Through the unique medium of students’ letters to Things, Ideas and People (TIPS), the book “offers a simple method to help travelers- students and tourists alike- reflect on how moving from one culture to another sparks questions about identity, society and the meaning of travel itself.”
Professor Taranath’s unique approach to teaching abroad integrates on-campus classroom learning with international immersion. Students participate in quarter-long seminars on campus before and after the study abroad to allow time for in-depth preparation for and reflection on the experience. TIPS to Study Abroad is the culmination of the group’s experience and learning.
Community members are welcome at the book launch party at 7pm on Monday, May 12. The event will be held at University Temple.
During winter quarter, Comparative History of Ideas’ (CHID) Legacies of Empires study abroad program took students on a journey to Rome, Budapest and Istanbul to connect with Roma communities through experiential learning.
University of Washington is one of only 19 US universities to meet high standards set by the Center on Higher Education Reform in an examination of higher education access, affordability and student success.
Increased participation in study abroad by undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds echoes UW’s other achievements in enhancing access, affordability and student success. Study abroad participation by undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds steadily climbed over the past decade, from under 7 percent of the study abroad student population in 2001-2002 to almost 17 percent in 2012-2013.
This progress reflects the increased quality and relevance of study abroad programming, innovative partnerships with the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity and enhanced advising and support services focused on study abroad. For example, the Global Opportunities program has awarded 398 GO! scholarships for study abroad to Pell grant and Husky Promise students since 2008.
Today on the University of Washington campus, over 1200 students visited the annual Study Abroad Fair in Mary Gates Hall Commons. International universities such as Waseda University, Universidad de Guadalajara, and University of Bristol, as well as representatives from UW faculty-led programs, scholarship programs, and other organizations – over 60 in all – were on hand to provide information about the many opportunities available for study, research, and internships abroad. Study Abroad Peer Mentors and International Programs & Exchanges staff members were available during the fair to direct students to appropriate resources and provide new ideas. Student participants could also attend information sessions during the fair, including several on study abroad scholarships.
Study Abroad Peer Advisers Samantha Walters, Melissa Wong, and Jackie Lungmus
“The Study Abroad Fair creates a really exciting atmosphere for students,” says Mike Renes, a Study Abroad Adviser and Regional Lead, “they can come into the Office of International Programs & Exchanges any day for advising and learn about program options, but getting to talk with a Program Director or alumni of a program makes it real for them and gives them a good sense of the kind of experience they’ll have on the ground. That’s what the Study Abroad Fair is all about.”
The Office of International Programs & Exchanges plans to hold the Study Abroad Fair at the HUB next year to provide room for additional participants and information sessions. “We’re very excited to move the fair to a new home in the HUB,” says Renes, “the new space will give the fair room to grow. Even students who come in thinking study abroad may not be possible will have the chance to come and learn everything they need to know… from program options to how to fund it.”
This week, visiting international exchange students and UW students returning from international university exchanges met and socialized in the University District. UW hosts over 200 exchange students every year from countries all over the world. Meanwhile, over 170 UW students pursue direct exchanges at universities abroad.
For the international exchange students, who have been in Seattle for just a few days, the event was a chance to meet new friends and get acquainted with the campus and community they will call home for the next few months. Returning students came to connect with friends made at international universities and share their knowledge of UW with new friends.
The crowd at the social Photo: Sara StubbsPeachayaporn Pongsarojanavit, Ling Liu, and Luca Orlando Photo: Sara Stubbs
Over hamburgers, Luca Orlando of Bocconi University in Italy chatted with Ling Liu and Peachayaporn Pongsarojanavit, both from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. All three students are living on campus and excited to learn more about all that UW has to offer.
“The campus is really peaceful and friendly,” said Luca, “in Italy we don’t have anything like [UW], with the buildings all together and parks in between.” All three students came to campus without much knowledge of Seattle or the Puget Sound region, but they are all ready to begin their studies and take advantage of UW’s diverse academic offerings. They plan to pursue courses in finance, biological sciences, and Swedish language.
Kellie Nada, Yusuke Tanaka, Ethan Dill, and Gaku Murakami Photo: Sara Stubbs
Not far away, Japanese students Gaku Murakami of Kyoto University and Yusuke Tanaka of Kobe University were ‘friending’ Kellie Nada and Ethan Dill on Facebook. Ethan and Kellie are UW students just returning from an exchange to Waseda University in Japan, and had met Gaku and Yasuke through mutual friends. Because of this connection, Yusuke is living in a group house with Kellie. All four students agree that connecting visiting and returning students is a great way to make friends and extend relationships built abroad.
