Case Study E - Mike Riesch

In a way, Mike Riesch is making a return to the ‘old country’, as according to the junior Business Major from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, his family ‘is a little bit Irish’. Visiting Ireland has therefore always been an ambition of Mike’s, and he’s certainly glad he made the trip.

Mike is having an ‘awesome’ time studying in the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dun Laoghaire; a pleasantly leafy harbour town situated just a few miles south of Dublin City.

At first it appears that Mike’s chosen modules in IADT, Visual Theory and Popular Culture – both of which he finds ‘very interesting’, are completely unrelated to his Business Major. However, he has a keen interest in marketing and points out how these subjects are deeply related to advertising in terms of ‘how people look at things and how things affect people’.

Mike is impressed with the opportunity for student-feedback in IADT. Lectures and tutorials (smaller classes where students are allowed much more input and may debate and discuss with the tutor and fellow students) are kept separate, unlike the US custom of combining the two, to the detriment of class discussion. Tutorials (or seminars) are common practice in all Ireland’s higher education institutions.

Mike has an insightful theory as to how his study abroad experience will benefit his career: ‘It takes me out of my comfort zone and puts me in situations that I’m not prepared for, which will help prepare me for the business world as the same thing happens there.’

A memorable journey that was undertaken partially for familial reasons will end fittingly for Mike after his course is completed; his parents and siblings are joining him for a holiday, before they all return to the US together.