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Investing in Experience
by Emily Hennager ’06
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| Emily Hennager (left) on a study abroad trip to Germany |
Maybe you’ve seen my car on campus. That shiny red sports car? No, that’s not what I drive. My 15-year-old clunker, a hand-me-down from my grandmother, boasts rust spots, ripped upholstery and paint sprinkled with scratches and dents. The air conditioner expired a few years back, and recently two of the power windows burnt out as well. Not that I’m complaining. I choose to drive it.
Two years ago I had a chunk of money that would have gone a long way toward a car upgrade, but instead of spending my summer inspecting used car lots, I experienced German culture first-hand on a study abroad trip through Northwestern. Even though I dread driving my car in 103-degree weather, investing in an international experience was the best financial decision I’ve ever made, and I urge all students to take advantage of Northwestern’s summer study abroad opportunities.
These trips are not merely tourist endeavors. Rather, they are intentional educational experiences where students immerse themselves in another culture, ask questions and expand their worldviews. Jill Fischer, who served as Northwestern's first summer study abroad coordinator, saw the program as an integral part of Northwestern’s mission. “Studying abroad has a dual purpose: learning about others and learning about yourself,” she said. “Until you are out of your comfort zone, you can’t know what you’re not aware of. This is part of the service that should come with higher education.”
After studying in Oman over Christmas break last year, Mandy Gordon agrees that the lessons she learned overseas couldn’t have come from a classroom. “Before we went, we read a lot about the Middle East. I thought I was open-minded, but you really have no idea how limited you are because you’ve never been in that specific context. I met Islamic people who were so generous and wanted to talk with us about our different beliefs. I never would have gotten that perspective from the media.”
She says the experience has changed the way she thinks about the world. “Now I’m more willing to struggle with ambiguities and slower to accept that the way things are are the way things should be.”
As Mandy described, studying abroad enhances our liberal arts education and provides context for our classes on campus. As a business major, I was curious about the way German businesses operate. Unlike American stores that are open nearly 24 hours a day and cater to consumers’ schedules, German businesses close promptly at 6:00 p.m. and are closed on Sundays to allow workers time with family. What does this American emphasis on consumers say about our priorities? How does the German emphasis on employees shape their culture? These are questions I continue to process in my business classes on campus.
Daniel Berntson, who also participated in the Germany trip, was attracted to the program because it matched up with classes he had already taken. “I had just finished two semesters of German, and this was a chance to practice the language and observe the culture we had been studying in class,” he says. “I was amazed at how much easier it was to learn German when you place it in context of the culture. Everything made more sense when you see how the language and culture are related.”
After studying theatre and art on the 2004 London trip, Elizabeth Zurn came back with a new passion and understanding of what it means to create. “In the Tate Modern Art Museum, I saw Dega’s dancer, and I understood for the first time what a statue can bring to life,” she says. “The trip taught me to value things I never would have before.”
These experiences impacted how she approaches classes for her theatre major. “I saw some of the most beautiful theatre performances I’ve ever experienced. It convinced me that I have to do theatre. I realized if theatre can be like this, there’s nothing else I can do.”
The study abroad programs are especially powerful because students experience a new culture as a group and have the benefit of a faculty adviser’s knowledge and previous experience. This built-in discussion group allows students to learn from one another’s observations and process the barrage of new ideas together. Faculty advisers intentionally plan time in the schedule to talk about what new ideas the group has encountered that day.
Dr. Scott Monsma, who has led three study abroad trips to Taiwan and Oman, says these relationships continue long after returning to Orange City. “Even six months after the trip, we’re still talking about issues that were brought up in Oman,” he says. “We’re wrestling with complex questions. These are conversations that don’t just happen in the classroom.”
Studying abroad is an investment. It offers an enormous payoff, but requires time and money—two things students always seem to be running out of. Yet the reality is that studying abroad is feasible. The cost of a study abroad trip can range from $2,500 to over $4,000, depending on numerous factors like airfare, number of participants, and exchange rates. Though the price tag may seem steep at first glance, it is actually a financial bargain.
“It’s an all-inclusive fee,” says Dr. Monsma. “Students don’t have to pay for anything extra if they don’t want to. Transportation, food, accommodations…it’s all part of the cost of the trip. You can come without any pocket money and you’re not going to starve.”
In addition, student discounts and group rates allow money to go much further on study abroad trips than it would for the independent traveler. For example, our accommodations in Germany would normally have cost about 35 euros (or $39) per person per night, according to our faculty adviser, Dr. Michael Kensak. However, we only had to pay about 22 euros (or $27) per person per night.
Though the issue of time is an important one, we must keep it in perspective. As students, our time is more flexible than it will be when we join the working world. Adults find it difficult to travel for an extended period due to family and work commitments. If we don’t take advantage of these opportunities now, it will be a challenge to do so later in life.
There is a difference between traveling as a tourist and traveling as a student. Tourists expect the host culture to accommodate their preferences, attitudes and ideas. They seek pleasure and entertainment, and mainly go home with a roll of snapshots.
The term “student” doesn’t refer to the age of the traveler, but rather the attitude of the traveler. For this reason, students return home with not only pictures and testimonies but new perspectives on the world and the knowledge of how to fully engage another culture. Students try to acclimate themselves to the surroundings. They seek to become like their hosts so they may begin to know how natives of that area think and feel, and most importantly why they feel that way.
This is the perspective I gained from studying abroad. It is a perspective that shapes the way I view myself and others. It penetrates into class discussions and career choices and has changed how I look at life. It is an investment that continues to yield high returns. The question really isn’t, “Can I afford to study abroad?” but rather, “How can I afford not to?”
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 Summer study abroad |
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