Students studying abroad this semester were sent off Jan. 12 in the Hunter Welcome Center. It was an opportunity for the students’ friends and family to say goodbye and wish the students well. Study abroad alumni attended and the students were prayed over.

“We actually had the biggest turn out we’ve ever had for a send off,” Cassidy Miller, ACU’s Study Abroad Coordinator, said.

Students were then bussed from Abilene to Dallas. Students studying abroad in Uruguay were required to test negative for COVID-19 prior to getting on the plane.

“We had two students who tested positive but we are working on getting them to test negative,” Miller Said. 

Most students arrived at their destinations Jan. 13. Their first weekend abroad consisted of orientation and exploration activities to get them settled in their new environments. 

“I really liked walking by the houses along Main Street. They were beautifully structured,” said Sage Kroeger, a sophomore child and families services major from Keller who is studying abroad in Oxford this semester. 

Staying on top of their studies is a top priority. Students from Oxford, Montevideo, and Leipzig are all offered a wide variety of courses during their time abroad. They are required to be enrolled in at least 15 general education credit hours.

“I’m taking Major British Writers, Global Studies, Old Testament Bible, and Education Psychology in person here,” said Kroeger.

Students are already starting to be immersed in the cultures of their new homes for the next 4 months.

“At first I couldn’t even read a menu or buy things by myself. Having been here only six days, I can already see and feel improvement and confidence coming. The city is great and the people are kind and patient,” Parker Carson, a sophomore biology major from Turkey who studying in Montevideo said.

Those abroad will be returning to Abilene during finals week.