Hanna Llanca, professional development vice president of the International Business Student Association, only expected 30 students to show up to the Global BBQ Fest on Nov. 1. However, this ended up being an underestimate – five minutes after the event started, the line for barbecue trailed out the door of the CBA events room and down the hallway. Students bobbed their heads out of the line, trying to catch a glimpse of the barbecue that awaited them.

The IBSA put on the Global BBQ Fest in an effort to spread awareness of the international business major and to broaden students’ cultural knowledge, said Llanca, an IB junior. The IBSA offered Barbecue in different global styles from local restaurants. Llanca said the original idea for the festival came from Ray Brimble, a benefactor of the Center for Global Business at McCombs, which funds the IBSA.

“We wanted to increase exposure to international business education all across UT,” Brimble said. “I only ever hoped that it would be this popular.”

Twenty-five minutes into the festival, most students sat down with their pick of barbecue and chatted with friends about the flavors. Students could choose from Japanese, Korean and Mediterranean variants. Soon enough, IBSA ran out of barbecue.

“We all know Texas barbecue, but there’s so many different kinds of barbecue in the world,” Llanca said. “We’re trying to show you what there is aside from what you know. When you (enter) the business world, you’re going to work with people from all over the world.”

The number of IB Majors saw growth of 200% in the past four years, said Deborah Salzberg, an administrator at the Center for Global Business. Despite its growth, the IB Major only makes up around 1% of McCombs undergraduate students. Llanca said that she switched majors from accounting to international business because she felt that IB provided a deeper sense of community and a greater focus on soft skills.

“I thought that I would need to drop out my freshman year, but then I found this community,” Llanca said. “It’s really funny because when you talk to any IB major, they will all tell you that they all thought they were (originally) in the wrong school.”

After the barbecue ran out, IBSA started a game of trivia and attendees answered questions on different types of barbecue as they finished eating their own. Kailana Davis, a member of the IBSA, enjoyed seeing new people show up at the event.

“I thought it was cool to have that sort of trivia, especially for other people that weren’t in IBSA,” corporate communications major Davis said. “It was kind of a cool way for them to get a glimpse of what we’re about”.

Llanca said that the IBSA highly prioritized expanding students’ cultural awareness and personal skills.

“In a lot of countries outside of America, food is more than just the meal, it is a time of gathering, a time of community, a time of sharing experiences,” Llanca said. “We love everything that has to do with people in every shape and form that they come in, so focusing on food is important.”