Study Abroad students departed from campus yesterday, Aug. 28 and will be traveling to Oxford, England and Montevideo, Uruguay for the fall 2013 semester.
“A group of seven students will be going to Montevideo with Dr. Autumn Sutherlin and a group of 17 students will be going to Oxford with Dr. Mel Hailey,” said Stephen Shewmaker executive director for International Education. “In the spring semester, 14 students will go to Montevideo and 30 students will go to Oxford plus a group of 12 students will go to Germany.”
Study abroad offers students the opportunity to earn class credit and gain insight on their education while exploring a new culture. Students of numerous majors will be studying abroad this semester and will take general education courses such as CORE, humanities and Bible courses.
“In this experience I hope to discover more of this world and discover more of the God who created it,” said Chandler Gum, sophomore English major from Boerne. “I am anxious because I’m leaving behind everything familiar to me, however, I am more excited than anything because I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me and everyone abroad.”
Studying abroad is a life-altering experience for students goes beyond showing the participating students the cultures of different countries.
“Students have said that they have come back feeling more confident and have greater intellectual and academic perspective on their majors as well as a broader understanding of what a liberal arts education is,” Shewmaker said. “We hope that students will come back with a broader understanding of how God is working in the world.”
Students are not the only ones who benefit from the study abroad experience. Professors who travel with the students, called faculty in residence, are benefited as well.
“Professors experience new things that cause them to grow generally and connect with students in a way they wouldn’t be able to in a classroom setting,” Shewmaker said. “They are able to build deeper relationships with students because they are in a live-in setting rather than in a class that doesn’t meet daily.”
