{"id":210270,"date":"2019-09-23T11:49:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T15:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=210270"},"modified":"2019-09-25T14:16:30","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T18:16:30","slug":"vision-for-language-business-and-culture-leads-to-new-ba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2019\/09\/23\/vision-for-language-business-and-culture-leads-to-new-ba\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision for Language, Business and Culture Leads to New BA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Look out, world: Montclair State University is preparing students with vision to live, work and succeed in global markets.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re students like Janica Pierre, a junior who speaks French, enjoys culture and is studying accounting. Beginning this fall, she has added a second major, the new BA in Language, Business and Culture. \u201cI\u2019ll see where this leads me,\u201d she says, \u201cmaybe in five years, living and translating documents in France.\u201d<\/p>\n

Language, Business and Culture combines intensive language and culture study (a choice of Arabic, French, German, Italian or Spanish) with fundamental business skills to prepare students for careers here and abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis degree prepares a future generation of managers for a new Renaissance where language, sense of belonging and social support will lead the business,\u201d says Alberto Milani, president of the Italy America Chamber of Commerce, who attended a launch of the program last spring.<\/p>\n

\"Gladys
Gladys Riccardi, Janica Pierre and Adriana Morsella, among the first students in the new BA in Language, Business and Culture, meet with the program\u2019s director, Enza Antenos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gladys Riccardi, who speaks Spanish, and Adriana Morsella, who studies Italian, are among the students in the first cohort, both drawn to the program after exploring options in business and world language last year as University College pre-major\/undecided students. \u201cThis is a good combination of everything I\u2019m seeking,\u201d Morsella says.<\/p>\n

Montclair State is one of just two public universities in the Northeast offering the program, and the only one in New Jersey. It formalizes into a degree program the ways Montclair State has blended business practices with socio-cultural knowledge and strong language skills, says Enza Antenos, professor of Italian with Modern Languages and Literatures, and program director of Language, Business and Culture.<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cIn class, the use of real-life examples, the amazing opportunity to learn about international business abroad, and the emphasis on acceptance, immersion and learning drove home the essence of global marketing,\u201d says Talia Antonacci \u201919, who graduated with a major in Italian and minor in Business.<\/p>\n

Sights Set High<\/h2>\n

Recent Montclair State graduates like Antonacci who speak a second language and also understand cultural differences and diversity have landed dream jobs, Antenos says.<\/p>\n

Bobby Nelson \u201915 credits his degrees in Business Administration and a world language for helping him launch his career. Nelson studied German and works with the online mattress startup Casper, where his fluency and business skills assisted in the company\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not just how to translate words,\u201d Nelson says. \u201cLanguage is a whole different way to see life; it\u2019s a whole different way to live.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Natalie Yavorski \u201919 draws on her BFA in Fine Arts\/Studio and a minor in Italian while working in product creation for Safilo, an Italian eyewear creator and distributor in Secaucus. \u201cWhen you learn how to speak a different language, you’re also learning about the culture of that language because they go hand in hand,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

During a recent visit to her workplace, Yavorski was sorting eye frames by color and design in the acetate library she created for the company. \u201cI’m not entirely sure if I imagined that my minor would lead to a career path,\u201d she says. \u201cI definitely hoped that I would be able to keep Italian a big part of my life because I’m so passionate about it.\u201d<\/p>\n