Study
Abroad Fair offers beginning step in
exploration
By Zainab Senhaji Rhazi
OnlineForty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Before hopping on a plane and spending time abroad “studying,” students
were able to learn more at Wednesday’s Study Abroad Fair about the different
kinds of programs available.
The informational tables, providing a chance for students to get information
about the programs offered, were set up near the Liberal Arts buildings. This
year’s fair drew programs from about 100 different countries.
“ Students who go to one of our Study Abroad programs come back more self-confident
and mature,” said Cecilia Figora, Study Abroad assistant director. Figora,
who is in charge of the programs at the Center for International Education, at
Cal State Long Beach said she was pleased to see so much participation from the
students.
“ Our students come back completely transformed,” she added. “Whether
they spend one semester, one summer or a year abroad, it makes them grow up,
although our favorite formula is a year long.”
Jeremiah Edwards, a junior international studies major, was interested in some
of the programs offered.
“ The cost of Study Abroad Programs is pretty much the same as in-state
tuition,” he said. “Moreover, leaving the United States for a semester
will take me outside of my little box.” He was looking at the Argentina
Program, in which he hopes to get credits for the classes he will take to get
a deeper knowledge of Latin American culture.
“ You only have one view of yourself here. Traveling helps redefine who
you are,” Edwards said.
From China to Spain to Australia, many countries were represented at the fair.
“ Unfortunately, most students prefer to feel the security of a familiar
language and opt for an English-speaking country,” Figora said. “It
would be great if students looked at options other than Western Europe and Australia.
We’d like to see them more enthusiastic about China, Africa and South America.”
Brochures were available to the students. Many helped themselves to the pamphlets
and learned more about the costs and requirements of each program.
Wesley Fox, a CSULB senior standing at the Taiwanese table, spent three semesters
in China and talked about the advantages of studying abroad.
His exposure to a different culture in Beijing and Shanghai allowed him to learn
Chinese, which is his major.
CSULB freshman Carl Morandel recently moved back from Austria. He also spent
his last year of high school in Brazil. Majoring in finance, Morandel hopes to
go to yet another country for a study abroad program next summer.
“ Because of the globalization taking place nowadays, it helps to know
people in other countries. These connections help you with what you need to do,” Morandel
said.
For more information regarding the Study Abroad Programs, stop
by the Center for International Education, BH-201.
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