Theresa
I think just broadly, when you’re coming from the US and all of your experiences are in the American education system, it’s hard– Even if you learn about another education system, which you generally don’t you know, it’s hard to fathom what it’s really like. So I think this experience, studying abroad, getting to actually see other classrooms and being explained how the, the school functions and, like, the different classes they offer, all of that is– it helps you broaden your s- perspective so much, and you would not get that in America having only gone through the American education system. So I think there’s a lot you can bring back with you to broaden your understandings of how the American education system works in difference to what is here.

Heather Shea: Welcome to Student Affairs NOW, the online learning community for student affairs educators. I’m your host, Heather Shea.

Student Affairs NOW is the award-winning podcast and learning community for thousands of us who work in, alongside, and adjacent to higher education and student affairs. We hope you find these conversations make a contribution to the field and are restorative to the profession. New episodes drop every Wednesday, and you can find us at studentaffairsnow.com, on YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

As I mentioned, I am your host, Heather Shea. My pronouns are she, her, and hers, and I am broadcasting from Paris, France, where I am a little bit more than halfway through co-leading an undergraduate education abroad program. And that is exactly the context for today’s conversation. Education abroad is often talked about as travel, adventure, cultural exposure, or even a once-in-a-lifetime college experience.

And while it can certainly be all of those things, it is also much more than that. Education abroad is a high-impact learning experience. It asks students to navigate new spaces, new places, new histories, new cultural contexts, new relationships, and often new understandings of themselves. In this current moment in US higher ed, that work feels especially important.

We are leading and supporting students amid ongoing concerns about mental health and wellbeing, questions about belonging and access, political polarization, affordability, global awareness, career readiness, all of the things. And so as I’m talking with students I’m really excited to hear a little bit about how this experience has shifted their understanding of themselves as well as their relationship to the US and to their responsibilities in an interconnected world.

So I’m joined today by a group of colleagues and students who bring various perspectives to this conversation as both my co-pro- co-program leader student affairs educators, a recent graduate of student affairs program, and current students engaged in the Learning Culture and Technology in Europe program.

Together, we’re gonna explore what education abroad can teach us about student learning, student development, and the broader landscape of higher ed. So let’s dive in, and we’re gonna start with the students first. And so let me shift my camera around. We’re recording this in this incredibly beautiful courtyard.

All right. Logan, you wanna get us started?

Logan Bates: Yeah. Hello, I’m Logan Bates, and I’ll be going into my senior year this fall. I am a major in math secondary education, and I recently just got my placement at Bookman High School. So yeah, I’m really excited for that.

Theresa Rosanio: Cool. Hi, my name is Theresa Rosania. I use she/her pronouns.

I’m going into my junior year, and I’m majoring in math secondary ed.

Katie Youmans: Hi, my name is Katie Yeomans. I use she/her pronouns. I’m going into my fourth year, my internship year at Powell River High School, studying English secondary education

Hayden Sandler: Hey everyone, I’m Hayden. I’m going into my junior year studying secondary ed history, and yeah, excited to be here

Heather Shea: And finally, Lauren.

Lauren Sargent: Hi, everyone. My name is Lauren Sargent. I’m a recent graduate of the MSU Student Affairs Administration master’s program, and am open to work, and I’m the program assistant for this year. Thanks so much, Lauren. Okay.

Heather Shea: I’ll bump Allison to introduce– or my co-leader to introduce herself, and then we’ll go to Allison for the first question.

Allison Freed: Okay. Hi, I’m Dr. Allison Freed. I use she/her pronouns and I’m currently the chair of the Teaching and Learning Department at the University of Central Arkansas, and I am a fixed-term faculty at Michigan State University, co-leading the study abroad program with Heather Shea.

Heather Shea: Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining us today.

So I know that you lead this program with me, but you also lead other programs, so I’d love for you to talk about that as well, just from a broad context. So as a faculty member, what do you see students learning abroad that is harder to teach in a traditional classroom setting, especially given the current pressures on the higher education climate in the US?

Allison Freed: Okay. So first and foremost, I think these programs teach perspective and perspective-taking, and the idea that we all have different perspectives, and for many different reasons. Because I think it’s really easy to live in a vacuum not only at our university campuses within our majors, but also even on social media.

