Experience life…… see the world

November 6, 2003
Filed under Showcase

Aaron Vehling

If you are looking for adventure, experience that will help you in your future job, knowledge about the new global society or just a different perspective of the world, then study abroad could be the key.

“The number one regret that alumni have is that they wish they had studied abroad as an undergraduate,” said Susan Lochner, study abroad coordinator at the Center for International Education.

Senior Tim Schoonenberg, who studied in Dalkeith, Scotland in spring 2002, agrees.

“Do what ever you have to do to do it,” he said. “It is one of the best things that I have ever done and I recommend that all students do it.

“I see things now as the rest of the world sees us and the way I vote is strongly influenced by global issues.”

Lochner, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, said she studied abroad twice as an undergraduate and wanted to go back for a third time but her parents said she had to graduate. She loved it so much that she went into the field to help other students do it.

UW-Eau Claire has one of the best study abroad programs in the nation, Lochner said.

“The university is rated third in the nation for sending students on semester-long programs,” Lochner said. “We are recognized as having a really strong study abroad program and I feel really strongly about working here.”

Eau Claire has 25 study abroad programs in 16 different countries.

Every program has requirements, which depend on the partner institutions abroad and the academic policy committee on campus to figure out the requirements for each program. Requirements vary from program to program. All students must meet one requirement, good academic standing, Lochner said.

The Eau Claire study abroad programs offer something for every student on this campus.

“We have options for everyone and almost every major,” Lochner said. “Students can almost always get GE credits when they study abroad.”

Of the 25 programs offered at Eau Claire, only five of them require you to speak the native language of the country.

Reducing the number of programs with language requirements allows for more people to be able to take part in the programs, Lochner said.

And getting as many students to study abroad as possible is one of the university’s main goals.

“We do promotion from the minute students get accepted and it has become a custom (to study abroad) at Eau Claire,” Lochner said.

Thirteen percent of undergraduates at Eau Claire study abroad, as opposed to 5 percent of undergraduates nationwide, according to the Center for International Education.

“If you are thinking about studying abroad, do it,” Lochner said. “I think that it really helps you grow as a person and you learn to do so many different things that you would not learn or encounter here.”

Students learn how to deal with different situations, live a different way, express themselves differently and use different forms of communication and different ways of thinking, she said.

“You learn to view (the United States) from (other) people’s points of view, get to see their perspective and learn to appreciate and be upset about different things,” Lochner said. “You learn to look at it in a different way and I think that it’s very helpful.”

Studying abroad allows the student to view the U.S. government from the outside as people from another country do.

Another advantage of studying abroad is that it offers the student the chance to meet new people.

“I went by myself and I made a hundred friends,” Schoonenberg said.

Students study abroad for many different reasons.

Some want to see Europe, some want a different perspective on their major and some just want to get out of Eau Claire for a semester, Lochner said.

The only reason not to study abroad is if you are trying to escape from your problems, she said.

One main thing that discourages students from studying abroad is the cost.

“The cost is similar to what it would cost for one semester of school here at Eau Claire,” Lochner said.

The Center for International Education also helps you find a way to fund the semester.

Lochner said the center encourages students to use their financial aid, or even go into the community and ask for help from local charities such as the Lion’s Club.

If students want a program that is not offered by Eau Claire, it is possible to study abroad through another university. But those students have to be more independent and willing to do more work, Lochner said.

“We are unable to help with advising because of staff, time and constraints,” Lochner said.

The center, however, has information that explains how to do the work yourself.

The deadline for applications for the 2004-2005 academic year is Nov. 20.

There is a display outside the Center for International Education showing where students can study abroad. The display features quotes about studying abroad and one of them reads, “So much of who we are is where we have been.”