The unique intensive format of these courses enables students to quickly develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills while also building their cultural awareness in an immersive environment. Each two-course sequence (e.g., Arabic 101/102), the equivalent of one academic year of study, can be completed in just six weeks. Students who attend both summer sessions can earn 16-20 units in 12 weeks. Each critical language and culture studies class meets on campus at SDSU for 5-6 hours of interactive instruction daily.

Who should attend?
These courses are recommended for military/ROTC members who want to improve their formal skills in a critical language; for professionals interested in language and cultural development; as well as spouses, family, or friends of speakers of these languages. College-capable high school students age 16 and older are eligible to attend by bringing a letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor to their first class meeting. (High school students may also be able to apply SDSU’s critical intensive language courses toward their school’s foreign language graduation requirements with prior approval.)

About the Summer Intensive Critical Language Classes
Arabic, Persian, and Russian languages can be pursued individually or in two-course sequences during both six-week summer sessions. Students will earn four units per Arabic or Persian course, or five units for each Russian course. Classes meet Monday through Friday, according to the schedule below:

Session 1: May 24-June 29
• Elementary Arabic I/II (ARAB 101/102), Intermediate Arabic I/II (ARAB 201/201), 9 am-2 pm
• Elementary Modern Persian I/II (PERS 101/102), 9 am-2pm
• Beginning Russian I/II (RUSSN 100A/100B), 9 am-3pm

Session 2: July 10-August 14
• Elementary Arabic I/II (ARAB 101/102), Intermediate Arabic I/II (ARAB 201/201), Advanced Arabic I/II (ARAB 301/302), 9 am-2pm
• Elementary Modern Persian I (PERS 101), Intermediate Persian I/II (PERS 201/202), 9 am-2 pm
• Beginning Russian I/II (RUSSN 100A/100B), Intermediate Russian (RUSSN 200A/200B), 9 am-3 pm

Opportunities for continued studies online
For students who would like to continue practicing their conversational skills after completing an Arabic summer intensive course, online conversational directed language study courses are also available throughout the year.

For more information, visit the SDSU College of Extended Studies website or the LARC website.

Check out their success stories:

http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news.aspx?s=73592

Miles Bower, 30, M.B.A., Sports Business MBA Program

Bower may have felt somewhat out of place as an “old man on campus,” but this former Marine officer had already seen and overcome a number of challenges. After serving for six years and three deployments to Iraq, he left the Marine Corps in 2009 and started working in sports marketing. SDSU’s history of supporting veteran students played a key role in his success.

“That’s why I chose San Diego State. As opposed to just implementing veteran-service programs, it truly seemed that people at SDSU had taken the time to understand the issues specific to our community.”

After graduation, Bower plans on using his sports business education to organize adventures and road races in support of veteran-focused charities, as well as working on his own business to promote military marketing programs for sports organizations. (Hometown: Paoli, Penn.)

Leslie Thompson, 63, M.A. Educational Technology

Earning a graduate degree while teaching at an American school in Saudi Arabia can be a difficult obstacle, but that is exactly what Leslie Thompson accomplished from thousands of miles away.

“Completing the program entirely online means I’ve never met any teachers or students face to face, but between email, Skype, Adobe Connect, Moodle and Blackboard, I was able to plug in and stay connected to work on long-term projects as efficiently as though I was right there in San Diego.”

She has seen the world while taking classes, attending classes while visiting locales such as Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Cairo, Bangkok and London, to name a few. During all this, the program that she began in fall of 2009 has given her the opportunity to do more than 20 hands-on projects directly related to her present position and goals for her professional future. (Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.)

● In 1938, November 11 became a national holiday.

● In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day.

● A quarter of veterans 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

● There are approximately 25 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces alive today (7.5 % are women).

● There are about 37 million dependents (spouses and dependent children) of living veterans and survivors of deceased veterans. Together they represent 20% of the U.S. population.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree using funds from the Montgomery GI Bill, he decided to earn his master’s degree, having no idea whether he could convert his Montgomery GI Bill to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. He discovered that going back to school was a possibility.

“I found out I had 21 months left on my GI benefit, so I converted it to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and started looking at schools,” he says. “I looked at UCLA, UCSD, and USD, but when I looked at SDSU I noticed that they had an Executive MBA program. I read the comments of previous students and everybody had a lot of good things to say. I also looked at the college rankings for MBA programs and SDSU ranked pretty high. So I said, ‘well let me call SDSU; let me see if I can get in.’ I made a phone call thinking I could enroll in the program next year, but after submitting my resume and setting up and completing my interview, I was told that I qualified and could get into the program the same year; it was great.”

