Alfred University students travel to Costa Rica, learn about sustainability in business

group of students in front of building — Students stand in front of a health center in Costa Rica that they spruced up as part of a service project during their spring break trip to the Caribbean nation. Pictured are: front, Sebastian Correa (CIEE guide); second row, from left, students Joyann Boice, Hannah Ulmen, Mairin Farchione, Tom Callen, and Alexis Hazzard; and third row, from left, students Zachary Sewilo, Amanda Damon, Marcus Shavers, Shawn Magishie, Dakota Podufalski-Worcester, Sienna Cefalu, and Madison King.

Theresa Gunn, professor of accountancy in Alfred University’s College of Business, offered a course during the spring 2023 semester in which students traveled to Costa Rica during spring break in March.

For the course, “Beans, Bananas, & Business in Costa Rica,” 12 students traveled to Monteverde in the Caribbean nation and studied sustainable business, entrepreneurship, ecotourism, and the interlinkages of the business world by visiting businesses, tourist attractions, and cultural events.

Costa Rica leads the world in sustainability and the students gained a firsthand look at how this is integrated into the coffee and cacao farms, animal rescues, and entrepreneurial practices of the Monteverde area. The Alfred University contingent also participated in a service project by painting the kitchen and chain-link fence and cleaning the grounds for a local health center in San Luis, Monteverde, to help it reopen after COVID.