Beta Gamma Sigma students take leadership abroad
Student organizations offer ways to get involved on campus. For two Beta Gamma Sigma members, the UT Arlington chapter of BGS also opened the door to an international experience.
BGS, a national business honor society, helped UTA members attend the organization’s Leadership Conference Series in Barcelona, Spain, in February, hosted by the IQS School of Management at Ramon Llull University, with support from chapter advisor Dr. Faye Cocchiara.
Sophia Phan, a junior studying accounting and information systems who serves as BGS’ marketing officer, said the experience was especially meaningful as it marked her first time traveling outside the country.
“I made so many friends with people from places like Sydney, Hong Kong and Korea,” Phan said. “It was a great experience to meet all the people and then be able to learn from their culture.”
Phan, Vega and Dr. Cocchiara pose for a photo.
The two-day conference brought together high-achieving BGS students from universities around the world for professional development, networking and leadership training.Leslie Vega, a first year MBA student and president of BGS, said she felt honored to be able to represent UTA internationally.
“Being able to represent the College of Business and UTA in general is a blessing and a great opportunity because we’re just getting to meet people from all around the world,” Vega said. “We were able to tell them about our traditions at our university, and they were curious about what it’s like in Texas.”
Throughout the conference, students participated in speaker sessions and interactive workshops focused on communication, leadership and collaboration. One session that stood out to Vega focused on conversational intelligence, particularly the idea of not overthinking how to begin conversations and instead communicating with intention.
Phan said a session on leadership styles also left a lasting impression, particularly the idea that leadership is rooted in collaboration.
“Leadership is just notleading people; we need to communicate and then share ownership with all the people around us,” Phan said.
Beyond the sessions, both students emphasized the impact of connecting with other BGS members from different cultural and academic backgrounds.Vega said being surrounded by driven students from around the world highlighted both differences and shared ambition.
“The only difference we have is our culture. For the similarities, we’re motivated, we value leadership, and we're high achievers,” Vega said. “We’re really motivated to achieve and to be able to do great things, not only for our community, but also around the world.”
Both students credited the College of Business for preparing them to succeed in an international environment, particularly through networking opportunities.
“I feel like that’s one of the things that the College of Business has prepared us for, how to keep that conversation engaging and how to network,” Vega said. “It can be scary, especially whenever it comes to speaking to someone else from a different culture or background.”
Phan and Vega pose for a picture.
Outside of scheduled sessions, Vega said navigating Barcelona on their own became part of the learning experience.
“When it came to our first day, we struggled to navigate the city,” Vega said. “Whenever I studied abroad, it was with a group, and they were in charge of finding a bus and navigating. But this time we needed to figure out how to use Google Maps and how get to one destination to another using the Metro, so I think we matured a lot in the short time we were there.”
Both students encouraged others to pursue similar opportunities if given the chance.
“If anyone has a chance to go internationally for a conference, I would say to take it,” Phan said. “Because it gives you more experience, and you’re going to mature from that experience.”
The conference offered more than leadership training. It gave both students a broader view of how leadership, culture and ambition intersect on a global scale.
“We all have the same spirit of leadership,” Phan said. “Even though we come from different cultures.”