Tucked in the heart of ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus, the Thunderbird School of Global Management is not only globally recognized but a school that has spent years cultivating the key to success for its students.
In October, the school was ranked No. 1 in the world for international trade for the fifth consecutive year.
Charla Griffy-Brown, the dean and director of the Thunderbird School, said in a written statement that the ranking reflects the effort of its student body and the school's commitment to collaboration.
"Our faculty bring those connections into the classroom, and our students bring lived experience from around the world," Griffy-Brown wrote in a statement.
She emphasized that Thunderbird is not just a place for education but a school built on cultural exchange, connection and community.
The school hosts First Tuesdays, an engagement program designed to connect alumni across the world, fostering a community of interconnected students that continues off campus.
"We have 'First Tuesdays' in 120 different cities around the world every month where Thunderbirds gather, connect, and help each other," Griffy-Brown wrote.
From classrooms to Thursday nights at The Pub at Thunderbird, Griffy-Brown said students learn to "build trust with people whose experiences differ from their own," allowing students to enter into the workforce prepared for global leadership.
Ishe Chibi, a graduate student studying global management and president of Thunderbird Student Government, said Thunderbird is a place where "different people from different cultures from different nationalities, they find a belonging."
As an example, Chibi said the Regional Night Celebration: Africa event helped expose students to different cultures and perspectives, creating opportunities to learn from one another.
"Africa was this huge classroom we were studying, and the Thunderbird community that night, they were invited to come and learn," he said.
Griffy-Brown stated that working across cultures is an everyday piece of the Thunderbird experience. Learning to do so allows the school's graduates to be more effective in their careers.
Chibi highlighted the interaction between undergraduate and master's students at the school.
"It's a different academic journey, but we are one Thunderbird community," Chibi said.
Master's students bring backgrounds in a variety of fields, whereas undergraduate students bring "fresh perspective," emphasizing their "new energy" and ability to contribute to the school's community, Chibi said.
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"Undergraduates can build relationships with graduate peers, faculty, visiting leaders, and alumni," Griffy-Brown stated.
This exposure gives them the ability to gain access to global opportunities and networks while simultaneously exposing them to diverse professional experiences and perspectives, she wrote.
Crystal Tan, a graduate studying global management and director of social media and marketing for Thunderbird Student Government, wrote that at a school as small as Thunderbird, being able to connect with master's students is an opportunity that, while daunting, leads to some of the best outcomes.
"There have been times when someone remembered an interest I mentioned in passing, sent me an opportunity and encouraged me to go for it," Tan wrote. "I've since done the same for other students."
While Thunderbird's community fosters connections within the classroom and…
