On Oct. 5, four French exchange students from Audencia University in Nantes, France, as well as Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Professor of Business Law John Winn, J.D., put their “knees in the breeze” at 12,000 feet. Sophomore undergraduates Annabelle Prode, Alexia Barbier, Axel Guerin and Killian Valton traveled with Dr. Winn to participate in tandem skydiving jumping at Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures in New Market, Virginia. Despite being grounded by high winds on Oct. 4, all four returned the next day to New Market Airport.
Attached securely by harnesses to their “tandem masters,” they boarded the twin-engine, ten passenger Piper Navajo aircraft for a breezy 20-minute climb two miles above the beautiful Shenandoah Valley for a once in a lifetime experience. After free-falling for about 50 seconds, their parachutes opened effortlessly and ideal wind conditions resulted in four very soft landings.
Like in skydiving, the world of business is all about taking risks. These exchange students certainly demonstrated their ability to “jump right in” and embrace their time here in the United States. In addition to the four jumpers, there are four more undergraduate exchange students currently taking courses at the School of Business this fall. These students highlight our close and continuing partnership with Audencia in undergraduate and MBA studies. At the MBA level, Associate Dean and Professor of Management, R.T. Good, Ed.D., takes students to Audencia during spring break for a three-credit hour course in sustainability. Dr. Good and Winn are also teaming their MBA-level human resources students with French MBA students at Audencia as part of an international-teamed case study. In this study, students studying in the United States would complete self-assessments and then work closely with their French compatriots via online meeting tools to complete the exercise and share their findings.
