20 reasons to love study abroad
The options are endless. Here are some of our favorites.
July 08, 2023
#1: Because... there are too many to name
Maybe it鈥檚 beauty, like turquoise waterfalls in Patagonia. Or maybe it鈥檚 adventure鈥攁 hike through Dominica鈥檚 aptly named Valley of Desolation. It could be the character building that comes from volunteering in a Brazilian favela. The human connection. The expanded worldview. The food. No, the number one reason to love study abroad is, perhaps, 鈥渢hat there are limitless reasons,鈥 says Ralph Begleiter, professor emeritus who鈥檚 facilitated trips through Cuba, Turkey, Antarctica and the Middle East. For some of our favorites, venture on...
#2: Because... you may thwart global terrorism
鈥淲e felt combustive, free of inhibition and perfectly alive.鈥 鈥擟aptain Sara Sajer, AS17, on dancing in a treehouse-like cabin around a 20-foot bonfire during India鈥檚 sacred Bihu festival to celebrate harvest season, rhinos harumphing beneath her. The Fulbright scholar credits the experience with leading her into geopolitics鈥攁n intelligence officer for the U.S. Army, she has deployed to Syria and Iraq, helping remove ISIS from its final land holding.
#3: Because... adventure awaits
鈥淚 climbed into a giant hamster ball.鈥 鈥擬ike Fox, AS05, on zorbing (aka, rolling down a hill in a giant orb) in New Zealand. He also bungee jumped, jet boated, skydived, hiked a rainforest and braved a small sightseeing plane over the Southern Alps.
#4: Because... monkeys make great teachers
Steve Goodwin鈥檚 students held out their arms, and spider monkeys swooped out of trees to swing across them. During this trip to the Amazon, one primate took a 20-minute nap in the lap of Goodwin鈥檚 wife (cute, until the monkey peed on her leg). Another cheeky simian stole a student鈥檚 notebook. (鈥淚nstead of 鈥楾he dog ate my homework鈥,鈥 Goodwin says, 鈥淪he could say: 鈥楾he monkey destroyed my journal.鈥) But these are only a handful of wildlife encounters the professor has facilitated. In the Rio Negro tributary, Blue Hens swam alongside piranhas (the fish only bite if you鈥檙e bleeding). In Ecuador, they watched blue-footed boobies divebomb at 100 kilometers/hour. In South Africa, they safaried within arm鈥檚 reach of an elephant. And, in Australia, they snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, seeing up close its 鈥渓ife-changing beauty鈥濃攁nd the devastation wrought by climate change. 鈥淭hese experiences increase commitment to the environment and, ultimately, one another,鈥 Goodwin says. 鈥淲ithout that, nothing will ever be successful.鈥
#5: Because... it reminds us who we are
Kevin Chang, EG14, recalls a two-story building filled with skeletons. The monument exists in one of Cambodia鈥檚 Killing Fields, mass graves where a radical dictatorship disposed of one million murdered bodies in the 1970s. The Blue Hen鈥檚 visit felt personal鈥攖his same regime once forced his dad into agricultural labor, until he fled. Now, Chang says, 鈥淚鈥檓 filled with gratitude for the life I鈥檝e experienced.鈥
#6: Because... comfort is overrated
Ryan McLoughlin, AS22, did not expect to bare it all in Morocco. But when the opportunity arose to leave Rome鈥攈is study abroad destination in the fall of 2018鈥攆or a 91原创-sanctioned weekend in Rabat, he jumped at the chance. A local guide took him and fellow male Blue Hens to a 10th-century bathhouse, where they were encouraged to take off as much clothing as they desired before dousing themselves with buckets of water in this medieval sauna. 鈥淵ou look around and realize everyone is pretty much naked,鈥 McLoughlin says. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the kind of culturally immersive moment where it鈥檚 like: I can either stand out by wearing underwear, or I can just be naked with everyone else.鈥 Learning how to step out of his comfort zone has served McLoughlin well鈥攊t鈥檚 how the aspiring lawyer says he landed his job at a New Jersey law firm: 鈥淚n my family, we have a motto: 鈥楧on鈥檛 let books get in the way of learning.鈥 Sometimes, the best lessons don鈥檛 come from a text.鈥
#7: Because... quality education depends on it
Scottish teachers don鈥檛 coddle. Instead, they speak to children like adults: (鈥淵er bums oot the windae鈥濃攁ka, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking nonsense鈥濃攊s a common refrain in the urban lowlands.). During her time observing an Edinburgh school, this is one of many things that took Jenna Lisa, EHD93, aback. 鈥淭he experience helped me see beyond my bubble,鈥 she says. 鈥淓ducation doesn鈥檛 have to be cookie cutter.鈥 Today, 91原创 offers a variety of international student-teaching opportunities鈥攆rom Greece to Grand Cayman.
#8: Because... you'll hear stories that inspire
"They weren't meek, and they weren't oppressed. They were out here defying their government." 鈥擜shley Steele, AS22, on meeting with Afghan refugees in Greece who changed her perception of women in the Middle East. Hearing their experiences fleeing the Taliban, she says, crystallized her commitment to social justice.
