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CBA Honors Academy Opens World of Opportunities to Van Hoosen

Courtney Van Hoosen
Courtney Van Hoosen jokes about being the type of person who has to be busy or she gets sick. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln senior from Omaha, Nebraska, is a double major in international business and French and has minors in economics and Japanese. She plays club volleyball, is an intern at Sandhills Publishing and interned this summer in Europe. This spring she formed a new student organization in the College of Business Administration called the Husker International Business Club. She has done it all while also participating in the CBA Honors Academy, and serving as secretary and treasurer for its student council.
 
Those activities only scratch the surface of Van Hoosen’s UNL experience, which also includes a study abroad trip to France last summer, involvement in the 2015 Naval Academy Leadership Conference, the first CBA career expedition to Washington D.C. and representing Nebraska as the 2016 Nebraska Cherry Blossom Princess in the Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival is a professional and educational program for young women leaders interested in global affairs.
 
Courtney Van Hoosen
“I’ve been lucky to participate in many different activities that have been inspired by or have inspired my education at UNL,” she said. “I chose the academy and UNL for the challenges I would have, the hands-on learning from my courses, the plethora of opportunities on campus and that it balanced all of my interests.”
 
Van Hoosen found her passion for international business in 2012, when she traveled to Japan with fellow high school students through Education First tours. In July 2015, she participated in a study abroad program in Angers, France, and spent the summer of 2016 interning in Brussels, Belgium, serving the Public Affairs section of the Department of State’s U.S. Mission to the European Union.
 
“I absolutely loved it, and I realized that two weeks would never be enough for me,” Van Hoosen said of her first trip overseas. “I wanted my careerand my life to be abroad.”
 
This spring, Van Hoosen and Michael Kleine, a sophomore international business major from Gurnee, Illinois, founded the Husker International Business Club. The club grew out of an idea of Dr. John Osiri, director of international business and associate professor of practice in management, and Van Hoosen’s frustration with a lack of opportunities and connections for those interested in a global career. The club provides activities to enhance and complement the international business major, providing opportunities for students to meet with others in the major as well as with business professionals with international experience.
 
“It’s been a rewarding experience to meet and connect with other students, even those outside of CBA, who are just as passionate about working abroad and working with different cultures,” she said. “Not only will this club continue on as part of my legacy, but also the legacy that my fellow students and CBA pass on as those dedicated to quality education and opportunities.”
 
In 2013, Van Hoosen applied to and interviewed for the CBA Honors Academy, eventually choosing UNL over a chance to play collegiate volleyball elsewhere. She has been Starting Something ever since.
 
“Deep in my heart, I think I had made my decision after leaving the interview day for the academy, and I haven’t looked back a single moment,” she said. “I love attending UNL, and feel lucky and blessed with all of the opportunities the academy has afforded me, the knowledge CBA has taught me and the lasting relationships that I have made through the academy and across UNL.” 
Published: August 9, 2016