Whitney Duffie, Senior, International Programs Project Manager
This letter to the editor is in response to the spread “Students recall study abroad experiences” in our Sept. 18 issue of the Carrier.
While it was great to see study abroad highlighted in a recent edition of the Carrier, I was surprised the article focused so much on travel and did not include any official information from International Programs. Traveling is certainly a benefit of studying abroad, but there are fantastic programs out there that allow students to take classes they couldn’t find at Berry. For example, at the University of Glasgow, pre-med students work on human cadavers in the Functional Human Anatomy class. Last semester a student completed an internship working with llamas and alpacas in Peru, and as a result of Dr. Davin’s BIO 482 class on Roatan (Honduras), students can identify many of the common organisms associated with a coral reef anywhere in the Caribbean.
Important facts were left out of this article, such as how to apply to study abroad and whom to contact. There are in fact more than 40 countries where Berry students can study abroad, not just “several opportunities a year.”
The possibilities are endless when it comes to where, when and how Berry students can study abroad, and this article portrays a limited range of those options. During a given semester, students can study abroad through approved direct or provider programs, International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) or take classes independently and receive transient credit.
In addition to coursework, students may also participate in internships and service learning. During the summer, Berry faculty direct discipline-specific Summer International Programs, such as Spanish and English language teaching in Costa Rica with Dr. Slade, or the Jamaica Business Tour with Dr. Englis. During the summer, it is also possible to study as a transient student or to go through a Berry-approved program. If the Carrier staff had investigated longer or more thoroughly, they would have easily found current Berry students that studied abroad in the other continents of the world, not just Europe and Asia.
The International Programs Office is located in Krannert 331 and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The official website can be found on Berry’s main website. Updates are also posted on Facebook under the page “International Programs at Berry College.” They also have a Twitter and Instagram. Each fall an International Opportunities Fair is held to showcase various study, intern and service abroad programs.