"You look around and realize everyone is pretty much naked."聽
#9: Because... history needs a witness
The students could see military tanks outside their window. Their faculty director, Audrey Helfman, felt fear. But鈥攊n the midst of Arab Spring鈥攕he also recognized an important learning opportunity. Isolated within an Egyptian hotel, she contextualized the anti-government protests and helped students process this impactful moment鈥攐ne of many times Blue Hens have watched history unfold in real time. Prior to World War II, they saw Nazis march in Berlin. And they鈥檝e borne witness to natural disasters (Australian wildfires in 2019); anti-war marches (like the kind that erupted in Madrid at the launch of Operation Desert Storm in 1991); even major sporting events (Olympic games, World Cup finals). Why does any of this matter? Study abroad veterans maintain that bearing witness connects us with the full range of the human condition: the desperation that spurs a political uprising, the sense of community that develops after an earthquake, the national pride that radiates from a soccer pitch after a goal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reminder that we鈥檙e not alone in the world,鈥 Helfman says. 鈥淣o matter where we are from, we are all striving for the same things. We are all human.鈥
#10: Because... there's value in getting lost
Steve Bondy, AS84, BE86M, is U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain, where he鈥檚 responsible for national security and the full range of foreign policy interests. How鈥檇 he acquire the self-assurance necessary to thrive in such a high-pressure role? Partially, a study abroad experience that had him lost and confused locating hostels and navigating public transportation throughout Europe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about resilience,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his kind of experience gives you confidence to make your way in the world.鈥
#11 Because... the rapids are revelatory
In Argentina, when she wasn鈥檛 studying physics or hiking the Andes for an ethereal view of the Milky Way, Leigh Zakutansky, AS06, white water rafted the acclaimed rapids of the Manso River. The experience winding through glacial lakes kicked off a love affair with the sport that鈥檚 taken her around the globe, including a 16-day trip through Grand Canyon rapids. Along the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, Zakutansky met her husband, and even a terrible rafting accident on their Costa Rica honeymoon (read: three leg surgeries) hasn鈥檛 dampened her passion. Today, she works as a rafting guide near her Poconos home. And, in the classroom where she teaches physics, her hobby inspires a new generation鈥攕tories from the river help illustrate tricky concepts like relative velocity. Of her high-octane pastime, Zakutansky says: 鈥淭hat one Argentinian experience changed everything.鈥
"I'm filled with gratitude for the life I've experienced."
#12: Because... it creates unlikely alliances
At the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Ben Olarsch, AS20, completed a group project alongside Palestinian and Israeli classmates鈥攁t a time when cross-border rocket launches regularly forced both these Palestinian and Israeli classmates into shelter. Still, they collaborated. The experience made Olarsch, now a case worker for a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey, a better public servant: 鈥淚鈥檝e seen the power of sympathy for another鈥檚 experience.鈥
#13: Because... you'll want to give back
Allen Gula, AS09, studied abroad 15 times. (His professor mom allowed him to start tagging along at age eight.) From recognizing his privilege in Ecuador to scuba diving in Galapagos, 鈥淚 wanted to pay it forward.鈥 In 2015, Gula was hiking through Nepal when an earthquake struck. He stayed behind to rebuild, and he founded the Conscious Impact nonprofit, which still recruits globally for the cause.
#14: Because... you may get star struck
鈥淵ou never know what鈥攐r who鈥攊s around the corner.鈥 鈥擯rof. Diane Rudolphi on meeting Sir Richard Branson with her nursing students in the British Virgin Islands in 2023.
#15: Because... travel expands your worldview
鈥淭his is the only place as a straight, white male that I have endured discrimination. It was just a taste, yet even this minor inconvenience made me angry. It forced me to consider: What about people who are constantly being told: 鈥榊ou cannot be who you are鈥.鈥 鈥揓ames Weaver, AS08, EHD12M, on being denied a cell phone in Japan because of his foreign status
#16: Because... you'll get the best sleep of your life
鈥淚t was poetic, and indelible in my mind.鈥 鈥擝ryan Townsend, BE03, a Delaware state Senator, on the sound of ice cascading into the sea around him, as he drifted to sleep under the stars on a glacier in Antarctica
#17: Because... plumbing is overrated
There are no toilets, just pits you dig yourself. Sometimes, it鈥檚 120 degrees. You might wake up to an elephant relieving himself beside your head. These are the conditions in Tanzania, where students of Jake Bowman, professor of wildlife ecology, regularly live in tents amongst Aboriginal groups, observing their hunting practices and helping collect tubers and honey. Through a translator, the group learns that topics ranging from female circumcision to animal conservation aren鈥檛 as black-and-white as they鈥檇 imagined. (It鈥檚 easy to plaster a save-the-elephants sticker on a Yeti bottle鈥 until a pachyderm levels your home.) A major takeaway happens when the students see just how little these communities possess鈥攁nd how little it matters. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very happy,鈥 Bowman says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need saving.鈥
#18: Because... The food is unbelievable
聽鈥淲e each ate a leg of the tarantula. Learning to try new things opens your mind to new possibilities, which enriches your life long after graduation. Plus, it wasn鈥檛 that bad鈥攌ind of like french fries.鈥 鈥擠eniz Hatiboglu, BE19, on the wild menu options of Vietnam
#19: Because... you'll discover shared humanity
When Lauryn Isaacs Marcus entered the room, a four-year-old orphan backflipped. While the Blue Hen hadn鈥檛 known what to expect from this South African clinic for kids of the AIDS crisis, gymnastics鈥攖he kind she鈥檇 enjoyed herself as a young girl鈥攖ook her aback. It served as an important reminder: 鈥淗umans are more alike than we are different.鈥 As a study abroad devotee, Isaacs Marcus relearned the lesson many times: building houses in Fiji, exploring art in China, studying French in Martinique. But it was volunteering at this Atteridgeville clinic that clarified her path. Today, the mom of two works in international development for RTI International, a nonprofit tackling everything from environmental protection to global health disparities. On her hardest days, she鈥檚 grounded by a photo of little Nhlanhla, her unlikeliest teacher: 鈥淪tudying abroad helped shape me.鈥
#20: Because... scenes like this
The beauty is worth the jetlag.
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