Study-abroad sees slim enrollment

While Tokyo, London and Italy might be
popular vacation destinations, they are also
locations where VCU students can broaden
their educational horizons.

The VCU Office of International Education
offers a study-abroad program for
students who want to travel throughout
the world while earning college credits and
immersing themselves in various languages
and cultures.

However, few college students take
advantage of such programs, said Emily
Reiter, senior program advisor for Global
Student Experience, an independent studyabroad
company.

“Less than 2 percent of college students
study abroad,” said Reiter, who studied in
Paris while enrolled at the University of
California, Irvine. “(Studying abroad is) a
great résumé builder. . It’s a wonderful
opportunity to enhance your education.”

Jasmine Phillips, the director of VCU
Education Abroad, agrees.

“It’s an investment in yourself,” Phillips
said.

Phillips said she gained valuable skills
and lessons while studying in Brazil.

“It helped me to develop public-speaking
skills and helped me to be more assertive,”
she said.

Students who have traveled and lived
overseas can be appealing to future
employers.

“I gained second-language skills. That
was an asset when looking for new jobs,”
Phillips said.

VCU senior Meron Berhanu was one of these students; she studied
in Seville, Spain, during fall 2007.

“I gained an understanding of other people’s culture,” Berhanu
said.

Berhanu, an international-studies major and Spanish minor, thinks
students who study abroad gain invaluable experience within other
cultures.

“People that are born here and raised here don’t get the diverse
multicultural perspective as you would if you go abroad,” Berhanu
said.

She described how narrow-mindedness could hinder the experience.

“You have to be very open-minded when you go to a different setting,”
she said. “You can’t expect people to act like Americans.”

VCU student Jennifer Koch researched her options before deciding
to spend a semester in Sydney, Australia.

“I studied independently . I had to do all the research myself,”
Koch said. “I learned how to surf, scuba dive and rock climb . you
really grow so much as a person.”

Of about 15,000 undergraduate students at VCU, about 400 to 500
students study abroad every year, according to Elizabeth Sharrett,
program assistant for VCU Education Abroad.

“There’s so much to learn outside America,” Koch said.