2008 Woodie Awards
Find excitement, adventure with study abroad
Jeff Eck
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Campus News
Last summer, University of Washington students ventured off to Italy, Ghana, the Philippines and Columbia.
Studying abroad offers a more diverse, in-depth experience than what a student could have staying only on campus, according to one University of Washington Tacoma professor.
"There is only so much you can get from book learning," said Claudia Gorbman, director of UWT's Global Honors Program. "The experience of study abroad inevitably gives students new perspectives on the world and themselves."
Students in the Global Honors Program are required to participate in a study-abroad experience.
Each quarter, as many as 30 UWT students scatter across the world to embark on what are often called life-changing experiences. They leave behind their structured lives and the sanctity of their homes to earn college credits in foreign lands.
Not only does the study abroad experience shed new light on the world, but it unleashes a thirst for travel in its participants, and with their old nervousness melted away, traveling students are eager to visit other places.
"Now I would like to go to Russia," UWT senior Erin Eychaner of Olympia said after her experiences in the Philippines. "I'm fascinated with the little I do know about it."
Kim Davenport is the program administrator for International Programs at UWT. Her office coordinates and executes all UWT international travel courses and exchange programs. The office also provides guidance and assistance to students participating in those programs.
Gorbman said the thought of traveling and studying abroad can be both exciting and daunting, especially if one has never journeyed outside the United States before.
According to Davenport, it is a big mystery why more students do not study abroad, but she thinks many shy away from it because of a fear of the unknown.
"Some students are scared away from the whole process who don't need to be," Davenport said.
But, she understands that some students may not have the money or time to commit. However, those who are able to find the time and money may find that study abroad is not without risk.
Studying abroad offers a more diverse, in-depth experience than what a student could have staying only on campus, according to one University of Washington Tacoma professor.
"There is only so much you can get from book learning," said Claudia Gorbman, director of UWT's Global Honors Program. "The experience of study abroad inevitably gives students new perspectives on the world and themselves."
Students in the Global Honors Program are required to participate in a study-abroad experience.
Each quarter, as many as 30 UWT students scatter across the world to embark on what are often called life-changing experiences. They leave behind their structured lives and the sanctity of their homes to earn college credits in foreign lands.
Not only does the study abroad experience shed new light on the world, but it unleashes a thirst for travel in its participants, and with their old nervousness melted away, traveling students are eager to visit other places.
"Now I would like to go to Russia," UWT senior Erin Eychaner of Olympia said after her experiences in the Philippines. "I'm fascinated with the little I do know about it."
Kim Davenport is the program administrator for International Programs at UWT. Her office coordinates and executes all UWT international travel courses and exchange programs. The office also provides guidance and assistance to students participating in those programs.
Gorbman said the thought of traveling and studying abroad can be both exciting and daunting, especially if one has never journeyed outside the United States before.
According to Davenport, it is a big mystery why more students do not study abroad, but she thinks many shy away from it because of a fear of the unknown.
"Some students are scared away from the whole process who don't need to be," Davenport said.
But, she understands that some students may not have the money or time to commit. However, those who are able to find the time and money may find that study abroad is not without risk.
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