The Wake

Want to jumpstart your career, meet new people, begin networking, boost your confidence, learn a new language or become familiar with a new culture? Those are only some of the benefits listed by those who have studied abroad.

“The objective,” American Field Service President Tachi Cazal says, “is to look at the differences in the world, to appreciate [them], to learn to look at the world from a new perspective.” Cazal spoke at a discussion entitled “The Power of International Exchange” at Cowles Auditorium on November 29.

“There are so many things that we learn, sometimes without noticing it,” says Austrian Ambassador to the United Nations Gerhard Pfanzelter, who also spoke at the discussion sponsored by the Minnesota International Center, AFS and the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs. “[Studying abroad] gave me and Tachi the confidence to embark on our careers.”

Shannon Farley, a senior at the U majoring in art, agrees. “My trip to Italy benefited my education in many ways. Not only was I able to learn about the history behind the art in Florence, but I was able to work on my art,” she says. “I was able to take cooking classes at the Culinary Institute of Florence which has really helped me get many jobs in the restaurant industry since returning to the States.”

Studying abroad teaches self-sufficiency, says Camille Erickson, a senior at UMD majoring in Health Education. “You learn to rely on yourself because quite literally you are on the other side of the world with no one else you know anywhere near you to help out!” she says. “I found that to be extremely empowering.”

Erickson also explained that an experience abroad will change your attitude and perspective on your own country. “You learn so much about what the rest of the world thinks about America—which is often times very hard to listen to because many do not paint a pretty picture of our country,” she says. “You learn that you have more pride for your country… I found myself standing up for the United States when I never thought I would have.”

At the same time, many learn tolerance for members of other cultures. Anna Davenport, a Pharmacy graduate student, says that when she went to Prague, she couldn’t speak or read their language, which made communication difficult. “This clearly gave me an appreciation for what it must be like for new immigrants to the States—and I am much more patient and reach out quickly to those I see struggling the way I did back then,” she explains.

Few people speak of regrets in the descriptions of their travels, but there are some drawbacks. Traveling abroad can be costly and there are not programs in every major, so some students might not graduate on time. But most agree that studying abroad is worthwhile.

Erickson says that “the experience opens doors,” which echoes Pfanzelter’s support for studying abroad. “It gives you the confidence to achieve things in life.”

Cazal looks at studying abroad as an opportunity to expand education’s horizons. “A classroom goes beyond the blackboard, the chalk, the computer,” he says. It’s learning to be a community and accept differences.

For more information and to learn how to study abroad, visit the Learning Abroad Center in Heller Hall on the West Bank or go to .