During the summer of 2025, students studying abroad in Europe learned that their tour of the Vatican museums was canceled because of the conclave in session to elect a new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. But changes in plans are part of the adventure, says Sara Bowman, the Business Fundamentals in Europe study abroad coordinator for the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) at the BYU Marriott School of Business.
“Your ultimate itinerary is the one that you experience at the very end of the trip,” she says. When Bowman talks to students about being flexible through change, she speaks from experience. After graduating from BYU, Bowman and her husband moved to England to earn graduate degrees. To help pay bills during their studies, they started a small business. That business grew—as did their family—and their time studying abroad resulted in 15 years of living and working in England.
When her family moved back to the United States, Bowman found her current role at BYU Marriott. “I feel very passionate about helping students who might never experience travel the way that BYU offers,” she says. “Finding this position has been a good marriage of my interests and business experience.”
Bowman’s work focuses on the Business Fundamentals in Europe study abroad, which is a nine-week, three-city program designed for BYU Marriott students. Three cohorts of students rotate through London, Paris, and Rome, spending three weeks in each city, as they take required business classes.
Bowman and the business fundamentals team start promoting the study abroad program nine months before the program starts. As students begin applying, her responsibilities shift to coordinating accommodations, booking cultural activities, and organizing travel information. “Everything we book takes time and research,” she says. “If you’re going to book one hotel, then you’ve got to book it three times for 24 students each time, plus the bus driver and the director’s family. It’s a lot.”
Students accepted to the program begin a preparation course in January. Although Bowman doesn’t teach the course, she says that she tries to help answer students’ questions about travel logistics. “I try to take some of the pressure off of the directors so that they can concentrate more on teaching their classes and making connections with the students.”
And when students head to Europe at the end of April, Bowman monitors their travels from Utah by joining their group chats to ensure everything goes smoothly—and to see the impact the experience has on students. “Seeing and hearing about how delighted the students are, especially a student who's never traveled abroad, is a huge reward,” she says.
Still, plans change, like they did at the Vatican. But Bowman says she tries to model a flexible mindset for the students. “I want them to be aware that things change—that’s part of the adventure.”
And she hopes that students realize that the obstacles preventing them from studying abroad aren’t insurmountable, and that the staff at the GBC are ready to support. “We want to help students find a way to have an international business experience,” she says. “If we can help with that logistically, we will. If we can help with funding, we will. We just feel excited to participate in each student’s journey.”