An International Perspective Helps Solve Local Problems

Multilingual Moya McCaskill returned from Taiwan to forge a successful career in international business and to acquire her M.B.A. at Loyola’s business school.

Originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, McCaskill completed her undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before teaching English in Taiwan for two years where she learned Mandarin Chinese, the second language of international business.

Today, McCaskill is a junior international trade specialist for the U.S. Department of Commerce with a focus on export trades primarily in South Africa and Brazil. She is also an active member in the M.B.A. Association, a community service association that sponsors a student tutoring program and charity events. McCaskill was chosen along with 12 other participants from across the nation to participate in the Ron Brown Internship Global Diversity Initiative, and she will hold a permanent position following her graduation this spring.

"I have a job today because of my school," says McCaskill when asked how she secured such a prestigious job before acquiring a master’s degree. The small size of Loyola’s M.B.A. program and the one-on-one attention of professors like Dr. Michelle Johnston, the faculty adviser of the M.B.A. association, helped enable her successes.

During her first semester at Loyola, McCaskill interned at the New Orleans Office of Economic development and acquired the skills that have aided her current endeavor to improve the city. She is working with the city’s music business industry to build the international exports of local artists, bring international artists to New Orleans, and raise the awareness of musicians. For the first time, a study of local musicians is underway to document their marketing efforts. McCaskill says she believes this unprecedented effort will raise the awareness of local artists and improve the industry that has made New Orleans great.

—Sunday Angleton, A’04

College of Business Administration
Campus Box 15
6363 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118