And so it’s really important for us to get out of those comfortable situations, those comfortable environments, and expose ourselves to differing ideas and ways of life. And that leads us to intercultural communication development and partnership development, all which are really important, especially for pre-service teachers.

Heather Shea: Awesome. Maybe give a tiny bit of context about your other program as well, and then maybe talk a bit about how you see education abroad connecting to some of the social, historical, and political questions that students might be navigating back home as well.

Allison Freed: Yeah. So the other program that I lead is at the University of Central Arkansas.

It’s in Northern Ireland. I work mostly with graduate students, PhD level, and master’s level students, and a few undergrads, and we look at how peace building is going in Northern Ireland, and how education is truly one of their main ways of leading the society back to peace after the troubles. And so for your, for the second question it really is about the idea study abroad can help students be curious, more curious about the world, and we really support students in creating areas of inquiry projects.

And so these are projects and ideas- that students get to choose. They get to choose what they’re most interested in. And through our experiences, we just came from UNESCO in Paris, where the main focus was on peace building and collaboration and how we as a world can unite for those things.

We have school visits, and one thing that students are really thinking about right now is AI, artificial intelligence, and how that affects them as learners, but also how that will affect them in their future careers. And that is what’s happening also in Europe. Teachers and principals are thinking about those things as well, and it’s really important that we work together to manage that.

And through the whole thing that reflection on global competency learning and development, we ask students to reflect often about how they’re developing their global competence, and we have them set goals for themselves a-around global competence learning throughout the program.

Heather Shea: Awesome.

Lauren Sargent: Thanks so much, Allison. No problem. I’m gonna turn it to you. And then you can turn on your… You can go there.

Heather Shea: Hello? Hello. Okay. So Lauren, you’re a recent graduate of the student affairs master’s program, and I think student affairs’ lenses to education abroad are really important. You’re not only learning, thinking about what students are learning academically, but also a little bit about what they’re doing developmentally, how they’re cop-coping, connecting, making meaning.

Can you talk a little bit about the student needs and developmental moments that you’ve observed during this program, and what stood out to you about the… your role supporting students?

Lauren Sargent: Yeah. Honestly, I was really impressed when I came into this role. I come from a background in housing, and so there’s a lot more immediate and constant development that you see day to day in housing.

So I was expecting the same here of oh, I need to help all of these people figure out conflicts and know how to live together. And there is some of that, and I think that’s the most I see, but it’s definitely they– these students were very prepared. I was so impressed with you all. Because you came in and I didn’t have to teach you the basic skills of like cultural competencies.

You all had that. It was just now, I think my role has become navigating some of the deeper questions and helping you all facilitate conversations and going through conflict, and there is still some of that like interpersonal conflict or “Oh, our room smells.” Some of those kind of navigational things.

But I do see a lot of– I wrote down Kegan’s Evolution of Consciousness. I think really for me as a guiding principle and seeing you all, not– you’re not at the very beginning of that model, but definitely diving into those later stages. It’s been very rewarding to see you all come to that on your own and bring questions to me, oh and Heather and Allison, instead of us having to be like, “Oh, so what do you think about this?”

Oh, it’s blinking. I’m scared. What did I do? It’s supposed to be blinking. Oh, is it? Okay.

Heather Shea: I think you’re

Lauren Sargent: good. Okay. Yeah, keep going. I’m like a, I’m like a doggie. Just right there. Here smells. But you all come to those to ask with those questions on your own. And even it’s in big things and some small things like the little questions y’all ask while we’re on our little lab tours or just even like the large scale questions.

It’s been very rewarding to see you all develop that way.

Heather Shea: So my follow-up question for you is you have colleagues who maybe have never experienced this type of education abroad learning opportunity. Can you talk a little bit about what you would hope that your either former classmates or others would know about education abroad as a learning context?

Lauren Sargent: Yeah. I think it’s one thing, especially in class, we study like intercultural, like learning theories, and we talk a lot about like acceptance and diversity of thought and inclusion. And these are like the buzzwords that you hear in class. And we really do delve, like dive quite deep into these concepts, but it’s a whole different thing to actually practice it in a different environment.

