Global Boarders

A Special Living Option with an International Focus

“Even though organizations move beyond their borders and reach into other territories, not all employees are immediately ‘global people.’ However, in today's organizations, a global mindset is crucial, no matter where an employee is located. In the past, an organization's leaders, managers, and employees needed to understand a culture only if they were going to another country to live. Now, employees work virtually across borders via technology, they work with a variety of ethnicities at home, and they interact with a globally dispersed customer base. So a global mindset and skills are necessary for all employees.” —Society for Human Resource Management

Cultural competency is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures. How will you develop this important skill?

One idea: Join Global Boarders. Global Boarders is an international-focused Special Living Option offered to Penn State Behrend students through a partnership of the Black School of Business, Residence Life, and Housing and Food Services.

Special Living Options are intentional communities where you live and learn with other Behrend students who share your interests and goals. Global Boarders participants live in Trippe Hall in an environment enriched with special academic and out-of-class opportunities.

All Behrend students are invited to join Global Boarders, but because the program has an international focus, preference is given to:

• students majoring in International Business
• students minoring in Transnational Perspectives
• international students
• first- and second-year students who intend to major in a business discipline
• students who have (or want to) study abroad
• students seeking close interaction with peers who live or have studied in countries outside the United States

Admission to Global Boarders is competitive and requires an application that should be completed after you’ve applied for admission to the University.

The 2019–20 Global Boarders application is closed. The application will re-open on September 5, 2019, for academic year 2020–21.

For additional information about this Special Living Option, email GlobalBoarders@psu.edu.

Trippe Hall

Global Boarders enjoy the rare opportunity to live in a brand-new residential building. Trippe Hall, a 251-bed, $28.4 million residence hall with the latest in living-learning amenities, opened in August 2018.

Trippe Hall residents live in double rooms; each room has air conditioning, wi-fi, cable, and a microwave/refrigerator. Six private bathrooms are located on each wing residential wing of the building. Students have access to a community kitchen, in-house laundry facility, group and private study areas, living rooms, and conference rooms.