Business students visit
Portland, Oregon on Edventure

Eight Defiance College business students accompanied by two faculty members recently spent a week in Portland, Oregon, where they met with key business leaders and toured a variety of companies and organizational headquarters. Their trip was part of Defiance College's Edventure Program providing students with domestic travel opportunities where classroom knowledge and the world of business meet.

On the trip were accounting majors Adam Collins, Bryan; Heather Eickmeier, Malinta; Lynn Haller, Antwerp; Austin Kemerer, Hicksville; and Jessica Mandula, Elyria; business administration majors Micah Grime, Archbold, and Riley Linder, Paulding; marketing student Brianna Murphy, Convoy; and faculty members Dr. Mike Wolfe and Professor Jay Page.

Page said the trip met everyone’s expectations, and more. “The students had an incredible experience,” he said. “One student tried to describe it to their parents and said, ‘You had to see it to believe,’… which pretty much says it all.”

The group immersed itself in professional business environments with visits to KEEN Inc., shoe manufacturing company, where they met with president James Curleigh;  and Pendleton Woolen Mills headquarters, where they were led by the women’s wear communications manager.

Eric Dix, a 2010 MBA graduate of Defiance College, welcomed the group to Klickitat Valley Health where they met with CEO John White who spoke about hospital administration. The students also met with Travel Portland, the official destination marketing organization in Portland, to gain a better understanding of tourism in the area and economic impact on the economy.

Other businesses such as Wayfarer Restaurant, Henry’s Tavern, Ceilio Restaurant and Surfsand Resort also opened their doors and allowed the students to meet and talk with key managers of their respective companies.

The cultural portion of the trip included stops at Tillamook Cheese, David Hill Winery, Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, and Timberline Lodge Ski Resort built during the Great Depression and located 9,000 feet up Mt. Hood.

A trip to the Northwest would not be complete without experiencing Pacific Northwest seafood and oysters, food carts of Portland, farm to table restaurants, Vietnamese and Thai food, and restaurants that focused on locally grown fruits and vegetables. Other restaurants on the itinerary included Pok Pok and Voodoo Donuts where Anthony Bourdain of the Food Network visits regularly.

Before departing on the trip, students conducted projects to broaden student knowledge about different business cultures in the Portland region. Funding for the trip was provided by EDventure, part of the college’s Imagine Initiatives created to provide domestic travel and learning opportunities for students.

June 21, 2012