And so that is where like in our program, we talk a lot about theory to practice. And this is ki- kind of those cultural things aren’t necessarily easy to practice in Michigan. It’s, you all the people sitting at the table with me know it. It’s very monotonous in certain ways. And so it really is quite applying those theories and those conversations to an actual practice that you might not get on your campus.

Heather Shea: Cool. Thank you so much. Okay, we’re gonna pass the mic over to Logan. So Logan, my question for you is really around your multiple experiences. I think you are the student who has and there’s, I think others have international travel experience, but multiple study abroad experiences. So Let me turn my microphone back on.

Okay. Can you talk a little bit about how studying abroad in more than one context and maybe talk a little bit about that other program, how that has shaped your understanding of yourself your role as a future educator, and the US broadly?

Logan Bates: Yeah. So last summer I was in Italy for over five weeks.

This program was called Italian Language Learning and Culture, so it was more focused on the study of the Italian language just ’cause I’m pursuing a minor in Italian. So that experience is very different from the structure of this experience right now with the study abroad. There are definitely pros of each one.

They’re different structures. But studying abroad in two different contexts and in terms of myself, it opens up more ways to communicate. ‘Cause Italy and the countries we visited, their cultures are different. Italy- In Italy, they’re more warm, but in Dutch in N- the Netherlands maybe they may be more closed off to more direct.

So it’s definitely teaching me about communication and definitely intercultural communication, like what you were saying- I think a great example of the intercultural communication was with the Belgian and the French students.

We had very deep conversations and about politics.

So that made me realize about my education. I’m like, I’m so lucky to have my education. I can talk so– I can talk and communicate about topics, on topics so deeply that with other people, we can mutually understand each other. And in terms of the US, I think the US has a lot of things to learn from Europe.

We’re a little behind, but I would say I want the US to progress ’cause we can learn a lot more, but yeah.

Heather Shea: Awesome. Thanks so much, Logan. Teresa, I’m gonna switch to you. Tell me a little bit about how studying abroad has changed what your expectations are from college or about yourself as a student.

Has it shifted that in any way?

Lauren Sargent: Yeah, definitely. I think the biggest thing for me is learning how to be uncomfortable in a bunch of new situations. A big difference from studying abroad and just college in the US is you’re immersed in an entirely different culture.

And I know I personally have been put in a lot of uncomfortable situations ’cause it’s all new. So just learning to adapt from that and not let it throw you off. Ask yourself, like, why is this making me uncomfortable? And growing from that. I think a lot of the learning that I’ve done on this program has been from- being in uncomfortable situations and then asking myself why. What about it made me uncomfortable? What can I take away from that? And I think just being more comfortable being in those uncomfortable situations is really helpful.

Heather Shea: Thank you so much. We’re gonna go next to Katie, and then I’ll go to Hayden.

All right. Let’s see here. I think all three of you. Okay. So Katie, can you talk a little bit about how this experience has or may in the future influence the type of teacher you want to become especially as you’re working with students from different backgrounds and worldviews from your own?

Katie Youmans: Yeah, it was interesting when I was thinking about this. I was thinking about a conversation I had with Allison yesterday, actually, when I saw an interaction that led to a lot of tension. And I think what I was saying is under- misunderstanding is the root of all conflict.

So whether that’s literally someone speaking a different language than you, that can lead to conflict, but also just somebody who sees the world differently, has a different cultural background, has different ideals than you.

And we will work with students that have different cultural backgrounds and different ideas than us. And I think trying to understand where they’re coming from, what their perspective is, what might influence their viewpoint is really important in connecting to those students. And especially with English as a subject, you can bring those connections into content so easily.

You can direct them to different literature and things like that for them to express their identity. So being able to connect with those students is going to help them be motivated and engage in your classroom and engage in English as a subject, so I think that’s what I’ve gained the most out of, understanding these cultural differences and misunderstandings that we’ve seen.

Heather Shea: Awesome. Thanks so much. Thanks so much, Katie. Okay, so Hayden you, as you already mentioned, are a history student. And I’d love to hear more about how being abroad has changed your perspective or how it changed how you think about history national identity, and I know your area of inquiry, you could talk a little bit about that as well.

How is history taught, remembered elsewhere compared to the US, and what is being learned about US history here?

Hayden Sandler: So far there’s so much more history here. Yeah. There’s so much more.

Heather Shea: Yes.