His surprises didn’t end with enrolling into the Executive MBA program, he says, “the classes have been a pleasant surprise. I like the way the instructors teach. I like the fact that you have the opportunity to rub elbows with people outside of the military. Especially in my class, there is a mixed bag – from students like me who are in the military to scientists who have a Ph.D.”

When asked whether he thought education is important during and after military service, Carson’s response is, “Oh yeah. In the military we emphasize that the more educated a sailor or any armed service person is, the better it works out for that person and the military. I advise all servicemen to stop thinking about going to school and go do it. No more procrastination. Money is not an issue since there is the GI bill. The only thing standing in the person’s way of getting an education is the person.”

Craig has been recognized as one of America’s most accomplished marketers. He began his career in the advertising agency business, but has spent the last 20 years in the restaurant industry. He became executive vice president of Worldwide Marketing for Burger King and launched the landmark “Battle of the Burgers” campaign. That campaign was one of the most successful campaigns in the industry’s history.

What do you hope students will gain from your classes in HTM Master’s program?

What I really hope that people gain is an appreciation for the new marketing tools of the 21^st century. They need to have an appreciation for the traditional tools but social media, all the new things going on in terms of redefining how companies in the hospitality industry connect with their customers, and their patrons. That’s what I hope I bring into this program; a new insight on how to make those connections.

How do you plan on using your business experience in the classroom?

I will bring broad business exposure and try to link it to course strategies. I will take an executive approach and then bring in people who have the experience with today’s marketing tools. Other people in the industry who have real-life experiences today, and then I’ll put those in a framework that will allow people to understand how they fit into an overall business experience in the hospitality industry.

What unique approach do you think you will bring into the classroom?

One of the things I think that will be unique is that a lot of the learning will be storytelling, and how those experiences relate to real-world situations. I find people don’t remember theories, they remember stories, so if we craft old stories that have relevance and then relate those to new stories, I think that the storytelling will be pretty unique. It will give people a practical perspective on the challenges of this industry.

Where do you see students heading after they complete the HTM Master’s program?

They will go into an industry that values how to connect with people and what makes the program at San Diego State unique – a program that focuses on the relationship side, the people side, and thinks long term, which is critical to success in this business. You need to connect with everybody from the cooks to the customers to the chairman of the board, and this program really recognizes that. It allows people to really understand themselves and then go into the business world and start to make those connections, so people will walk through fire for them.

Mark Testa is an award-winning, internationally recognized business and hospitality management educator and researcher with over 10 years of management experience and 16 years of teaching experience

Why is the SDSU HTM program unique?

I think the HTM program is unique because of the faculty who are involved in the program. We are close-knit and are really passionate about what we do. Some programs are so big and spread out that one faculty member doesn’t even know what the other is doing. We work really close together and so what we try to do is set goals jointly and then we run toward them. We have an abundance of energy and enthusiasm for our students and we make sure that students are successful.

How does the program give an EDGE to professionals?

I think it gives an edge because we are able to provide the skills to analyze really complex problems. And as you move up the ranks, as you become a more senior manager, the problems that you confront are different than the ones when you first got hired or when you were a middle manager. What we try to do is put students in situations where they face real-world problems and try to give them the tools that they can actually apply. That adds a lot of value add it makes a big difference in career progression.

Rubio believes that the Navy exposed him to many challenges, and gave him the skills to conquer his pursuits. “The Navy equips one with basic discipline – one is immediately given the opportunity to apply skills in global settings to overcome obstacles and execute the specific mission. Analyzing and solving complex situations becomes a welcomed and instinctive practice over the years. These skills and work ethic, I believe would directly transfer to study and future professional life outside the military,” he says.

Choosing what to study was his next challenge. He knew that earning an MBA would be his best option and he decided on that direction. He says, “I consider the MBA program as the capstone to my formal education growth since it encapsulates managerial, leadership, and financial strategic tools that strengthen my ability to make proper business decisions.”

Today, he is enrolled in SDSU’s Executive MBA program, and he also provides sound advice for those in the service who are thinking about using their GI Bill to go back to school, “Academic and intellectual enrichment are essential to self-improvement.

It enriches one’s ability in contributing to improve society. I highly recommend SDSU and its programs to any civilian or military working professional who wants to enhance his or her outlook.”

What class do you teach?

I teach Partnering, Teaming and Subcontracting.

Can you tell me about the class?

The class looks at how companies combine forces to win and perform government contracts. It lays out what the motivations and advantages of working with another company to leverage capabilities such as  combining the talents of different companies to create a stronger team. It also reviews other related alliance agreements to provide for productive relationships.

