UNO Business Administration student is awarded prestigious fellowship

Nekl, a senior studying Business Administration with a triple concentration in International Business, Marketing, and Management, first heard about the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX-YP) while searching online for internships and study abroad programs in Europe.

CBYX-YP is a prestigious fellowship that provides 75 young professionals from the U.S. an opportunity to spend one year in Germany studying, interning, and living with hosts on a cultural immersion program.

UNO’s Office for National Scholarships then assisted Nekl throughout her application process beginning in July of 2018. In January, she received an email notification that she had been selected to move on to the second part of the process, an in-person interview in Chicago.

By March, Nekl had received the answer she was hoping for.

“I was beyond excited to find out that the opportunity I had worked towards getting over the past several months would become a reality!”

However, while Nekl was applying for CBYX-YP, she was simultaneously applying to study abroad through UNO in the spring of 2019. Her decision landed on the Management Center of Innsbruck (MCI), a business university in Innsbruck, Austria.

“MCI has received numerous awards and is a highly ranked university for their programs in business, so I thought it would be the perfect fit for me.”

So far, Nekl has enjoyed learning from professors that come from various countries around Europe. She also appreciates that her peers in the classroom come from diverse backgrounds across the world.

“My classes definitely teach the subject of business from a global standpoint.”

Nekl’s favorite course has been Negotiation and Communication Skills, where she sits as the only American out of 35 students. The class environment presented her with the opportunity to interact with cultures she learned about through courses at UNO.

Overall, studying abroad has positively influenced Nekl’s perspective on living abroad. During her time in Austria, she’s been exposed to new languages, teaching styles, food, and environments that she wouldn’t have been able to experience before doing CBYX-YP.

“Studying in Austria has taught me to be adaptable and to embrace change – two characteristics that I will definitely need for a successful year in CBYX-YP.”