Hayden Sandler: Everything we’ve seen, it’s oh, this cathedral is eight hundred years old. We don’t have eight hundred years old or that often in America.

There, there’s that stuff, like the e-actual things we go to see that’s– everything’s so much different here with that, everything’s so much older. But the way, like– and from going to schools, like- there’s a, an appreciation I picked up on, especially from the Dutch students actually for the US.

They all like to think about we have a lot of political differences in the US, but they all like to look at, like, how we can compromise a little more. Yeah. And I really appre- I really did appreciate- … how much they went into that. And all their history classes there have a more global emphasis.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Hayden Sandler: And it’s kinda there was– Oh, I can’t remember the name of the class. It’s

Heather Shea: like- Global perspectives, was that the one that we talked- Yes. Yes … ’cause I think we took the school together,

Hayden Sandler: yeah. Yes. There’s- Yeah … they have a global perspectives class where they will go over issues in, of a bunch of various countries, but they’ll always– they won’t go at it from a specific point of view.

They’ll kinda take it for what it’s worth, and I thought that was really forward-thinking, yeah.

Heather Shea: Cool. Really cool. Super interesting hearing all of you reflect. I know we’re not quite all the way done yet with the program. And I’m sure there have been many moments that have stood out.

So now I’d like to kinda just open up to a broader conversation. When you think about those moments maybe a small moment, a big moment what’s happened during this program that has changed how you understand yourself, other people, the US, or the purpose of higher ed or has it? I think that’s the other thing is not making an assumption that things have drastically changed.

But what moments have stood out? Has there been something– You can start or you can pass the mic to somebody else.

Hayden Sandler: I have a thing to say. You’re-

Theresa Rosanio: I think just broadly, when you’re coming from the US and all of your experiences are in the American education system, it’s hard– Even if you learn about another education system, which you generally don’t it’s hard to fathom what it’s really like.

So I think this experience, studying abroad, getting to actually see other classrooms and being explained how the school functions and the different classes they offer, all of that is– it helps you broaden your s- perspective so much, and you would not get that in America having only gone through the American education system.

So I think there’s a lot you can bring back with you to broaden your understandings of how the American education system works in difference to what is here.

Lauren Sargent: Yeah. I have a specific moment if that’s- Perfect. Okay. So when we were talking to the Dutch and Belgian students, a thing that really stood out to me was, like, when I’m used to speaking with people and having more intense conversations everyone here, we’re all smiling and nodding at each other.

Yeah. I was like, oh, and I’m used to looking for that reaction when I’m having those discussions, but the Dutch and Belgian students didn’t give me that. So I was like, “Oh, they’re, they don’t like what I’m saying.” “They’re not happy with me right now.” And I know I get very sensitive to that, and I was, like, anxious, and I was like, “Oh gosh, they’re, like, not liking what I’m saying.”

That’s very possible. “That’s awful.” And then I had to take a step back and be like, “Why was I uncomfortable in that situation?” And when we met with them again, I was like, “Okay, it’s not, it’s a cultural thing,” or it’s them individually. If it’s something like that, it’s not a reflection on what they didn’t like what I was saying.

Maybe they did, but, wouldn’t

Allison Freed: tell you. Yeah.

Lauren Sargent: But I think that helped me calm myself a little bit more. And then that second time when we met with them, it was a lot easier to connect with them and not worry so much about what I’m saying and just be more relaxed and get to relate to them more, which was more

Theresa Rosanio: fun.

Lauren Sargent: Yeah. So that’s something I’m definitely gonna take away is just gonna take a step back. Like it doesn’t mean that they don’t like me.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: Yeah.

Heather Shea: And I think, Allison, I don’t know if you wanna comment on that a little bit. I was thinking about the intentional program design of including tutors with our colleagues in Belgium and the Netherlands so that we have those follow-up opportunities, right?

To not only connect individually and personally, but also to reflect on, okay, the first time we were together, this happened. Now the second time it’s different.

Allison Freed: Yeah. And I think Katie and Teresa both touched on this idea that it is more difficult in the US to express opinions and then to also say, “I don’t agree with you.”

Many times those conversations don’t happen. But in allowing our students to interact with the Dutch and Belgian students, that gives them the chance to have these conversations, to share their viewpoints, and then to also get viewpoints from other cultures and people. And I think that’s very important because a lot of times, especially in teacher education programs, the focus on competencies and standards and accreditation take the focus.

