By Peggy McInerny, Director of Communications

UCLA students who received Kramer Scholarships to study abroad for the first time reflect on their experience.

UCLA International Institute, May 6, 2015 — When students travel abroad for the first time, they literally discover the world. Whether they participate in a summer travel study program or spend a semester or academic year at a university in another country, their perspectives broaden. They come to see the world, and their own country, through new eyes; many go on to pursue international careers.

The UCLA International Institute supports students across campus to directly experience the world via study scholarships offered by the Institute and its over 25 individual centers. In this global era, Vice Provost of International Studies Cindy Fan believes that studying abroad should be a part of every undergraduate’s education.

Student impressions

If anyone doubted the value of the experience, just listen to what a number of Kramer Scholars have to say about it. Beneficiaries of the Terry and Suzan Kramer Global Leaders Scholars Program* established at the International Institute in 2011, these UCLA students received scholarships to study abroad for the first time.

Most would have been unable to do so without financial support, for which they are all deeply grateful. All of them recommend the experience to their peers. As Mikala Caton (see below) puts it, “Studying abroad and leaving your comfort zone is crucial to a college education and becoming a globally conscious individual.”

A student of both biology and global studies, Mikala Caton spent a semester at the University of Ghana in fall 2014. “It was one of the most eye-opening and life-changing experiences,” she says, “a definite highlight in my time as an undergraduate student.” In addition to taking courses, she also volunteered at the West Africa AIDS Foundation. “I gained invaluable experience in global health work and am now pursuing a career as a global epidemiologist, a branch of public health that deals with the incidence, prevalence and prevention of disease outbreak,” she adds.

“As much as I learned from my internship, I gained so much more just from day-to-day living in Ghana,” remarks Mikala. “At UCLA, sometimes students get so caught up in their schedules or walking around campus with head phones that they don't stop to acknowledge one another. In Ghana this never happens. Walking by without greeting someone — even a stranger — is considered very rude. Everyone is an ‘Aunty,’ ‘Uncle,’ ‘Brother,’ or ‘Sister’. . . This sense of brotherhood/sisterhood, community and connectedness is something American culture could stand to learn,” she observes.

“In addition, living without running water and constant electricity was such a humbling experience!” says Mikala. “I became extremely conscious of the wastefulness and overconsumption in American culture after living on so much less for almost five months.”

Political science major Bridget Webb spent the fall of 2014 working full-time as an intern in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The timing was providential: her internship coincided with the Scotland’s historic vote on whether or not to secede from the British Commonwealth (the majority voted “no”).

”My experience interning at the Parliament provided me significant opportunities to learn about a foreign social and political culture,” says Bridget. “But for me, the greatest part of my study abroad experience was being immersed in a completely new culture.”

Her time in Scotland, she notes, “changed how I view the political and global landscape, and how I see myself within it. I have a clearer idea of what I want to do once I graduate, and returning to Europe is now a significant part of that plan.

“To date, this has been my best experience at UCLA and I hope to return to Scotland, perhaps for my master’s, once I graduate,” concludes Bridget.

 

Alex Tran, a business economics major, spent a semester studying business in Hong Kong in 2014. "Studying abroad took me out of my comfort zone,” notes Alex. “It allowed me to explore a world that’s much different than the one I've always known, and forced me to meet people who I wouldn't normally interact with.” 

As with most UCLA study abroad students, Alex benefitted from internship and volunteer opportunities in addition to his studies. “I had the opportunity to get plugged into a megachurch in Hong Kong, which allowed me to build relationships with all kinds of people. And I got to serve the homeless in Sham Shui Po countless times,” he recounts. “This was the best experience in my college career.”

Recent UCLA graduate Jas Kirt, a political science major with a minor in global studies, spent a semester of her senior year at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. “I’ve always been interested in international development and politics,” she reflects, “but the experience of actually going and living abroad for an extended period of time made me realize that I’m capable of achieving my goals there.”

In addition to attending courses and traveling whenever she could, Jas also volunteered for Caritas, a nonprofit organization that was providing aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey. “My semester abroad gave me a small glimpse into life as a foreigner abroad,” adds Kirt. “It has encouraged me to pursue an international career based outside of the United States.”

Faculty impressions

UCLA professors who lead summer travel-study or study abroad programs have a close-up view of how these programs impact their students.

Dominic Thomas, a professor of French and Francophone Studies at UCLA, directs the Paris Travel-Study Program of the International Institute’s Global Studies academic program, which he established in 2006. Participation in the program proves to be a powerful learning experience.

“Students,” he points out, “benefit enormously from living independently in an international cultural, economic, and political center— negotiating linguistic barriers, responding to various intercultural challenges, managing finances, combining study with travel, and interacting in a collaborative group setting for a four- to five-week period.”

Mike Lofchie, a UCLA political scientist who has co-directed the UCLA Political Science Department’s summer travel-study program for the last 13 years, concurs. “One of the students’ major learning experiences is, in a way, hidden from view till the very end of the class: They teach themselves how to navigate another society,” he says. “When you call their attention to that fact at the end of the course, there's a big ‘wow’ factor. It’s extraordinarily exciting and heartening to see that change take place under their very noses.”

“Secondary education in the United States,” observes Professor Thomas, “does a very poor job of ‘internationalizing’ students — geography is rarely taught, the history curriculum in limited, and language training and acquisition are far less important than in other areas of the world. Yet, international interest in the United States is considerable.”

“Students,” he remarks, “find themselves simultaneously having to juxtapose the ‘image’ they have of America with that held by citizens and communities abroad. . . while also re-assessing and questioning their own pre-conceptions about other countries, peoples and lifestyles.”

"When students travel, they become internationally oriented,” observes Professor Lofchie. “Many of them, including most who have never traveled before, want to go back. A number of students from the travel-study program have returned to Europe to do advanced degrees at European universities."

In the opinion of Professor Thomas, “UCLA has a responsibility to do all that it possibly can to foster equal access to educational opportunities. The university recognizes — indeed promotes — the benefits of travel/study, and therefore needs to be attentive to the kinds of financial barriers and personal obstacles students are faced with in determining whether it is an option for them.”

* To date, the program has supported 44 students to study in countries across the world, among them, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, France, England, Turkey, Ghana and Mexico.

Published: Wednesday, May 6, 2015