A blog post from SOLES MA in Leadership Studies Ambassador, Fabiola Escobedo Torres.

Hello everyone! My name is Fabiola Escobedo Torres and I just finished my last requirement for my MA in Leadership Studies degree. I have just wrapped up my international requirement in the beautiful Basque Country of Mondragon, Spain, where I got to learn about the Mondragon Cooperatives, meet new friends, and saw many beautiful historic sites. It was amazing getting to see the cooperatives in action, visiting sites like the Mondragon Headquarters, Otalora ( the Cooperative and Management Training Center), Mondragon University, Arizmendi Ikastola (cooperative schools), and Alecorp (student industrial cooperative).Taking this trip was very insightful because I witnessed how these autonomous cooperatives work and how they collaborate together as a system to support one another.

Other highlights from this trip were getting to visit other cities in the Basque Country such as Bilbao, San Sebastián, Arantzazu, and Oñati. Getting to see sites like the Guggenheim Museum, The beach of La Concha, The Sanctuary of Arantzazu, and the San Miguel Parish Church. In addition to eating delicious Basque cuisine, my ultimate favorite part of this trip was receiving my certificate of completion of The Mondragon Cooperative Experience and being able to see The Carnival of Gigante Tolosa

For anyone looking to go abroad I would definitely recommend this trip. It offered fun and exciting excursions, and a plethora of information that I cannot wait to utilize in my current work. A big thank you to Dr. Herrera, Cherie Herrera, and Allison How it for their time and dedication in planning this trip.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my travels and thank you for taking the time to read my blog entry! Or as the Basque would say Eskerrik asko!