Knollie Edge
Reporter
The time a young adult spends in college is often called one of the most influential and important stretches of his/her life. New information and the excitement of beginning to stretch out their wings apart from their parents’ watchful presence creates within young adults a fast-and-furious independence that only grows with each passing year they spend at their institutions of choice.
College, though, is not just about self-discovery but the discovery of new ideas, cultures, people and places, as well. And while history classes can be insightful, many universities, such as Mississippi University for Women, take this opportunity one step further through the use of a study-abroad program on their campuses. These programs work to both bring international students to their campus and to send their own students to international campuses. Honors and other students can spend anywhere from one to six months at different universities and institutions all over the world, learning about those countries’ history, language and culture while receiving credits at their homeschools.
However, as amazing and glamorous as it all sounds, this is an opportunity that for many students, such as The W senior Sidney Stewart, can sound too good to be true, at first. When Erin Holloway, The W Professor and Study Abroad Coordinator, first told Stewart about the university’s summer study abroad program at La Universidad de Alicante in Alicante, Spain, back in 2019, she immediately brushed it off without a second thought, despite her deep and growing love for the Spanish language and culture.
“I just thought, “that would be awesome, but I don’t have time for that,” Stewart mused. “But then she mentioned it again, and that’s when I really looked into it. I realized it was in the middle of the summer when I had nothing going on, and it sounded great, so I said, “sign me up!”
Stewart spent the June of 2019 in Alicante, Spain, with fellow students from The W, as well as others from Wisconsin, New York, and even Romania. She and her classmates took around nine hours of Spanish per week with a professor at La Universidad de Alicante, and also took a class with Holloway doing different historical tours to learn about the history and culture of the Spanish people. After a single month in the country, Stewart felt her grasp and fluency on the language grow and her passion and love for the culture expand. Though she was not there for long, Stewart’s time in Spain left a dramatic impact on her life and has colored the way she speaks about her entire college experience now.
“It’s the most mind-opening experience,” Stewart shared, a big smile on her face as she spoke about memories of her time there. “There’s nothing about studying abroad that I regret. It’s still the first thing I talk about when people ask me what my favorite memory from college is.”
While Stewart’s experience in Spain was truly notable to her, and a great example for fellow students considering taking part in this program, Spain is not the only study abroad excursion available to students at The W. In some cases, like Stewart’s, students are taught by professors at both the institution they are attending while abroad as well as the college where they are enrolled in the United States. In others, though, there is the option to travel and study abroad with a professor from The W.
On these study abroad trips, students experience the newness of different cultures and study at an international university in the same way students like Stewart did. In this case, however, the students are accompanied by and learning under the familiar faces of professors such as Dr. Nora Corrigan. Corrigan has taught on two separate study abroad trips to Ireland, one in 2014 with non-Honors students, and again in 2017 with honors students. While taking students across the world can seem like a daunting task, the idea came up naturally between her and another colleague.
Experiencing both sides of the coin of study abroad trips, both with and Honors students and non-honors students, Corrigan says there is not much difference when it comes to the way the courses are taught and the culture is learned. Honors receive one extra credit when they enroll in these excursions, but that difference is purely academic.
“I truly believe that study abroad should be for everybody,” Corrigan said.
The W is not the only school in the area that allows students to travel abroad. Other nearby universities such as Mississippi State University and the University of Alabama have options for students to go abroad. For students who might not find any of The W’s direct options initially interesting or exciting, the teachers and directors of the program encourage them to reach out to the other institutions in the area and see what they have available.. If a student wants to go abroad with another university, The W is more than happy to work with other universities to see that the student gets to have the best experience studying abroad possible. The main focus of the program at large is to provide students with a truly enriching experience in which they learn culture, language, history and of course, academics, in the most effective way for them.
However, no schools will be sending honors or everyday students on any opportunities of this sort for what is now the second year in a row. Like many other things, the pandemic has put these overseas trips on hold for the time being, as many countries have either closed their borders or are enforcing a strict quarantine that would cut into the precious time the participants have to spend in these countries. Although the students and teachers alike are all very disappointed in this setback, it is not stopping them from looking toward the future.
Though the trips for 2020 were cancelled long ago, and the 2021 calendar still does not seem to be overly promising, 2022 is the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Corrigan said many of the Honors students will still be enrolled at The W in that year as seniors, still allowing them to travel and learn about another country, even if it is not when they originally planned. Corrigan also says they will welcome any new Honors students who want to stretch out their legs overseas.
While the program is currently at a standstill because of COVID-19 and the restrictions involving the pandemic, both Stewart and Corrigan both look back on their time studying and teaching abroad with joy and nostalgia. The program won’t be idle forever, and everyone involved is working hard to make sure these exciting opportunities are still available when the bans lift, and the borders are open once again.
“You should definitely do it,” Corrigan encouraged. “It’s a really amazing, life-changing experience.”