On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Study Abroad Fair took place in the Memorial Union from 11-1 p.m. Students were able to learn more about study abroad programs directly from those who had already completed their education overseas by visiting their exhibit stands.
Tina Williams, study abroad program coordinator, has outlined their strategies for thoroughly preparing students for the academic, cultural and social aspects of studying abroad.
“For the faculty-led programs, students generally take a course during the semester and then they travel with their classmates and their professor after a whole semester of learning about their destination and preparing for the cultural adjustment and learning about the history of all of the locations they will travel to,” Williams said. “For students who go on more independent programs, such as semester and academic year programs, they do a lot of independent research and they write a paper before they go about a topic of interest that helps prepare them for their study abroad. They work with a faculty mentor through the Washburn Transformational Experience to help them prepare and be academically successful.”
Williams further shared information about the top destinations for students and discussed the logistical aspects of the program, including accommodation, visas and travel.
“One of our newest partners is in Worcester, England, in the United Kingdom, and that is quickly becoming our most popular destination,” Williams said. “We both speak English, and the entire academic catalog for that campus is open to our students and it’s just a short one-hour train ride from London, which makes it a great destination. We have many advising sessions [on travel logistics and entry requirements] before they depart to make sure that they have everything in order to be successful.”
Lois Liljestrom, junior sociology and psychology major, shared her experience of spending two weeks studying in South Korea during the summer.
“We learned a lot of things,” Liljestrom said. “Our faculty mentor was Dr. Park. We learned a lot about the culture and the language, but we also learned about how they try to preserve their culture while moving forward. I think the biggest thing that I experienced was as long as you are nice to people, people are nice back and language barriers really shouldn’t be a reason to stop you.”
Damien Marshall, regional vice president of partnership development of the American Institute for Foreign Studies (AIFS) abroad, has outlined the programs and activities that students will engage in while studying abroad.
“We have a wide variety of different options,” Marshall said. “We have study abroad programs, internship abroad programs, study plus intern programs and service-learning programs range from about two to three weeks up to a full academic year. We’re considered a program provider, and what that means going with a program like ours, more support services are provided. When students pay their program fee, that’s going to include their tuition, housing, some programs include meal plans and also a wide variety of cultural activities [and excursions]. We have people on site in every location, so the students are supported from the time they first apply all the way through the time they come back.”
For more information about the study abroad program, visit the Study Abroad Office in Plass 217 or email at [email protected].
Edited by Alijah McCracken and Morgan Albrecht
