| Wednesday, April 25
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Long-distance party celebrates VU study abroad |
The video images from Germany were reminiscent of those from the first moon walk in quality. But the image from England was unmistakable: a frosted cake topped with a "4" candle and a "0" candle.
Valparaiso University on Monday celebrated the 40th anniversary of its study abroad centers in those countries and the 25th of its center in Mexico with a four-way teleconference. Participants at each site cut cakes and raised toasts to the university's international programs.
"Cheers! Prost! Salud!" Director of International Studies Hugh McGuigan said to about 70 attendees at the student union and to students and faculty at the three study centers.
Since the study centers opened, VU has sent almost 1,500 students to Cambridge, England, 1,400 to Reutlingen, Germany, and 260 to Puebla, Mexico, McGuigan said.
University President Alan Harre noted that international education has been a two-way street for the university. Students from more than 40 countries on campus have brought richness and diversity to the university, he said.
Valparaiso will be one of six institutions of higher education profiled in an article later this year by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Harre said.
From Germany, program director Eric Johnson said study abroad allows students to grow.
"They take back a global perspective that stays with them for the rest of their lives," he said.
Sally Ochoa, director in Mexico, said students come to a better understanding of both Mexico and themselves.
Waiting for the video link, Leslie Otis, a junior from Valparaiso, called her studies at the VU center in Cambridge last fall a great learning experience.
"I had the best time of my life over there," she said.
Otis gained a different perspective on her own country while abroad, even noticing "an arrogant side to us," she said.
After the toasts, senior Bryant Rosenwinkel said the importance of international study is getting out of your comfort zone and seeing what the rest of the world is like.
"It's really beautiful," said Rosenwinkel, who studied in England a year ago.Labels: study abroad |
posted by ^%&^
@ 10:31 PM
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