At the Crossroads of Culture and Capital
by Theo Coleman '27
The day began in an art-history lecture on Edo-period aesthetics and ended in a high-rise overlooking Tokyo Bay. Between the two, I found myself crossing a boundary I hadn’t realized existed—one between observing the world and participating in how it moves.
I am a double major in economics and art history, and I spent fall 2025 studying abroad in Tokyo. Alongside my coursework, I remotely support Earth First Food Ventures, a global food-tech venture firm pioneering precision fermentation. Over the past three semesters, I have collaborated closely with founder and Dickinson alumnus Brian Ruszczyk ’88 (CEO) and co-founder and CFO Ricardo Radwanski on Series A fundraising, investor materials, data-room management and investor communications.
When Brian visited Japan in the fall, my two worlds, academia and venture, merged. Between classes, we attended meetings with executives from Japan’s leading conglomerates. The pace was deliberate, and the communication was layered with subtlety and respect. It was unlike any business interaction I had seen before. I watched how preparation and awareness could turn cultural differences into strategic advantages.
Those meetings made theory tangible. In economics, we talk about systems and incentives; in art history, about form and intention. In Tokyo, I saw both at once, a culture in which business strategy felt almost architectural, shaped by balance, patience and continuity. Sitting beside Brian, I understood that leadership in a global setting is not loud or impulsive. It is deliberate, grounded in listening as much as speaking.
Outside the conference rooms, our days took a different rhythm. We visited centuries-old temples, shared plates of fresh tuna at Tsukiji’s historic fish market and ended the nights trading stories in small, neon-lit rooms that seemed to hold all of Tokyo’s energy. Those moments revealed another truth about business: The best partnerships grow from shared curiosity, not just shared goals.
Working with Brian across continents has been one of the most formative parts of my Dickinson education. It has shown me that global business is not confined to strategy decks or market data. It is built on understanding people, patterns and context. The experience deepened my respect for how cultural nuance shapes outcomes and how adaptability turns preparation into opportunity.
When I returned to class, the lectures felt sharper and more immediate. The liberal-arts foundation Dickinson emphasizes, the ability to think across disciplines, to connect art to economics and ideas to execution, had moved beyond theory. That week with Brian did not just expand my perspective; it defined the kind of global work I intend to pursue next.
Read more from the winter 2026 issue of Dickinson Magazine.
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Published March 19, 2026