And sometimes there isn’t room or space in, in our curriculum to have conversations around big topics that are happening, even though those topics affect you as an educator, because education and educators, that’s a political act-

…

Allison Freed: To be an educator. But also your students are also having those are affected by what’s happening in the world as well.

And so I think it’s very important that we can have this open dialogue with people who have different ways of sharing their approval or disapproval as well as different perspectives from their own culture.

Heather Shea: That’s perfect. So I’ve been thinking a bit about how to structure this episode within the context of all of the other things that are happening in higher ed in the US.

And I think one of the other kind of key takeaways for me is that what is facing higher education in the US is not necessarily the same here, right? So on State Affairs Now, we talk a lot about the cost and affordability of higher education. We talk a lot about access and inclusion and how to bring opportunity, and thinking about who has access to higher ed in the US.

And that conversation feels really different, even around mental health, and today happens to be Sock Out Suicide. So shout out to my son, who has led that movement in higher education or in his high school. But I’m thinking a little bit about as we engage with the Dutch and Belgian students, did any of those topics come up?

Affordability, access, financial aid, like some of the big things that are impacting your college experience.

Logan Bates: Yeah. It definitely came up, and it came up in our conversation when the first topic question was about, What was the first topic? Accessibility. Accessibility. Yeah. So then we started discussing like the cost of college-

And like the different like tax systems, and I was telling them about how expensive college is in the US, and they were just like very dumbfounded- Yeah … and surprised. And then I was the same way when I heard how much they pay for college.

Heather Shea: Yeah, which is how much?

Theresa Rosanio: Like a

Logan Bates: thousand? Like per year.

Heather Shea: Like a hundred a year.

Logan Bates: But the, that conversation still led to some issues, like with students in Belgium and the Netherlands, they’re still having issues with accessibility- … because how the tax system works, they’re like in the middle, and they have access to some things, but they don’t have access to other things.

Theresa Rosanio: Yeah.

Logan Bates: They have high taxes. And then I thought back to my experience with Study Abroad’s, The accessibility, I would say is it also corresponds with how you market this study abroad program.

Heather Shea: The

Logan Bates: ar- area of inquiry. That’s what kind of sold me.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Logan Bates: The fact that I can have like my own thing while I’m still with the group, but it’s like a structured program.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Logan Bates: Yeah.

Heather Shea: Yeah. That’s really cool. That’s good to, that’s good to take into consideration.

Theresa Rosanio: There was also a funny moment where one of the students told the Belgium and Dutch students how much we were paying to be here.

Ah, yes.

Heather Shea: On our

Theresa Rosanio: program.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: And that, even that shocked them.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: They were like, “Just for little old us?” But I don’t think they understand how valuable the opportunities are. Sure. And like Logan said the valuable opportunities on this program alone definitely make it worth it. Yeah. But it’s so inconceivable to them.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: And even though they know that education in America costs a lot, when you tell them the real numbers they did not know that. That even that is surprising to them.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: It definitely puts it in perspective how our system works in America versus what they’re getting. They’re getting money from their government every month to pay rent that they use- … as income.

Heather Shea: Yeah, and it’s interesting. I think this conversation has come up every single year about the difference in the cost of higher ed compared to it is in the US, and I think it’s a larger philosophical conversation about what is education for, and who is responsible for supplementing educational costs, right?

So in the US part of this comes down to us believing that the individual is the beneficiary of higher education, right? So if the individual is the beneficiary, they should be the ones to bear the cost of that. Versus if we think society is the beneficiary of an educated populace, then society should be covering more of those costs.

So then and some of that comes at, higher tax rates. So you’re paying more in taxes because you believe everybody should have access or more equal access, even if there are some challenges to that remain. So yeah. Lauren, you have a thought?

Lauren Sargent: I had a thought. It’s like a lit- it’s related, but it also goes in a little bit of a different direction.

Heather Shea: Sure.

Lauren Sargent: I just noticed that like in the Netherlands especially, but everywhere we’ve been there’s this- I don’t wanna say an emphasis, but just throughout their daily life is very inclusive to the point where it’s not even a– they don’t have to actively think about it.

