Study abroad changes student perspectives
The conclusion of the spring semester typically brings the promise of summer jobs, unpaid internships and time spent in hometowns.
Some students, however, seek alternatives to minimum wage and fetching coffee for internship advisers.
The University of Indianapolis International Division works with professors and trip sponsors to make numerous opportunities available to those students who wish to spend time in another country. While numerous opportunities are available to spend a semester studying abroad, some students, such as senior Anna Elzer, opt to spend time in another country during Spring Term.
Elzer, an elementary education major, spent two Spring Term sessions working with schools in Belize.
“It was the cheapest trip offered that was international, and it involved time spent with schools, which was a huge draw for me,” Elzer said. “So I went and absolutely fell in love with this beautiful country and the amazing people who live there.”
The first experience was enough for Elzer to base her Honors Project on her return trip to the country. This necessitated her staying an extra week abroad, after much of the group, including trip advisor Marilyn McElwain, had returned to the United States.
“Nobody hasn’t been changed by their time spent service-learning in Belize,” McElwain said. She has led the Spring Term trips to Belize for the past five years and helped the program grow into the wide focus it now has.
Members of the trip sometimes work with students at a local elementary school or do service work for one of only two retirement homes in the entire country. Oral histories were taken this spring from residents of the home, and art students painted murals on residents’ walls.
“Students find themselves in new situations that help augment the education they’ve been receiving at the University of Indianapolis,” McElwain said.
Elzer put her education to work in the schools by assisting in instruction and leading a breakout class in photography to 10 fourth grade students.
“It’s amazing to think about how this trip will help to direct my life,” Elzer said. “Once you go to Belize, it’s a part of you. It’s in your heart.”
Graduate students have the opportunity to travel abroad as well.
Stephen Tokar, director of graduate business, leads an international trip for MBA students for a week and a half during Spring Term. Past trips have included visits to businesses in China, India, Dubai and Argentina, to name a few. Last spring’s trip was to visit the Eli Lilly offices in Australia.
Members of the summer MBA trip to Australia had the opportunity to visit cultural sites such as the Sydney Opera House during their week and a half long visit. Photo contributed by Joey Myles.
“After surverying MBA students, we found that Australia was the number one choice for the next trip,” Tokar said.
While the trip emphasizes the importance of the business world, ample time also is available for visits to cultural sites. In Australia, students visited the Sydney Opera House, scuba dove or snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef and visited numerous other sites.
“The point of the trip is to open their minds,” Tokar said, “to realize that there’s a larger world out there. These experiences show that you’re a broad individual who’s aware of the world outside the US.”
Tokar said previous trips have opened up opportunities for students to secure jobs in international business.
Students interested in traveling abroad during Spring Term or at other times, should contact the International Division.
