To encourage students to study abroad during their undergraduate experience at Baldwin Wallace University, the Center for Global Exploration has partnered with The French Club and Asian Student Alliance to showcase the different opportunities available to students.
Gabriela Rolim Da Silva Figuero, a graduate intern at the Center for Global Exploration, said the collaborations are about bringing information to students and helping them understand that it is doable for most BW students.
“Sometimes when you reach out on Jacket Connect, people don’t have access to information [they want],” Rolim Da Silva Figuero said.
“So, if we go to the clubs, we can organize the type of presentation that would help them and help us promote studying abroad.”
The French Club hosted an information session with the Department on Nov. 7, specifically about opportunities in France. Halle Moder, president of the French Club, is double majoring in French and psychology. She studied abroad over the summer in a five-week immersion program about the French language and culture.
The program was in Paris with the Mission Interuniversitaire de Coordination des Eschanges Franco-Américans, a fully immersive program that places students in Parisian Universities based on their interests. Moder said that one unique challenge with MICEFA was that she had to take a skills test as her classes were in French, as opposed to most study abroad options that offer classes in English.
This fall, Moder reached out to the Center of Global Exploration to set up an info session to provide students who are thinking of studying abroad in France an opportunity to learn more about this opportunity.
“I think that the idea of studying abroad can be a little bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t feel like you have a jumping off point,” Moder said. “So generally, if you’re going to one of these clubs, you might have a particular interest in where you want to study, so that at least that narrows it down a little bit.”
In addition, the Center for Global Exploration also partnered with Asian Student Alliance club on Nov. 13 to host an informational session about studying abroad in Asia.
Elanna Su, sophomore history student and president of ASA, said that when Rolim Da Silva Figuero reached out about doing an information session with them, she immediately decided it would be a good idea to help anyone who may have wanted to learn about studying abroad in Asia. “I’m also interested in studying abroad, so I want to learn more about different opportunities,” Su said. “I also feel like this will be a good way for students to see another way that they can interact with Asian culture.”
Su also said that one goal she had for the event was to show students that studying abroad is accessible. She also wanted ASA to be “open to anyone who wants to learn more about Asian culture.”
Rolim Da Silva Figuero said she wanted to continue partnering with clubs and reach out to as many students as possible because studying abroad is a different way to grow and learn both inside and outside of the classroom.
“Sometimes, people are so American-centered that they don’t think about what is happening outside and going abroad gives you a different perspective of life,” Rolim Da Silva Figuero said. “And I think when people return to their home country, which happened to me a long time ago when I did my first study abroad, you come back as a different person.”
If your club is interested in hosting an information session or you are interested in studying abroad, contact The Center for Global Exploration by email at [email protected]