Allison Freed: Yeah.

Lauren Sargent: They just, it’s part of who they are as people.

And so I think that’s also part of– that kind of comes into play when you’re thinking about oh, this is for the betterment of our society- … versus the betterment of the individual.

Hayden Sandler: Yeah.

Lauren Sargent: And they’re, they don’t have really have to argue that everyone should have access to education.

That’s just like part of their culture. Where in America, it’s not necessarily gonna be the same especially in the climate that we’re in right now. Inclusion is one of those- Yeah … like heavy politicized topics where it’s not very– it’s not part of the politics. They don’t really see it as a political conversation, just a part of life.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Lauren Sargent: Where in America, we’re very like, the word inclusion comes up and people start taking arms and thinking about their arguments.

Heather Shea: At least right now that’s the case. Yeah. Other thoughts that you all would wanna add to this thread? I have one more question. Should I go for it?

Logan Bates: Sure.

Heather Shea: Okay. So we are all here, and as you mentioned, like study abroad costs money, right? Yeah. And not just studying abroad, but travel in general. And I think, as you’re talking about the value of these types of experiences, if you could make a case to another student who hasn’t done it yet, a parent who might be helping support a student studying abroad a faculty member, administrator, policy m- member, a policy maker, or a donor what would you say about why education abroad really matters right now?

What would you want them to understand about your experience here?

Hayden Sandler: It’s just a really good time to like while we’re all young, we all, h- none of us have really been around the world that much except for Lo- Logan. It’s just important, I think, to, see like how different the world is, but how similar we all really are.

I feel like this is like the ultimate way to actually see that in- … in physical form.

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Hayden Sandler: And yeah, it’s expensive. Then your first step, go to Michigan State.

Heather Shea: You

Hayden Sandler: can go on like anywhere from week-long trips. That’s what I did last year. Yeah. And that was, yeah, that was cool.

Heather Shea: Oh, you went on a study, another study abroad

Hayden Sandler: experience.

It was just a week one but yeah. Still counts. Still counts, yeah. Even that, like you get to see so much more than you would- … just from, say, now. Yeah. But-

Heather Shea: Yeah …

Hayden Sandler: yeah, like it’s such a way, it’s such, such a unique way to see differences- … like in the flesh.

Heather Shea: So that’s great.

Thank you.

Theresa Rosanio: Yeah, I considered applying for this program the year before, and I talked myself out of it because of the price, but also because I could just travel. I don’t have to do a study abroad program. It would be cheaper for me to just go to those places. Sure. But I talked myself into it because of the educational opportunities.

I think especially as an education major, getting to see the schools, getting to do research, and just all of the assignments we have. I was saying to Allison when we did, we went to a museum, and we had an assignment to do with it. It makes you think more deeply about things. All of that is so valuable, and who knows if I would’ve gone to all these places on my own without the program.

The program guiding you through it is very valuable. And when it comes to the cost, scholarships are so helpful, and like that has helped me go on this trip. So I think those are so invaluable and help with that access problem that we were just talking about with education because more people should have access to this trip and to this kind of education.

Caden said, MSU is a great place for it, so getting to have access to those opportunities is incredible, and I couldn’t recommend it enough over just traveling. You get so much more of that experience.

Lauren Sargent: Yeah, I think it’s a great way to find like a– to get a realistic view of other cultures and stuff. I think I was like tentative about doing it because I was like social media, I get to see a bunch of different cultures online and stuff, but it’s like that’s a very specific view that I get to see.

I have this algorithm that’s gonna push things that I’m gonna engage with more. So I’m gonna see stuff that I agree with or that I really don’t agree with because they want,

Me to engage with that more. But like actually talking to students here, it’s more realistic. It’s not like super one way.

I get to see a more, I keep saying realistic, but yeah.

Theresa Rosanio: Holistic.

Lauren Sargent: Yeah, more holistic.

Theresa Rosanio: Screening.

Lauren Sargent: Yeah, exactly. Like filtering. Yeah. And then rather than just visiting, I get to ask myself more questions about it, which is really great.

Logan Bates: Yeah, mine is more career-driven ’cause I have aspirations of teaching abroad.

So when I found this program, it was like, oh, you get to go in two different schools in Europe, all across Europe.

