Dual International Field Study Trips Changed Denise Thrush’s Perspective

By Lauren Lesmeister

Denise Thrush (‘23 MBA) enjoyed her international field study in Prague so much that she decided to participate again the next year, this time traveling to Singapore. Since graduating from Carson College’s online MBA program, she says the part she misses the most is the time she spent studying abroad with her classmates and professors.

“It brought the whole program together for me,” she says. “It wasn’t about someone talking about how to conduct international business or teaching from a book. They knew from their personal experiences what was important.”

Thrush is a clinic operations manager in the Neuroscience Service Line for Providence Health & Services. She is also one of the few people who have participated in more than one international field study experience as a student in the MBA program.

The impact of studying abroad

Thrush cannot stress enough how important an international experience is for a student. She encourages everyone to go on these trips, even if they don’t have an interest in studying international business specifically.

“It helps you understand different cultures and people,” she says. “At the end of the day, no matter where you do business in this world, understanding the people and the culture will make you more successful.”

Thrush has thoughtfully applied what she learned on these trips to her current role in the medical industry: most importantly, taking the time to understand the person, their situation, and what motivates them, no matter where they come from. In her work, she engages with people who are scared or frustrated while waiting for a medical diagnosis. She has leaned upon these lessons and tries to view things from the patient’s perspective by asking questions and actively listening to them.

“We see people who have social determinants impacting their access to medical care, or they’re scared, or they are from another culture,” she says. “We are working to bridge the gap and meet people where they are rather than forcing them to where we want them to be.”

Personal and professional growth

An assignment outside of the international field study that stood out to Thrush was the personal inventory assessment from one of the management classes. It sparked an internal reflection of what she wants out of life.

“It really highlighted that it is hard to know where you are going if you don’t know who you are and what type of management style you have,” she says.

The investment she made in herself has paid off, leading to new opportunities within her organization.

“The online MBA program has definitely benefited me,” she says.

Choosing WSU and the Carson College of Business

When looking for a program, Thrush did a general search for top online MBA programs. She decided to look further into the WSU program when she saw it was a top-ranked program by U.S. News & World Report. Ultimately, she chose the Carson College of Business over other top-ranking programs when she compared cost per credit, the international experience, and the fact that the program is 100 percent online. Something Thrush did not consider in her search, but was pleasantly surprised to experience, was the high level of faculty/staff engagement at the Carson College. She created real relationships with her professors even though the program was online.

“Professors made you feel like you were the most important person,” she says. “WSU is very caring and engaging with students even though they have such a big reach with the online program.”