It was all business talk on Nov. 11 during the Cultural Coffee Hour at UW-La Crosse.  Students and faculty alik joined together in Centennial in the Hall of Nations to discuss business.

“This event really is meant for students, faculty, staff and community members to come together and have an educational conversation about global topics,” Katie Van Wyk, a Graduate Assistant for Student Programming in the Office of International Education at UW-L, informed. “And so it’s really meant to just generate conversation and bring awareness for everyone who is able to attend.”

The event began with student presenters who shared their knowledge about businesses from different cultures.  Each presenting student shared their experiences and knowledge with a group of attendees about foreign businesses they found interesting.

Jamie Mathison, a student at UW-L and a presenter at the event, said, “I just really enjoyed how personal it was.  I got to know the people at my table, and it wasn’t like I was in front of a huge group of people giving a presentation. So I thought it was really personal, and people were more likely to ask questions when you’re in a small group.”

After the small group presentations came to an end, students who studied abroad shared their experiences and explained what exactly they did abroad.  A majority of the students who presented traveled to Slovakia, while a few others studied abroad in London.  They shared their traveling experiences with the attendees and also shared their business experiences as well.

Each presenting student explained which company they worked for abroad, and shared with the attendees their duties to those companies and how this experience benefited them academically.

“I think they should attend this event just to raise their cultural awareness,” Mathison replied when asked why she thought students should attend the Cultural Coffee Hour.  “Even if they’re not interested in studying abroad, I think it’s really cool to get to know people that are from different cultures or have experienced several cultures.”

The Cultural Coffee Hour has taken place at UW-L for a few years now, and unlike other events, this event takes place five times a semester on the same day of the week and time, every other week.

“We always pick different themes.  And we hope that allows students with different backgrounds and different interests to come and grow in an area that benefits their education here,” Van Wyk began, explained.

Van Wyk said she hopes that, with the wide variety of backgrounds among UW-L students, everyone will be able to apply their experiences to Cultural Coffee Hour.

The next Cultural Coffee Hour is set to take place on Nov. 25 at 4 pm.  The theme for the next upcoming Cultural Coffee Hour is set on history.  Snacks, coffee and tea are provided at the event.  For more information about this event, visit

http://www.uwlax.edu/International-Education/Events.