Danielle Lutz visits Walmart distribution center in Costa Rica during Sustainable Business study abroad program.

Danielle Lutz, an economics major and Spanish minor, studied abroad with the Fisher College of Business Sustainable Business Global Lab in Costa Rica during spring break 2023.

"A typical spring break trip doesn’t consist of waking up at 6 a.m. for bus rides to cleaning solutions companies, coffee tastings at the only Starbucks located on a fully functional coffee farm, tours of a Walmart distribution center (hair nets included), playing with dogs at a sustainability consulting firm, and hikes into volcanoes, but my experience the last week on my spring break study abroad through The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business checked off all this and more.

With a group of 12 students passionate about global business and sustainability, I had one of the most eye-opening experiences of my college career in a country who is the beacon of sustainable practices for the world: Costa Rica. Under the guidance of Scott Griffin and Keira Williams, we visited 10 unique businesses all covering different sectors of sustainability, from organic farming to construction management. In doing so, not only were we shown the Costa Rican way of life, or “pura vida”, but also how feasible the incorporation of sustainable practices is across all industries. Sustainability isn’t a trend; it’s essential to everything we do.

As a class capstone, I was given the pleasure of leading my peers as a team of “Pura Vida Consultants” for a Costa Rican company, Nahua Chocolate. Our final presentation for the Nahua CEO demonstrated how a social media marketing strategy had the potential to be a gateway for relevancy in the U.S. chocolate market, with potential pathways to B2B relevancy as well. Tapping into the knowledge gained from the week and utilizing the different skills of members of the group reinvigorated my love for consulting and teamwork.

At the heart of Costa Rica is the people; their hospitality and welcoming nature were the highlight of the trip. The passion everyone we met had for their people and their environment was so profound. It fueled their relationships and translated into their work, creating benefits economically, environmentally, and socially. I cannot recommend this program enough."

¡Pura Vida!