T-Minus Two Weeks

In about two weeks, 14 students and two faculty will depart for Rio de Janeiro for what promises to be an experience of a lifetime.  The students have diligently prepared for this school trip to the 2016 Olympic Games, which included intensive bi-monthly meetings over the spring semester.  As part of this process, students received briefings, read books, watched movies, and conducted research about Rio, the Olympics, and Brazil's cultural and socio-economic dynamics at play on the eve of Rio's big summer bash.  In addition, they studied the business side of sport and learned how the Olympics have been leveraged to foment social change, particularly in developing countries.  Throughout the summer, the students took tests, completed their research, and wrote their papers, and have only to present their results to their fellow travelers at morning seminar in Rio.  My clear sense is that the students are ready, and excited to see for themselves how Rio will present itself to the world, and whether its multibillion-dollar gambit will be a boon or bust for the city and people of Brazil.