As we return to campus from J-Term, everyone seems to be talking about their study abroad. St. Thomas students studied in over 25 countries this J-Term, according to the Office of Study Abroad.
Destinations included exotic places like Brazil and Argentina as well as cultural and social hubs in Europe. Students have posted pictures from all these places seeing the sites, and a lot of people used these travel opportunities to go to places they’ve always wanted to and use their time for sightseeing and partying instead of studying.
When choosing short-term study abroads at St. Thomas, students don’t usually see their itinerary until after they are accepted into the program, to encourage students to choose their J-Term based on the course. However, many students seem to choose their course based on destination.
Students should choose their course based on the course value and not the destination. It is more fun for students to enjoy all the aspects of the course, and it is more valuable in the long run.
If students treat a J-Term abroad like a vacation, they are losing out on a valuable learning experience. The course they are taking is specifically tailored to the country or countries they are visiting, and it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the cultures and historical sites they are learning about. The professors are experts in their field, and their knowledge makes it more interesting to travel.
Students should also consider the money they are spending on the course and the travel. J-Terms cost thousands of dollars, and if students are not there to learn and enjoy the course they are taking, they are wasting that money.
Even if there are some extracurricular experiences built into the course, most of the money spent goes toward the trip’s tuition. If students just want a vacation, they could do it for less without having the restraints of group travel and a class to focus on.
The professors and students don’t gain as much if other students don’t care about the course. If everyone is involved in discussions and actively engaged, the whole class benefits. If not, the whole class suffers.
Classes that are offered within the student’s major abroad are also beneficial to their future employers. If they have experience with another language as well as traveling, they can transfer those skills into a business setting.
This is a unique skill, and the idea of learning should be taken seriously when applying for study abroad courses. It can set students apart from competitors in a job setting.
Students choosing their study abroads should do so carefully. The thought process should reflect students’ interests and what they want to learn, rather than where they want to travel.
Treating study abroad like vacation is disrespectful to the professors and students in the class and wastes everyone’s time. Students should be open minded to learning both content and culture, and want to immerse themselves in their time abroad for the education, not the vacation.
Abby Sliva can be reached at sliv7912@stthomas.edu.
My daughter, Laurie Parker (2000), took her study abroad opportunity sophomore year at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. I’m not sure if it was a J-term or the whole year, but I think it was the latter. I’ve had the impression that she chose Scotland because it wouldn’t present (too much of) a language challenge, but she also was attracted by the university’s reputation for chemistry, her major. She did her share of partying and also made connections with faculty that resulted in a fellowship offer when she graduated from UST. So she went on for a Ph.D in Glasgow and met her husband, a fellow chemistry grad student, along the way. She’s now an associate professor of biochemistry and runs a cancer-research lab at the University of Minnesota, and he works for Cargill and has become a U.S. citizen; they have two smart kids. I was happy to pay off her study-abroad loan with buyout money when I retired.