The students also studied the culture of Denmark to prepare them for both the businesses they visited as well as the towns and cities they would explore as cultural excursions.
Ruth said a highlight for her was seeing Denmark’s commitment to sustainable energy everywhere, from windmill-dotted landscapes to the CopenHill Ski Resort, which converts 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy annually while also serving as a ski slope.
Tate said she enjoyed a bike tour of Copenhagen, learning about its history and sampling its cuisine. The guide was an anthropologist, who Tate said shared insights into how Danes relate to their government and their views on education, taxes and green initiatives.
Creating a learning community
While the students were learning and exploring, they were also creating connections with each other. Ruth said her classmates were just as important to her learning about cultural intelligence as the lessons were.
“Each of us had unique backgrounds, experiences, and cultures that made us different, but those differences also brought us together,” Ruth said. “I started this trip with strangers and left with friends I felt like I had known my entire life. The connections we built, the conversations we had, and the experiences we shared made this trip even more meaningful. It wasn’t just about what I learned from Denmark — it was also about what I learned from the people around me.”
Whalen said that one of the most rewarding aspects of the trip was seeing the students who come together to learn.
“They arrived with different perspectives — some bringing academic insights, others sharing professional experiences — but they quickly formed a strong learning community,” Whalen said. “This experience reinforced the value of global education for all learners, and I look forward to creating more opportunities like this in the future.”
Scholarship support for online learners
Student Caroline Linn received one of the scholarships offered by Penn State World Campus. She received support from the Collective Commitment to Equity Fund. Created by Vice President for Online Education Renata Engel and her husband, Leland, and supported by donor and engineering alumna Priscilla Guthrie, the fund provides resources for students to have outside-the-classroom educational experiences like studying abroad or unpaid internships.
Linn, who is 22, has been financially independent since she was 18 and works two jobs to support herself and pay tuition. She said the scholarship funding helped make this experience possible.
“Traveling is one of my greatest passions, and I try to do it as much as I can, but I am extremely limited in such opportunities due to my work schedule and financial state,” Linn said. “Without this scholarship, this experience is not something I considered would happen in my near future.”
Linn hopes to run her own business and potentially live abroad, and she said the course presented her with the opportunity to gain experience toward realizing those goals. She said the differences between the Pennsylvania-based and Denmark-based Hydro plants stood out to her, and she enjoyed learning about the culture on the tours of Copenhagen.
A Penn State education online
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years, and it now has a comprehensive selection of more than 200 degree and certificate programs.
World Campus students can enrich their online learning experience through a wide variety of activities, such as internships, service, clubs and organizations, and experiential learning like study abroad through the bachelor’s in business.
Visit the Penn State World Campus website to learn more about the bachelor’s in business that is offered online.