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Humanities Express

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  • Publisher: College of Humanities at The Ohio State University
  • Volume I Issue 9
  • October 2005
  • Humanities Express Home
Humanities Alumni Spotlight:

True Buckeye Promotes Ohio Abroad


Cynthia Cole. After earning a B.A. in French, Cynthia Cole began her career as an intern for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, the state agency that drafts legislation and staffs legislative committees. After the internship, she worked as an aide in the Ohio Senate.

Since 1983 Cole has been an international trade specialist in the International Trade Division of the Ohio Department of Development, where she helps Ohio companies export their products and serves as the "desk officer" for Europe. Her humanities background, she says, helps her appreciate the similarities and the diversity among people from other cultures. "Among my most rewarding professional experiences," she observed, "were the trips abroad where I met new people and participated in their way of living. Those travels have strengthened my love for my own country and made me value being an American more than ever."

Cole has promoted the State of Ohio at trade shows in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, and Mexico and has met with delegations from Europe and the former Soviet Republics. She says, "My most humbling experiences occurred when I was confronted with not knowing how to do everyday things or communicate in the local language. These experiences taught me to be resourceful and gave me a new appreciation for international visitors to this country who, at times, struggle with our way of doing things."

Cole credits her Euclid (Ohio) Senior High School French teacher, whose "extremely high standards provided an excellent foundation for my college studies." Majoring in French helped Cole develop language and critical-thinking skills, which serve her well today. A family trip to France gave her the opportunity to teach her husband and three sons a few words in French and act as interpreter.

Buckeye tradition runs through Cole's family. Her father earned two degrees from Ohio State, and three of her four brothers are OSU graduates. Although her mother earned a degree from That School up North, her first job was in OSU's education library. Cole is quick to note that the family has "rehabilitated" her mother, who now roots only for the Buckeyes! Cole has earned yet another OSU degree for herself, an M.B.A.

The College is happy that this Buckeye is part of the Humanities family.