As the study abroad program at Seton Hill University (SHU) has grown in recent years, students have visited London, France, Mexico, Poland, Italy, and Greece on faculty-led tours during January and May-terms. Coming this May are new journeys to Italy and France, and, and a first for SHU, China.
Tyler Jones, a junior, went to Mexico in January and is looking forward to China this spring.
By Megan Ritter,
Senior staff writer
As the study abroad program at Seton Hill University (SHU) has grown in recent years, students have visited London, France, Mexico, Poland, Italy, and Greece on faculty-led tours during January and May-terms. Coming this May are new journeys to Italy and France, and, and a first for SHU, China.
Tyler Jones, a junior, went to Mexico in January and is looking forward to China this spring.
“It’s a lot easier to learn something when it’s hands-on,” said Jones, a history major. “You can read about something in a book, but when you see it right in front of your eyes is when you really understand it.”
Lindy Repp, a senior art history major who is missing her commencement ceremony on May 10 to visit Italy with Maureen Vissat, assistant professor of art, agrees that this is the aspect of study abroad she most looks forward to. “I’ve been seeing all these works of Italian Renaissance art and architecture in my textbooks for four years, and I’m finally going stand in front of them to see them with my own eyes.”
Studying abroad, even for a short time, is also a powerful means of personal growth. Cindy Boland, director of campus ministry, led a group of students to Mexico in January on a service trip in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, but Boland and her students learned a great deal even off their job site. “Being in another culture pushes you beyond your comfort zone and forces you to think from a different perspective.”
According to Dr. Judith Garcia-Quismondo, when SHU first began the J-term and M-term study-abroad programs four years ago, they focused on language immersion and were largely steered to benefit foreign language students.
SHU’s study abroad programs were designed to allow as many students as possible to participate. “Some students with heavy credit loads usually cannot study abroad for a semester. So January or May Term allows then to do so,” said Chossat.
Short-term programs are also less financially burdensome and simpler to arrange.
Under the leadership of Dr. John Spurlock, chair of the department of humanities, and Dr. Michèle Chossat, professor of modern languages, the study abroad program has seen tremendous growth in the past few years, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
“Other faculty members [besides the foreign languages faculty] got involved in these experiences and now our study abroad program covers different areas of interest and has expanded its frontiers,” said Garcia-Quismondo.
“Besides travel experiences to learn Spanish, French or Chinese, our students study art, political science, communication, philosophy, theater, etc. Our goal is to broaden their horizons and to make this experience as multidisciplinary as possible.”
SHU’s vibrant study-abroad program has tremendous benefits even for those students who never consider setting foot in a foreign country during their college years. “they benefit from living in an environment conducive to travel, where their peers will come back from these amazing experiences and tell them in detail what they have seen,” said Garcia-Quismondo. “They will trigger an interest and curiosity for learning and self-adjustment that they will need in their professional life.”
For those who are weighing the possibility of a study abroad experience, “Study abroad opens doors to graduate schools and job opportunities,” said Chossat. “Seton Hill offers regular trips,” with an ever-expanding wealth of possibilities.