Why Study Abroad?

The word "globalization" is dropped so often at the end of a sentence, or even used as an adjective, and the speaker never attaches much meaning or substance to it. Words without meaning are useless. Does globalization mean having thousands of corporate branches representing and selling something in all the countries on earth? Does it mean unfettered access to an ocean of information, through both digital and traditional media, forcing each of us to confront the myriad of challenges facing every society on the planet? Or is there a more useful definition? Is globalization having the courage to make globally responsible decisions in the most informed manner possible? Or having the currency of a "global vocabulary" to distinguish culturally relevant information and distill it with interpersonal sensitivities and classroom study in order to be able to embark on a dialogue with any other human being on the planet?

One of the underlying goals of all higher education, whether you choose a large university in a city or a suburban liberal arts college, is to arrive at an understanding of your own driving humanity. Whether through communication, business, the sciences, or the arts, the baseline of all academic disciplines is the irreducible human component, which no one can completely understand if they remain cloistered within the borders of America. The world is huge, and it demands your urgent attention to make sense of it. Study abroad is an important conduit to this understanding, a way for you to make very real discoveries about the minutiae that drive every human process and to help you achieve worldwide perspective on your country, your culture, your language, and your life.
Let's take a closer look at some of the most compelling reasons to study abroad.

Personal Growth
Those of us who are professional study abroad geeks can usually look to our own experiences abroad as reason enough for everyone else to do it. We know we share something in common with our students who are fresh off the airplane from their semester spent doing an academic internship in Paris, or with dirt still fresh in their fingernails from their field work in Belize-we share their fearlessness. This is born out of the constant, edifying challenges you face when living abroad. In a semester you can expect to have all of your ideas and beliefs radically challenged and you will almost certainly leave with new clarity and direction in your future. You will achieve a cogent and definitive stance on who you are. You will emerge from the tests of studying abroad, with all the highs and lows of being a "foreigner" with a resilient confidence in your poise, ideas, and person.

New Perspectives on Global Affairs
Study abroad puts you in the unique position of reading, watching and listening to another country's internal perspectives on current global affairs. Not only does being immersed in local media inundate you with fresh tones and analysis, it also equips you for conversation with the local population you will meet. You can expect brand new perspectives arrived at from different backgrounds. It goes without saying that if you are studying in a non-English speaking country, that the different nuances of language and culture give local populations a perspective on news items that are hard to duplicate here in the states. These perspectives all combine to form an enriching environment from which you can draw an unlimited amount of new and exciting opinions, and hopefully, have yours challenged in the process.

Career Enhancement
Beyond the classroom and your interactions with the indigenous populace, your study abroad experience is going to genuinely prepare you for your eventual career, no matter what the field. In particular, if you choose to do an internship abroad, you will leave the experience with a stacked resume, truly putting you ahead of the pack. To be able to demonstrate to a prospective employer that you were able to work, function, and thrive in a foreign country is worth far more than the tuition you paid for the semester abroad. An internship abroad is a great way to explore what you really want to do with your career; you can take this opportunity to test the waters and see if you really want to work in advertising, or politics, or international development. Regardless, you are doing yourself an enormous favor by taking on the challenge of an international internship.

Selecting a Program
There are no shortage of programs to choose from. Start by making a list and determining your goals-do you want to:

• · Do a semester or a year abroad or a shorter program?
• · Work an internship, pursue language and liberal arts study, or both?
• · Determine your career goals while abroad?
• · Learn about another culture, its history, and its people?
• · Travel and meet new people?

While there is a plethora of reasons to study abroad be sure you are making your decision based on positive ones. When selecting a program, find out everything you can about it-is the housing guaranteed, be it a home stay, dorms, or apartments? Is the program academically driven? Will your credits transfer back into your home university? Will your financial aid package "travel with you," i.e. can you use your tuition money to finance a semester abroad? What have past participants said about the program?

Make sure you are working closely with both your academic and study abroad advisors. They are there to make sure your experience is a positive and enriching one and help you make the transition back to campus as smooth as possible. They are also there to help ease you through the credit transfer process.

All of us in the study abroad community sincerely hope that you consider studying abroad-the rewards are too many to count.

Editorial provided by Nathan Blouin, Marketing & Recruiting Assistant, Boston University, International Programs.