Theresa Rosanio: Yeah.

Logan Bates: And I’m like, I’m sold. Yeah. I’m obviously coming. Yes the cost was- … a little bit of it, a little bit of an issue. But like Katie was saying, the scholarships definitely helped, and I’m very grateful for those.

And also just coming from another study abroad, I was– I found this study abroad, I’m like my study abroad worked out so well before, so why not just try out something new, be more open-minded, but still set boundaries, obviously. And yeah, just overall structure of the program. You get to tour European schools.

Like, how cool is that?

Heather Shea: Yeah.

Logan Bates: And you get to brag about it.

Heather Shea: So cool. Allison, do you wanna also give us a thought on, how you would explain this and the value and why we need to support education abroad on all of our campuses and whatnot?

Allison Freed: Yeah. I’ve really started connecting these experiences of global competence development and study abroad experiences to workforce readiness skills.

Oh,

Heather Shea: yeah.

Allison Freed: It’s a buzzword right now. It’s important because the point of a college education is to get a job. And study abroad is helping you do that in a lot of ways, and it can be connected to global competence, but also that you have seen different instructional practices and classroom management structures.

You have discussed educational topics with international partners. And you’re gaining independence and leadership skills just by navigating the Paris Metro. Yeah. You

Lauren Sargent: know what I mean?

Allison Freed: It’s, and we try to do a good job. Heather and I have really worked to make this valuable to you in the sense that you create a website that you can share with a future employer and give you some talking points during an interview.

And I really think you’ll stand out because of your study abroad experience alone.

Heather Shea: Learn about you. You wanna talk about how to convey and talk about this?

Lauren Sargent: Yeah. So before this experience, I’d actually never really been abroad. I’d been to Canada, which is very close to Michigan, so it just felt like the same place.

And so I felt like this was a, this was a study abroad trip for me as well. Yeah. Especially having just graduated. Yeah. And so I I feel like even as a master’s student, even with someone with, who had, when we started, had two degrees- … I was still learning so much.

Yeah. And so it’s valuable at any point in your career, any point in your education to just get out of the bubble that is the US and the North American continent even. ‘Cause America is very culturally diverse, but it’s harder to see that when you all speak the same language. Even though y’all tease me for my y’all’s.

But it’s like coming to Europe has just been very, it’s very eye-opening for everyone, I think. And I… Like you said, it’s a high impact practice. And hopefully people listening to this podcast know what that means. I don’t know if the students do, but it it is something that truly does change your perspective, changes the…

You’ll see it’ll change the rest of your college experience. Allison said, it’s gonna be really great in finding jobs. And yes, the cost is large, and that even for me, that was something I was considering when applying to be a grad assistant.

Theresa Rosanio: Yeah.

Lauren Sargent: And just having to weigh those pros and cons, and that’s an individual decision for everyone.

But also the more scholarships that we’re able to fund allows more students to go on these trips- Yeah … and have these life-changing experiences.

Heather Shea: Yeah. Awesome. I am so grateful to all of you for joining this episode of Student Affairs NOW. Thank you for taking time out of our time in Paris. I know that being in Paris, there’s not a lot of it.

It’s amazing having the opportunity to just reflect. My hope from this episode is not just to bring this information and context to Student Affairs NOW, but to build more opportunities for us to talk about the valuable experience that education abroad offers to college students.

So I appreciate you all. Thank you so much for being here. As always, we give a big shout-out to our producer, Nat Ambrosey, who will undoubtedly edit this episode- … a little bit. And everything that Nat does behind the scenes is really a huge part of why we look and sound so good. And if you haven’t yet subscribed, if you’re listening to this episode today, and you’re a par- perhaps a parent of one of the students- or the teachers, and you would like to learn more about Student Affairs NOW, you can subscribe to our newsletter. Again, we release episodes every week on Wednesdays. You can find us at studentaffairsnow.com and browse our full archive there which includes several other topics related to education abroad and global learning.

We’ve recently also launched a Patreon site, so if you would like to continue the conversation, we have discussion guides, facilitation guides, a facilitated book club coming up later this summer, and some additional exclusive community content. As always, thanks to our listeners and viewers for being a part of the Senior Affairs Now family.

And I’m Heather Shea. Thanks for listening and watching, and let’s make it a great week