It’s one thing to sit in PLC 180 and see a slideshow of poverty and hunger. It’s a completely different experience to see it in person, according to Megan Garland, a UO senior majoring in international relations and Chinese.
Garland had such positive experiences studying abroad that she is about to embark on her fifth adventure through the UO study abroad office.
“I have met people like Hunter Lovins, who was on Times 100 Most Influential People list, who works towards environmental sustainability, and Desmond Tutu, who is now a social rights activist that helped end apartheid. Having actual conversations with these people have given me so much fuel to work at my majors and learn as much as possible, so that after I graduate, I have a concrete vision to follow,” Garland said.
The University of Oregon offers more than 200 program options in more than 90 countries. Many programs offer coursework that is directly relevant to UO general education and major requirements. For Garland, the decision to study abroad was a no-brainer – it helped define her career path.
The general consensus of students who have participated in one of the UO programs is that it helped them get real life experience in the field they’re studying.
Christopher Fugelstad, a major in international studies and French, spent a year in Dakar, Senegal on CIEE’s Language and Culture Program.
“Studying abroad changes your outlook on almost anything that you’re used to here in the U.S.,” Fuglestad said.
Fuglestad acknowledged that there were some major differences between Senegal and the United States. In Senegal, the value is more on human interaction, which is something Fuglestad really enjoyed and embraced.
“I would be invited to lunch or dinner by complete strangers,” he said.
Fuglestad’s experience in Senegal ultimately led him to become a student worker in the study abroad office. He admired how student workers he worked with prior to his program helped him, and he wanted to have that same effect on other people.
Stephen Wooten, the Director of Study Abroad said, “When I talk to students about studying abroad I tell them that it will be one of the most memorable and significant experience of their lives. I say, ‘Ask anyone who has done it and they will tell you so.’”
In terms of expanding one’s worldview, there is no substitute for learning in another cultural context, Wooten said. Education abroad offers students a chance to see the world through different eyes and to challenge established perspectives. It allows students to “decenter themselves,” according to Wooten.
Students interested in studying abroad can go to drop in advising at 333 Oregon Hall Monday through Friday from 1-3 p.m. or make an appointment with an advisor ahead of time.