Want to get away from a place where the first day of fall is around 100 degrees? Perhaps studying abroad is the perfect solution.
Each year, approximately 30 percent of SMU students participate in the study abroad program offered by the university.
The objective of this opportunity is to allow the students to experience different cultures and familiarize themselves with places other than the United States. Program Director Ben Wallace said it enables students to experience diversity in their adventures.
“The purpose is to allow students to become citizens of the world,” Wallace said. “They are the future of the world.”
There are many different ways students can partake in the Study Abroad Program. They have the option to attend campuses in various countries for a year, a semester or a summer session, depending on which program offers which session. Some of the countries offered include France, Italy, England, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Spain.
Wallace said that around 450 SMU students choose to enhance their learning by studying abroad, and the majority of these students return with extremely positive feedback.
“Most of them say it was a life-changing experience,” Wallace said.
Cortney Garman, a junior art major, studied abroad for the 2004-2005 school year in Paris, France. Upon arrival, Garman said she was somewhat scared, because she did not know any French, but as soon as she sat back and looked at all that was before her, she was elated.
“I went up to my room when we got there and looked out my window and thought, ‘Oh my gosh. This is awesome!'” Garman said.
Garman said that in order to adjust to her new surroundings and culture, she tried to blend in with the French. She found this to be safer, as well as educational.
“I became more of an observer,” Garman said. “I grew new senses, especially on how French people are.”
When Garman had to leave her year long venture, she experienced mixed emotions of excitement to return to her family and friends, as well as a sense of sadness that she had to leave this intriguing journey upon which she had partaken.
“I kind of had this denial that it was actually over,” Garman said. “I mean, I got the haircut and the glasses, and now I had to leave?!”
Garman also said she found it somewhat difficult to readjust to the American way of life, as it is much different from that of the French.
“I forgot that I didn’t have to stop and think of how to translate when I was ordering a cup of coffee,” Garman said. “I also came to appreciate things I had never really noticed, like space. There is so much more space here than in Paris. Space just overwhelms me!”
Like Garman, senior psychology major Charlotte Baker discovered that another country can provide an advantageous learning experience. Baker, who spent the 2005 summer at Oxford, found that she was somewhat reluctant to leave the new land she had come to appreciate.
“When I first arrived, I was a little homesick, but I didn’t feel out of place at all,” Baker said. “Then when it came time to go home, I wanted to stay longer. I just loved the whole experience so much that I didn’t want to leave.”
There are also many hopeful students on campus who wish to participate in the Study Abroad Program at some point during their college careers. Freshman business major Kacie Jaksa said that she would love to study overseas, especially because it would help her benefit from enhanced cultural knowledge.
“I think it would allow me to be more well-rounded and also give me a chance to be more open-minded to the differences that exist,” Jaksa said.
All students interested in having similar experiences need to fill out an application as soon as possible. More information can be found on the SMU website or on the second floor of the Blanton Student Services Building.
