. We definitely wanted to see a variety of places and spend more time with different types of people and do something different. We always knew the United States was our home, and we eventually got married to retire. But we decided we wanted to spend more of our careers overseas for the enjoyment it brings us.

The Cagles' love for OSU and providing an opportunity to help students travel abroad while also supporting other global activities at Spears Business led them to create opportunities that students would not otherwise be able to experience.

There was a lot of misunderstanding about what we were trying to do. It's not just about paying for a spring break trip or a vacation, said Roger, who earned a bachelor's degree in business administration (1973) and his MBA (1975) from OSU's business school. We've taken the approach that the more people you can expose to international travel and international experiences, the more people will interact and the more people will be exposed to when they return.

Our idea is to open that door, and if 1%, 5% or 10% feel compelled to participate, then that's great. If only a few students have the desire to be involved, then we have created what we are trying to create.

Cindy said they both enjoy hearing from students when they return from study abroad trips, especially those traveling abroad for the first time.

Well, I think it's important for children to travel if they have an opportunity and desire, because it changes your perspective on the world, she said. We see a lot of political news on television in different countries and what you find, although if you are on the ground in person, people are the same everywhere and most people are good. So I think we learn a lot about ourselves and people around the world when we travel and share those ideas.

Rodriguez is one of those students Cagles' gift has impacted. Now, he wants to make it possible for future Spears Business students to have the same opportunity. He and his wife, Emily, have established the Rafael and Emily Rodriguez Endowed Scholarship for students with financial need who wish to participate in a study abroad experience.

I felt extremely fortunate to have participated in three different study abroad experiences during my time at OSU, and grateful to the donors who made it possible for me to do so through their generosity, said Rodriguez, who is now pursuing his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin. These trips gave me a lot of confidence in myself because of the opportunity to learn new cultures and languages ​​and successfully navigate unfamiliar environments.

They also enabled me to expand my perspective beyond life in small-town Oklahoma, which has been critical to my professional success. Therefore, it was important to me to give back to OSU students and similarly enable them to have these types of global experiences as part of their time at Spears.

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Story by: Terry Tush | Engage@Spears magazine
Photos by: Adam Luther and provided