The trip to Costa Rica as part of the Online MBA program included not only meetings with local businesses, but plenty of cultural and natural stops, too. (Photos courtesy of Sierra Phipps)
The takeaways were plentiful for the 27 members of the group that traveled to Costa Rica in October as part of the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ Online MBA program.
The students met with multiple businesses, learning their customs and practices, researched and worked on the group project for their capstone course – which requires an international consulting experience element – and spent time appreciating both the culture and natural beauty of the Central American country. As the trip progressed, one phrase they heard over and over started becoming part of the group’s lexicon.
“They always say ‘pura vida’ for everything,” said Francesca Ferrari, UMSL’s director of graduate business programs. “Pura vida, I don’t even know how to best describe it. It’s like a good wish, just something very positive.”
The direct Spanish-to-English translation for “pura vida” is “pure life” but the implication and cultural meaning is much more nuanced.
“It’s such a meaningful phrase, expressing so much – hello, goodbye, thank you, appreciation, positivity and the idea that life is good,” said Katie Krenn, one of the students on the trip. “It’s a beautiful message, and it’s hard not to carry that mindset forward.”
This is the second consecutive study abroad trip as part of the Online MBA’s capstone class Strategy Formulation and Implementation taught by John Palmer, an associate teaching professor in the Department of Global Management and Leadership; last year’s trip was to Panama. There are a total of 30 students in this cohort – it’s a 16-month program – 18 went on the seven-day trip to Costa Rica, and the other 12 had a separate international consulting project to complete, also with a company from Costa Rica, done mostly using Zoom and other online tools.
In addition to the 18 students, Ferrari and Sierra Phipps, the program manager for the Online MBA and Accelerated Master’s programs, were on the trip, along with a few students’ partners and also a couple of UMSL alumni. The trip, which was coordinated and booked through Austral Education Group, had a packed schedule; a few days the bus left the hotel around 6 a.m., though sometimes not until an hour later. The early start times were key to avoiding traffic delays that could be intense and derail the schedules that had been carefully crafted months earlier.
The efforts were worthwhile.
“We went to a pretty diverse range of business meetings,” Phipps said. “The students got to go to a dairy production plant. We went to an actual farm in rural Costa Rica. They also went to a place that does branding for the country, and we also went to a university. There was a really diverse range of topics that the students learned about on the trip. It’s a very educational trip, and we try to give them fun opportunities too.”
One of the stops was at a dairy farm, where students learned about the production process and even had the opportunity to milk a cow.
Even with the wide array of companies the group met with, there were consistent themes that emerged.
“One overarching take-away that surprised me was how much the cultural context impacts the way businesses operate,” said Eric Campos. “They were intentionally not optimizing processes with more robotics in order to keep the jobs of the personnel at the dairy production plant. The presenter acknowledged that there were machines that would cost less and be more efficient, but that using those machines would negatively impact their community by taking away jobs.”
That was something Krenn – a supervisor at Landvatter Ready-Mix, where she oversees daily operations and logistics across four plants – and the others noticed, too.
“Being back in St. Louis, I find myself reflecting on Costa Rica’s remarkable focus on health, education, and sustainability,” she said. “Their dedication to these priorities is truly inspiring and has made their people and country more competitive and innovative. It’s a powerful reminder of how aligning resources with core values can drive meaningful progress.”
To do their project for the class, students had to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the primary company, which works to assist women from low-income rural backgrounds pursuing entrepreneurial enterprises.
“They had a meeting with them first to discuss a little bit more in-depth, and then another day, we actually met one of the women that benefited from this financial support,” Ferrari said. “That was a lot of fun. She made a little present for everybody and they were able to ask some questions.”
This trip happened during the rainy season, meaning ponchos and rain gear were necessary almost every day.
Another stop was at Hacienda Alsacia, a Starbucks coffee farm.
“I loved getting to see the full coffee journey from berry to bean – it really opened my eyes to how much work and care goes into each cup,” Krenn said. “I was also moved by Costa Rica’s welcoming approach to Venezuelan immigrants, whose hard work makes the coffee harvest possible. It’s refreshing to see such supportive attitudes where immigrants are appreciated and treated fairly. The tasting experience was a wonderful touch, too! I had no idea there’s an art to fully appreciating coffee flavors before adding anything extra. Tasting black coffee in its pure form helped me understand the richness of the flavor profile before reaching for cream or any of the fun flavors we often add.”
Ferrari has been leading study abroad trips through UMSL for close to a decade now, and she knows one important element is getting to experience the country. One of the days included a stop in a spot where students could choose hiking, zip-lining or other options.
“The countryside in Costa Rica is gorgeous,” Ferrari said. “We visited during the rainy season, and although it rained every day, it didn’t stop us from exploring. We visited volcanoes and amazing waterfalls. In addition to immersing ourselves in Costa Rica’s natural beauty, we had the opportunity to experience some of its rich culture.”
There was also an animal sanctuary where the travelers got to interact with toucans and see sloths, jaguars, ocelots, cougars, butterflies, snakes, cattle, ducks, capuchin monkeys and tree frogs.
Another unique element of the trip: Because this is an Online MBA cohort, this was the first time most of the people on the trip had met in person.
Even though most students and staff members had only met in a virtual setting for the Online MBA program, friendships were quickly formed on the seven-day trip.
“I work with them the full time they’re in the program,” Phipps said, “but it’s on Zoom, over the phone or via email. Meeting them in person is a very different experience. So meeting at the airport is always a little funny on the way out because you’re not sure which ones are students. I always try and wear an UMSL shirt so they can find me. But they get to know each other really quickly because they’ve been working together for so long, and so they’re not totally strangers. It’s kind of an interesting experience.”
Like pura vida, that part of the experience will stick with all 27 people.
“The best part of the trip was definitely meeting all my classmates in person,” Krenn said. “This program was my first experience with online-only classes, but I feel like I’ve built some great connections. It was wonderful to see everyone’s personalities come through. We even started a spades group! I also loved making cheese at Finca La Florita, and the restaurants were fantastic, especially the one on the last night with its own garden for fresh greens and herbs.”
