Business Study Abroad “Takes the Cake” for Student’s Favorite College Experience

Students in Paris
Students in Paris
Sydney Samspon-Webb (right) with her classmates in Paris.

The Lubar College of Business provides students with numerous short-term business study abroad opportunities that include academic, professional, and cultural components. This coming year, trips are planned to Hungary and the Czech Republic, Panama, Germany, France, and Vietnam.

In the Summer of 2022, Lubar senior Sydney Sampson-Webb had a self-described “monumental” experience on her business study abroad program to Paris. Sydney will graduate in May 2023 with her bachelor’s degree in marketing and a communications minor.

She is currently working as a marketing intern at Direct Supply, where she is focused on search engine optimization, email, and go-to-market digital marketing, and hopes to work in SEO digital marketing upon graduating.

Here is a summary of her Paris trip that she posted to LinkedIn:

Adventure is one of the best ways to learn. I spent the past few weeks on a study abroad adventure of a lifetime with 25 of my peers and our two (Lubar College) leaders in France.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Lubar College of Business’s “Business in France” study abroad adventure was based in Paris and filled with corporate visits to ERG International Energy Agency (IEA) and Schneider Electric; a tour of HEC Paris Business School; travels to Caen, France and the historic American Cemetery, beaches and battle sites of Normandy; as well as journeys to the Eiffel Tower, The Concierge, Louie Vuitton Foundation, The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Palace of Versailles, Notre Dame, and much, much more.


In the midst of busy metro rides from place to place, trying many baguettes and French cuisines, and forming new friendships with students who I sit in class with almost daily, I gained a new perspective on international business, European culture, and learned the importance of getting out of your comfort zone to see and appreciate the vast world around you. Returning home, I can say that this trip was as monumental to my outlook on the world as the historic sites I saw are to the country of France.

I will forever be grateful for this experience and the priceless and invaluable memories that transpired from it. This study abroad adventure takes the cake for my favorite college experience thus far at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

A huge thank you goes out to (our program) leaders, Dr. Michael Freimark and Alejandra López for leading this trip to France and inspiring myself and the other students to take risks, see the world, and learn from new adventures!

#studyabroad #uwm #uwmilwaukee #parisfrance #internationalbusiness