Bastian Herr experienced the company and culture of Germany, while interning with Mercedes-Benz and exploring downtown Stuttgart. Photos courtesy of Bastian Herr
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UNC Asheville’s liberal arts education and its focus on fostering critical thinking helped me throughout my work experience. — B a s t i a n H e rr ’ 1 4
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Ingle’s time in college paved the way for world-class work. “It gave me a completely different perspective on how to approach my career and my life,” he says. “Prior to going to UNC Asheville, I was totally focused on the sciences … and fully expected to become some kind of research scientist focused on hardcore theoretical applications. It was the liberal arts side of my education that broadened my outlook and made me step back and re-evaluate the career possibilities.” Studies in the humanities “filled gaps in my previous education that I didn’t even realize I had,” Ingle says, and “helped me take on a multifaceted approach to looking at things, not just through the lens of logic and science but also through the lens of culture and society.” Working in the global economy, Ingle says, requires more than excellence in just one field, and also the ability to cross cultural borders as much as geographical ones. “I love the many diverse 22
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cultures in this world, and I enjoy being someone who helps others understand and bridge the gaps between them,” he says. “Not only technically, but also understanding and embracing the differences that they all have and figuring out ways to use the best of them to come up with something better.”
Global takeaway
For all they learned and are learning here, UNC Asheville’s global graduates have plenty to teach others who want to venture into careers far from home. We asked them to share some advice for those who will follow in their footsteps. The youngest of the bunch, Herr, says he optimized studying abroad by connecting with advisors at the university who supported his venture before, during and after.
The more-seasoned Ingle recommends cultivating an ability to live with each place’s upsides and downsides. “You have to adapt to the new environment and not expect it to be the way it was back home,” he says. “You are in their country, not the other way around. Take it on as a new and exciting challenge and you’ll always enjoy the experience. Fight it and you’ll be miserable.” Hart-Serafini, who just moved from Dubai to Cairo and recently became the first virtual member of the marketing committee for UNC Asheville’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, agrees that working abroad is a never-ending exercise in stretching. “Be flexible,” she advises. “It’s a cliché, but, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ Or the Iraqis … or the Liberians … or the Omanis.” 4