Study Abroad Introduces Students to Culture

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Bagley Center, home to the Internship and National Student Exchange programs, also houses the Plymouth State University’s Study Abroad program, which has grown in opportunity, providing a diverse range of programs and destinations.The Study Abroad program, since its inception one and a half years ago, has been widely successful, with students studying everywhere from Japan and China to almost every European nation and select spots all over the Western Hemisphere. In it’s first year alone, under the leadership of Director Dr. Stephen Lambert, the Study Abroad program sent off thirty-eight students to educational institutions around the globe.Ruth DeCotis, Associate Director of the Bagley House since 1998, says the purpose of the study abroad program is first and foremost academic, with he transferability of credits the greatest priority. The cultural experience comes second. On the effect of studying abroad, students “look through a different lens when they come back, reevaluating the American way of life,” DeCotis said.She continued, saying, “A student usually has it in their mind early on that they want to study abroad.” She also noted that most of the time a curious student hasn’t the slightest idea of where they want to go, or what is waiting for them once they get there. In order to help a student decide on a destination, the Bagley House has a wide rang of literature designed to enlighten people to the educational and cultural opportunities waiting abroad.An entire wall of brochures and glossy advertisements displays a great number of Universities abroad. And for the more inquiring and economically savvy students, Bagley has the Petersen’s Guide, a thick catalogue where international Universities can be compared side by side.The Petersen’s Guide is similar to the popular domestic Guide to Four Year Colleges and Universities, as it provides many characteristics such as tuition rates, acclaimed departments and majors, and athletic or extra curricular programs.Bagley also has a world map indication where Plymouth State students are currently studying abroad, where students have recently studied, and where students have been abroad in the past.Some of the more unothrodox abroad programs include “The Semester at Sea” and “The Walk”.The Semester at Sea Program takes students on a semester long cruise around the world, holding classes on the cruise ship itself, and stopping periodically to expose participants to local cultures and people.The Walk takes students on journey hundreds of miles long through the countries including Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France and the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The trip takes about three and a half months, costs approximately four thousand dollars, and provides students twelve elective credits transferable to Plymouth State University.Seth Perdue, Plymouth State senior and recent participant in The Walk, talked of the ease of applying for the trip. A friend of his had already gone on the trip, and so all he had to do, with the help of the Bagley House, was fill out the paperwork for Franklin Pierce College and for Plymouth State ensuring that the credits would transfer.Perdue discussed why the trip was so worthwhile. “The culture shock of America versus Europe, seeing the five different countries from the perspective of the back country instead of the tourist hotspots, and meeting the people, was incredibly valuable.”