First Semester Abroad Experience

PSU sends many students abroad every semester, both nationally and internationally. Students always come back with many stories to tell and even share some of those stories at the global fairs held on campus. Current and incoming students may be hesitant to study abroad for one reason or another, but students who travel abroad their very first semester and share their experiences may influence more students to jump on the opportunity to travel.

Now, why would someone want to commit to a college and then not even go to it? Well, here is the first reason: Plymouth State University offers a study abroad experience for its first-year students. It is pretty crazy to think that anyone would commit to PSU and already be thinking about attending their first semester of college in a different country. However, this incredibly unique program had its tenth successful year partnering with the University of Limerick in Fall 2013.

In past years, a number of students have participated in this program, ranging from 7-25 students, including a Plymouth State professor who chaperones the students on their voyage. In Fall 2013, twelve students partook in the study abroad experience. The students in attendance ranged from music education majors, mountain climbers, the timid but hilarious, down-to-earth hippies, and party-goers. Although the students came from very different backgrounds along the east coast, they all arrived at the consensus that they became a family over the course of the semester.

The brave professor who guided these first-year students into a whole new world is David Talbot, who belongs to the business department at PSU. Talbot, along with Lisa Ladd, transported twelve students across the pond to Limerick, Ireland on Sep. 2. Ladd's visit to Ireland was short and mainly to help with the adjustment period. She returned home to PSU while Talbot accompanied his students on this life-changing journey.

Talbot's commitment to these students was to teach two courses from the PSU curriculum, as well as three other Irish courses that would be accredited to the PSU credit transfer system. Talbot taught Freshman Seminar and a personal financing class, which was extremely helpful for students when learning how to budget their money between grocery shopping, basic living expenses, and, of course, pints of Guinness and Smethwick's down at the local pub, The Stables.

Although the personal finance class generally targets an older crowd of students at PSU, Talbot said, "It is a class every student should take as a first-year so they can learn to budget their money wisely throughout college."

Along with the two Plymouth-based courses, students were required to take two suggested Irish courses, Music and Dance and Irish Folklore, which allowed students to completely immerse themselves in the Irish culture. They also took an Irish course of their choice.

Not only did Talbot serve as a professor and chaperone to his students, but he was a resouce for dealing with personal issues, adjusting, and was there for students whenever they needed to vent. "Although [they] are my students, I think of [them] as an extension of my family and [would] protect [them] to the same extent," said Talbot. Although Talbot will not be joining the first-year study abroad program next Fall, the Global Education office has arranged a replacement chaperone.

When first leaving for Limerick, Ireland, the first-year students left as teenagers who were inexperienced and had a dream of exploring the world. After returning, they had grown into adults by learning life skills such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting, and planning. "When I helped my mom clean at home, I always complained about the few simple tasks I had to do, I never thought I would have to clean up after four messy Irish lads," said Jeana DiBona, a first-year student. "My roommate and I were constantly cleaning up after our roommates. We mastered cleaning a disgracefully dirty house after a long weekend in under two hours, this includes washing the floors at least twice."

The students who traveled were not a typical group of students ready to embark on the college journey. They were hungry to see what the world and PSU had to offer and make the most of it. "I would say [studying abroad as a first-year] is a good thing because it seems risky or unorthodox. Under the current paradigm of American education, we're kind of expected to follow this identical post high school track. When you step out of that box it forces you to stretch and learn in real time rather than going somewhere familiar and waiting to be taught," said Graham Peterson, one student who studied abroad.

Not only was this an eye-opening experience for most, but the lessons learned will be very valuable in the long run. "With the increasing competition within the job market, it helps develop multi-cultural experience and skills. From an employer's perspective, it shows willingness to step out of your comfort zone and globally minded employees are in high demand," said Tom Harder, an exchange student from England. Harder makes a point to realize the competitive world of today. If a first-year has this drive so early, imagine the skills they will develop by graduation.

This program is a wild first experience in college that leads people to wonder why someone would leave the country after freshly turning 18 years old. Being so young and fresh out of high school, leads many parents to question their children leaving the country for their first time to go to college. "When [they] were first looking into the program, I remember [they] had some reservations about doing this as a first-year student. I thought that [they] would miss out on the bonding that new [students] go through in the first weeks of school, but reading posts and pictures throughout [their] journey, and now seeing how happy and confident [they] are as a second semester first-year, I think that I was wrong," said Gail Kruglak, a family friend of one of the students who traveled to Limerick. "It seemed like a fantastic experience to grow up and become independent and self-reliant. It seems like [they] made it to PSU as a confident woman who knows herself better and knows what she wants instead of getting there as an inexperienced wide-eyed girl who never left her home town. It seems to me that [she] rocked it and [she] is a better, smarter, and more confident person for it!"

Most parents' concerns are, "How are my kids going to make friends when they get back, isn't this usually the time everyone is comfortable in their friend groups?" The answer is simple: get involved. Plymouth State has a variety of clubs, sports, intramural teams, and societies that students are all encouraged to join. This university is a small community in which everyone knows everyone.

This program, which has been a part of Plymouth State University for ten years, is an amazing opportunity for those who are interested in cultural exploration and world travel. This program is not promoted nearly enough for how amazing this experience is.