Learning a new language, meeting people from around the world, and experiencing a foreign culture are all opportunities that are available to students through the Parkland Study Abroad Program. This program offers students the opportunity to live and study in a foreign country while earning academic credit. You can choose from ten different countries, including Austria, Spain, England, Costa Rica, Italy and Ireland. Depending on where you choose there are spring, summer, and fall programs available. Some programs have each student stay with a host family, while others have students live with other students in dorms or apartments.
After students choose which trip they would like to participate in, they would reach out to the program coordinator – Jody Littleton –12 months in advance so that they have time to fill out the necessary paperwork, pay the tuition and fees, and complete the application before the deadline. The deadline is typically about 5-6 months before the scheduled program begins.
Benefits of Studying Abroad
Students can gain many valuable skills from studying abroad. For instance, Littleton mentions how students learn a lot not only about the foreign culture but also about themselves. “I think students almost always come away with that version of that answer because they learn so much about themselves. They have that takeaway of ‘I’m a stronger person, I’ve grown so much,’ and I think that’s really cool,” she says.
Given that our world is constantly changing, it is becoming increasingly necessary for students to be able to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
Learning a New Language
Even though you can learn a foreign language in a college class, nothing can replace the experience of learning it while studying abroad. Most host colleges and universities will offer classes that provide an education on that foreign language. Gigi Raila, a student who did the Study Abroad program in Italy over the summer of 2023, mentioned that her host college offered an Italian class, which, although not required, she chose to take because of her desire to learn the language. “I ended up doing the Italian class, just because I wanted to learn the language.” You can learn a foreign language in a college classroom, but studying abroad goes beyond the academic experience and gives you the opportunity to completely immerse yourself in the language by living the day-to-day life in that culture.
See the World First Hand
Studying abroad is a great opportunity to experience a country with different foods, outlooks, and activities. In addition, there is no better way to learn about the history of that culture than by exploring it first-hand. Madeline Garbacz, a second-year student at Parkland who studied abroad in England in the spring of 2023, mentioned how one of her history classes there mainly consisted of going on field trips to explore the castles and museums. “One of the classes was literally just field trips to different castles and different places in London, and the other one was kind of just history educating between the U.S. and the U.K.,” she said. Additionally, she mentioned that at the time she went, teachers were striking in England- so even though sometimes there wouldn’t be class, there were still many opportunities to learn just by exploring.
In addition to first-hand experiences, studying abroad gives the opportunity to experience different styles of education. Each college or university in the foreign country usually offers a few classes that are unique to that culture, and the program therefore gives students the opportunity to take courses they wouldn’t have been able to take otherwise. For example, Raila said that she took a culinary course while studying abroad in Italy, where she got to experience some of the different foods of that culture. “We would read a chapter of the book about their history of their culinary stuff, and then we would come to class and discuss it a little bit,” she said. “And then our teacher, Silvia, would walk us through it, cooking a different regional dish from all around Italy and then we would all sit and eat together. It was amazing.”
Gain Independence and Self Confidence
While some students will have lived away from home before they study abroad, living in another country is very different from living an hour away from home. It is the first time that many students find themselves living in a completely new environment, and are forced to leave their comfort zone. Garbacz said that even though flying to England was the first time she had been away without her parents; it helped having a support system of the coordinator, other students, and the host family she was staying with. “I never traveled anywhere by myself,” she said. “But it didn’t feel like it, because we had a coordinator and we had all these people.” Garbacz also mentioned how experiencing the independence of her experience helped her gain the confidence to travel on her own again. She reflected on how over spring break in Italy, she decided to fly by herself to Zurich for a day. “I never would have been able to do all that if I hadn’t been through study abroad,” she said. “Maybe I could have done something like traveling to London by myself for the day or something, but flying to another country by myself, I couldn’t imagine doing that without having that confidence.”
Develop More Understanding of Different People
Similarly, Raila reflected on how experiencing a different culture helped her develop a greater understanding of what it is like for people who come to the United States and struggle in the same way. “I developed a greater appreciation – not just for the culture I studied in, but for different cultures in general. Seeing other international students here and kind of just having that understanding of what it is like to be a fish out of water and wanting to try to make their lives a little bit easier–making them feel welcome and offer to help,” she mentioned.
Additionally, what helps many students gain self-confidence while studying abroad is being given the opportunity to self-reflect and, therefore, learn a lot about themselves. “I think students almost always come away with that version of that answer because they learn so much about themselves. They have that takeaway of ‘I’m a stronger person, I’ve grown so much,’ and I think that’s really cool,” said Littleton.
Increased Job Opportunities
Because of the many reasons mentioned above in this article, studying abroad looks great on a resume when applying for jobs after graduation. According to Madeline, going through culture shock and living on her own helped to strengthen her independence, problem-solving skills, and ability to get along with a lot of different kinds of people. All of these are skills that employers value greatly. “These are skills that are invaluable and hard to teach in a college course,” she says. “So employers, when they do the surveys, will say they think study abroad is a valuable thing to have on your resume and does make a difference.”
In the end, both of these students argue that studying abroad is an experience that is worth trying out. Living and studying in a different country brings various ways of learning like no other. Not to mention that it is a lot of fun to experience. “It just always was amazing,” Madeline reflected. “Even the things that didn’t work out the way I wanted to, I ended up learning something from it. And so you might as well try.”
Similarly, Raila said that students should absolutely study abroad if they have the opportunity to do so. “Just be open to the experience, because no matter what you’re expecting it’s not going to be exactly that. Just be open, confident, have fun, and make lifetime friends.”
