Published on February 25, 2016 | by Selena Kovachis Photography by Selena Kovachis
0Students and professors anticipate Study Abroad 2016
Dr. Matthew LaGrone’s eyes light up and the passion shows through when he started talking about Study Abroad.
The program head for the electives department of the University of Guelph-Humber instructs Study Abroad courses that take students around Europe.
“It’s not just about the students exploring these perennial subjects that boil down to what it means to be human, and what it means to grow, it’s also about having fun,” he said of the trip.
Study Abroad gives students the chance to take a class in another country and gain a school credit while doing it. Typically, the program heads from each department in Guelph-Humber are the course instructors and lead trips to countries in Europe, Asia and Australia, administering a class while immersing themselves as well as students in the country they visit.
LaGrone called it, “a transformational experience where in 10 short days they come out of it a different person, with wider horizons and broader vistas about what life can be.”
The professor has been going on the Athens and Rome trip with students since 2013 and said that what he gets most from it is seeing the students grow and learn. “Students never lose interest on Study Abroad, it’s all new to them and they are learning applied knowledge. It’s learning that doesn’t feel like learning,” he said.
When LaGrone started leading the Study Abroad courses, there were 60 students in total. This number grew to 150 for this year’s upcoming trips that take place throughout May and June. There was so much interest this year, that they had more people applying than they had space for. Because of this, they added another trip to Spain.
Dr. Nikki Martyn, head of the early childhood education (ECE) program has also taught Study Abroad. “It’s something the program heads have been doing here,” she said, “We wanted a way to make the program head, who is seen as senior in position and serious, be seen in a more vulnerable, human way, so the students see us as someone they shouldn’t be afraid to come to.”
Martyn has been to Japan and Denmark, and is going to Prague this year. She agreed with LaGrone on how the students interact and learn there. “The Study Abroad is different because you go on a journey with people, you see them in their vulnerability, and you’re connecting in a different way.”
Fourth-year ECE student, Leah Krajnjan attended the Denmark trip with Martyn and described her first Study Abroad as, “the best experience of my life because I was so immersed in the culture, and by the end of the trip, I didn’t even feel like a tourist anymore.”
Third-year justice studies student, Lindsay Miller had similar views about her experience to Ireland. She is enrolled in the course again this year and will travel to Scotland and London. Miller said, “I’m going on another Study Abroad trip this year because I had such a great experience last year and felt that I learned more in those two weeks than I have in my years of university.”
She described the learning environment as even more hands on than Guelph-Humber and that physically seeing and experiencing what you’re learning makes it way different than a classroom and much more real.
As for advice to students considering this experience Krajnjan said, “if you are unsure about applying for a Study Abroad due to money, grades, or not knowing anyone else going, I would say forget those excuses and just do it because in the end it’s completely worth it, and you won’t regret it.”
Study Abroad information sessions typically start in October and applications are due by December for these spring and summer trips.
About the Author
Selena Kovachis is a third-year journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber. She hopes to one day make people read her opinion as an editorial writer for a magazine.
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