On Wednesday, October 24th, a group of seventeen Bowling Green State University students spent a day full of learning and engagement at CultureShoc. One of the students, Meghan Hyre, graciously wrote an article about her experience.

My name is Meghan Hyre, I am a sophomore at Bowling Green State University. I am studying Tourism, Leisure and Event Planning (TLEP), with a minor in Marketing. Last week my professor Greg Dickerson, sixteen of my fellow students, and I had the opportunity to explore CultureShoc and hear the inspiring words of Pete Honsberger. There are so many attributes to this business that were eye-opening for myself and my peers.

While trying to build a business and its team’s strength, there are certain characteristics that cannot be taught in a classroom. Pete showed us the creative ways that CultureShoc brings a team together: giving back and competing are just a couple of his methods. Another lesson we learned from Pete was how to use time management skills to accomplish our goals. As I pondered some of my own personal and career goals Pete asked, “How do you know if you’ve succeeded?”. This question made myself and the students understand that we need to set specific goals for ourselves and get the most out of each and every day to reach the ambitious goals all of us have.

All of the knowledge we’ve acquired from these lessons go hand and hand with CultureShoc’s motto, The Buffalo Mindset. Rather than taking the easy way out, all of the students are now striving to have The Buffalo Mindset. We want to run into the storm and get to those blue skies faster. Gaining motivation to take on challenges every day to better ourselves is a key attribute to succeeding in the business world.

“Do What You Love with The People You Love.” This simple yet powerful quote is written on the wall of CultureShoc’s meeting room. I had to read it a few times to really digest the depth of its meaning. This is truly one of the most important lessons students at such an impressionable age, such as myself, could’ve taken away from our visit. When we observed the exuberant passion held within CultureShoc’s staff we all learned that if we simply do what we love with people we love, our careers and businesses will be more successful. Our career goals should be derived through passion not a paycheck.

All of the students would like to sincerely thank CultureShoc, all of their staff members and clients for making this trip a possibility. It was a life changing experience for every single one of us, we are truly impressed by everything you do and plan to use your inspiring lessons in our degrees!