Imagine having a literature lesson on the coast of Ireland, learning about healthcare in Denmark from a Danish politician, or experiencing Shakespeare in his very own city. This may seem like the stuff movies are made of, but these are all things Armstrong students can experience through studying abroad.
Armstrong held its Spring Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The event provided students with the opportunity to learn about individual programs, their costs, and their directors. Financial Aid representatives were also available to discuss different funding options. Armstrong offers multiples trips each year to China, Spain, Costa Rica, Ireland, England, and many other countries.
If students missed the Study Abroad Fair, they are encouraged to visit the Office of International Education in Gamble Hall, room 204, to speak with someone about available programs and financial aid options. The deadline for having an application to a specific program on file as well as the STARS scholarship closes Feb. 15.
Kristin Kasting, Assistant Director of International Education at Armstrong, encourages students to study abroad. She said she knows they won't regret it.
"I've never had anyone study abroad and say 'Oh, I wish I hadn't,'" she said. "I know a lot of people who are no longer in college who say, 'Oh, I wish I would have. Had I known what that experience would have given me, I would have done that.'"
Kasting believes that the increasing market for global perspectives is a major incentive for studying abroad.
"There is a huge importance because I think it's important to experience cultures other than their own," she said. "You can't appreciate. You can't really be objective about why cultures are the way that they are until you've experienced them and understand the genesis of some of those behaviors."
Richard McGrath, a professor of economics at Armstrong, will go on his ninth study abroad trip this year. McGrath enjoys teaching in different ways and finds that study abroad gives him a creative outlet for his work.
"It's just this really cool part of the educational process to expose students to something that is so completely different than what they have experienced before," he said.
McGrath also feels that studying abroad opens the door to a better working relationship between student and teacher.
"You get a very different perspective on students traveling with them rather than just having them in class," he said. "It's just a much better working relationship after that because you've got some other connection where you spent a lot of time together doing other things."
Armstrong students who experience study abroad for themselves seem to have found it to be the trip of a lifetime.
Timmy Vo went to Prague this past summer and encourages others to study abroad so they can learn some of the same things that he did.
"It opens up your mind to a lot of different things, and it's just fun," Vo said. "It gave me a chance to experience a culture other than my own and that's a great chance to have."
Emily Thornton agrees that study abroad opens a student's mind and eyes. She was also surprised by how well she adapted to life without a car and air conditioning during her trip to Seville, Spain last year.
"You realize that you're a lot stronger," she said. "You're a lot more independent."
Living in Effingham County, Thornton finds it a nuisance having to drive so far into Savannah, so living in a small city in Spain for a few weeks was a welcome relief.
"You're able to enjoy life more over there," she said. "There's no excuse not to get up and do something because it's right outside your door."
McGrath knows that the experiences students gain while studying abroad are ones that they never forget. He said that studying abroad gives students more opportunities than if they were simply going to travel somewhere on vacation. During his study abroad trip to China, his students were able to take a guided tour of the Panda Reserve. A tour guide in Shanghai even took them home for genuine Chinese cuisine.
"With study abroad, your connection to the people is much stronger than if you travel as a tourist," McGrath said. "The social aspect is great for learning. The travel aspect of it is really interesting and fun, too. The places are interesting, but the people are the best part of the experience."