2008 Woodie Awards
Students learn about study abroad
Vy Anh Mai
Issue date: 9/11/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Pierson Auditorium opened its doors last Wednesday to students attending UMKC's Center for International Studies Program's third annual study abroad fair.
The fair began amid a room full of representatives and study abroad advisors ready to answer any questions. There were also hundreds of pamphlets covering countries such as Spain, Mexico, France, Sweden and Australia.
While UMKC has already had plenty of success getting students to travel overseas and study, the fair has been one of the most important factors in recruiting them.
Krystal Meyer, a UMKC senior who was there to answer questions, said that one of the main reasons she came back to help was because the fair had influenced her to study abroad in Leipzig, Germany for a semester.
"I'm one of the first people to go and study there, and this is the place where I found out about it last year," said Meyer.
For the past three years, the fair has been trying to increase awareness on campus about studying abroad, yet this year seems to have a greater turnout than the previous two.
"This year is getting a great turnout of students," said Lynda Payne, director of the Uppsala Sweden Honors Program. "I'm surprised by how many people are actually interested. I love it this year because there is more open space, more information, and overall it's just more energetic."
Stephanie Coleman, branch manger for STA Travel, was also pleasantly surprised by the number of students who attended. She explained how she was almost out of pamphlets in the first hour.
"The fair is a good place to go whether or not you have a specific place in mind," said Opal Leeman Bartzis, assistant director for Academic Affairs. "As long as they're open to the idea of studying abroad...it's beneficial to all kinds of students."
There were also representatives there to help students deal with problems associated with studying abroad, such as money or scheduling.
Debbie Gaggens, assistant director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, informed students that while traveling overseas is expensive, there are many funding possibilities such as loans, or scholarships for studying abroad.
Becky R. Bergman, Student Services coordinator for Academic Advising, was also there to help remind students that it's really not as difficult as it seems to fit study abroad into their schedules.
"For most majors, studying abroad fits very well into electives. It isn't as hard as it used to be fitting this into a four-year degree plan because there is such a broad variety and spectrum of opportunities nowadays," said Bergman.
From listening to others talk about how great their study abroad experiences were to reading up on different universities in over 30 countries, the study abroad fair was successful in informing students about the chance to embark on their own journey to study abroad.
vmai@unews.com
The fair began amid a room full of representatives and study abroad advisors ready to answer any questions. There were also hundreds of pamphlets covering countries such as Spain, Mexico, France, Sweden and Australia.
While UMKC has already had plenty of success getting students to travel overseas and study, the fair has been one of the most important factors in recruiting them.
Krystal Meyer, a UMKC senior who was there to answer questions, said that one of the main reasons she came back to help was because the fair had influenced her to study abroad in Leipzig, Germany for a semester.
"I'm one of the first people to go and study there, and this is the place where I found out about it last year," said Meyer.
For the past three years, the fair has been trying to increase awareness on campus about studying abroad, yet this year seems to have a greater turnout than the previous two.
"This year is getting a great turnout of students," said Lynda Payne, director of the Uppsala Sweden Honors Program. "I'm surprised by how many people are actually interested. I love it this year because there is more open space, more information, and overall it's just more energetic."
Stephanie Coleman, branch manger for STA Travel, was also pleasantly surprised by the number of students who attended. She explained how she was almost out of pamphlets in the first hour.
"The fair is a good place to go whether or not you have a specific place in mind," said Opal Leeman Bartzis, assistant director for Academic Affairs. "As long as they're open to the idea of studying abroad...it's beneficial to all kinds of students."
There were also representatives there to help students deal with problems associated with studying abroad, such as money or scheduling.
Debbie Gaggens, assistant director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, informed students that while traveling overseas is expensive, there are many funding possibilities such as loans, or scholarships for studying abroad.
Becky R. Bergman, Student Services coordinator for Academic Advising, was also there to help remind students that it's really not as difficult as it seems to fit study abroad into their schedules.
"For most majors, studying abroad fits very well into electives. It isn't as hard as it used to be fitting this into a four-year degree plan because there is such a broad variety and spectrum of opportunities nowadays," said Bergman.
From listening to others talk about how great their study abroad experiences were to reading up on different universities in over 30 countries, the study abroad fair was successful in informing students about the chance to embark on their own journey to study abroad.
vmai@unews.com
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