To accomplish this purpose the course provides a big picture of how companies get together. It also includes a self-assessment of your company and how to pick the best partner based on Government evaluation criteria. In the contracting world, there are a lot of alliance agreements and contract vehicles, so we review them at the top-level so students leave with a basic knowledge.  This appreciation of the intent and purpose will be helpful to the student as they come across such agreements in their contracting career.

Is this an entry-level class?

The entry-level people can benefit from it by getting a big picture of what’s going on. More experienced people will drill down deeper and benefit by having some firsthand experience with these agreements and concepts, so they will be able to apply them at their job.

Is the class mostly lecture?

There’s no homework, but there are a lot of in-class activities, and we do have a mid-term and final. A typical class would include a bit of lecture, class discussion, breakout groups for in class exercises and then back for more lecture to summarize and go on to the next big point. I share my own experiences with the group.

What is a main highlight of the class?

One main highlight is reviewing the Government solicitation evaluation criteria and student participation in assessing various combinations of company pairings to provide the best evaluation results for a win.

Who should take this class?

Any student who is interested in how companies work together on opportunities with more custom contracts or agreements.  For example, a student who has an interest in working proposals or alliance agreements or is interested on how a company can work more closely with another company based on shared goals.  Ideally, any student would benefit if they has taken a few of the basic courses in the program, has worked in the government contracting field or who has the intention to work in the field. The class paints an accurate picture of the contracting field – it prepares students to be able to handle more complex contracting to support career growth.

Why does someone need to take this class?

For each Governmental contractual action there are many more contracting actions within industry to support that Government contract.  The federal guidance on Government transactions is well publicized in the FAR and related material; contracting within industry, including the motivations of the parties, are not as publicized and are highlighted in this class.

Additionally, due to budget constraints and increasing congressional scrutiny, the government is demanding higher performing products, with less money to fund them. This class lends into this emerging environment. By combining company strengths you can better compete and adjust to this trend.

Anything else?

I try to make the class as fun as possible, it can go into any direction students want it to, and I find that this approach promotes more interaction and class interest.

Tell me a bit about the HTM program.

The HTM program is unique kind of degree – it will be a real-world experience for students to learn skills and competencies needed to master and succeed at the next level of leadership. When I was earning a Master’s, I was taught by the vice chairman of an advertising agency in New York. It was the most intense learning experience I have had, and this is the kind of program we have built – intense learning from industry leaders and experts.

Why do HTM professionals need to further their education?

When people think about furthering their education they should think about it is as constructing an ever stronger package of skills that will put them in a position to compete more effectively and become industry leaders.

Will students gain hands-on experience?

Students will be exposed to real-world problems. If they haven’t experienced them yet, they will in this program. We created a laboratory environment, where students will make decisions on the fly and on their feet based on experiences of the industry experts, instructors, and faculty advisers.

What are the benefits of a hybrid (online, on-campus) program?

This program conforms to a working professional’s life. It conforms to all the challenges that individuals balance. Also, students can revisit material. They can fast forward through material that they know and linger on the things that they are grappling with.

What are the benefits of a program that is open to students worldwide?

This program is open to students worldwide and it’s open to people across each segment of the hospitality industry. There’s an enormous opportunity for cross-fertilization between different points of view from different countries, and different ways of approaching and solving problems across different segments. The unanticipated benefit is the exposure to other ideas.

What are the new trends in the HTM industry?

The big trend is that the industry has to completely reinvent the way it does business. So many companies struggle with managing change, how to generate innovation, and how to deal with shrinking resources but no shrinkage of objectives. And, throw in rapidly advancing technology into that mix and there’s a lot to know, learn, and manage.

Give me three adjectives that sum up this program.

Cutting edge, real world, and intense.

What kind of professional needs the HTM Edge?

The only kind of professional who needs the HTM Edge is one who wants to succeed. If they want to be a successful leader, they should take a look at this program.

Why did you as an instructor want to become involved in this program?

I get to share 40+ years of experience – some good and some not so good with the students. It’s experience that was gained the hard way often as a leader, and I will share the lessons of things to do, things not to do, and the ways of thinking about leading.

The Addison at the Grand Del Mar last year was among just 74 restaurants internationally to earn a Grand Award, the highest honor given in Wine Spectator’s annual dining guide.

Rodriguez has also individually achieved advanced sommelier status, the second-highest distinction possible through the Court of Master Sommeliers, the accrediting body for the nation’s sommeliers. There are only 200 people worldwide who have achieved the highest status as master sommeliers.

His Wine List Creation class focuses on learning how to create an elegant, diverse, and cost effective wine list. Students must be at least 21 years old to register for this program.

For more information on the Professional Certificate in the Business of Wine programs offered by SDSU’s College of Extended Studies, call (619) 594-6924, email rbeard@mail.sdsu.edu or visit www.neverstoplearning.net/wine