When L’Oreal Kennedy came to UW, she did not imagine that study abroad would be a part of her education. Today, she is completing an accelerated second bachelor’s program in nursing at Johns Hopkins University, having engaged in clinical internships in St. Croix and the United Arab Emirates. This autumn, she will begin doctoral studies at UW School of Nursing.
Working with children in Namibia Photo: L'Oreal Kennedy
“I knew that [study abroad] was out there, but I didn’t know it was an option for me,” L’Oreal explains. However, with the help of supportive professors and advisers at the UW School of Social Work, she discovered an exciting study abroad program in Namibia.
While in Namibia, “we saw how social work works in a different environment,” L’Oreal says, “we rode our bikes to an after-school tutoring center in a small township every day and worked as teaching assistants. It was a chance for hands-on application of the skills she was learning in her social work major, and it also convinced L’Oreal that she wanted to study abroad during her graduate studies. “I saw how important it is to get out there while you’re in a learning environment, to meet and develop relationships with local people.”
Taking in the view Photo: L'Oreal Kennedy
During her nursing program at Johns Hopkins, she engaged in two international clinical rotations. Working directly with medical providers, women, and families in St. Croix and the United Arab Emirates, L’Oreal had the chance to see nursing practice at work in very different cultural contexts.
Now entering the Doctor of Nursing program at UW, L’Oreal sees clear connections between study abroad and her future career. “I’m interested in focusing on under-served populations. [Study abroad] has helped me understand that there’s always another view, something else that I need to consider. I can’t just look at it from my perspective.”
Biochemistry major and aspiring pediatrician Melissa Wong embarked on a unique, self-directed study abroad in 2012. Through an independent study course with the UW Asian Languages department, she earned academic credit for completing an ohenro, or pilgrimage, to 88 temples scattered across the Japanese island of Shikoku. The journey, which Melissa made by bike, bus, car, train, and foot, took her across 750 miles of countryside. A Husky Promise student, Melissa studied abroad with the support of a GO! Scholarship. Funded by the Washington State Legislature, GO! Scholarships support study abroad opportunities for students with significant financial need.
At a temple, on her last day of pilgrimage Photo: Melissa Wong
Melissa bloged about her journey to the temples of Shikoku. She sums up her experiences in the following blog entry, made after visiting the final temple:
One of the most important gifts I received was courage and bravery. I am willing to take more risks and not be afraid of the unknown. The old Melissa would never bike to 88 temples, take initiative to meet new people, and travel out of her boundaries. This is something you can never learn from textbooks.
Now back on the UW campus, Melissa is giving back by serving as a Study Abroad Peer Mentor. The peer mentorship program, facilitated by International Programs & Exchanges, connects undergraduates just back from studying abroad with students considering a similar experience. “When I saw the opportunity to become a Peer Mentor, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back after receiving the GO! Scholarship,” she explains.
A pre-med biochemistry major, Melissa hopes that she can inspire fellow science majors to study abroad. She wants to show that it’s possible and very beneficial to work around sequential courses and busy schedules to study abroad. “I learned so much from the people I met in Japan,” Melissa explains, “…to go with the flow and do what I like, and see how it connects to my future goals later. Everything I’ve done since getting back has been influenced by my experiences in Japan.”
After returning from her study abroad, Melissa took Astronomy 101, just because the subject interests her. “Since then, I’ve been working with Professor Fraser on the Mobile Planetarium, where we teach 1st and 2nd graders about astronomy. I think volunteering as a teacher will help me become a better pediatrician.” Melissa’s journey with study abroad doesn’t stop with peer mentorship. She will travel to South Korea this fall with the Family & Child Nursing: Culture, Immigration & Health Exploration Seminar, and she hopes to engage in a direct exchange or internship abroad next year.
Dr. Anna Witte leads the dynamic Spanish Children’s Literature: Creative Reading, Writing and Storytelling study abroad program at the UW Leon Center in northwestern Spain. The Center is housed in the 16th century tower of El Palacio del Conde Luna, a gothic palace that was formerly the seat of the Kingdom of Leon and today hosts a museum and performance space. Its location in and strong connection to the Leon community makes the center an ideal place for Dr. Witte’s program, which engages UW undergraduates in local culture and life through homestays, school visits and teaching opportunities, as well as live performance. In the classroom, students explore the craft of storytelling through a survey of Spanish children’s literature course, pupeteering workshop, and several group projects.
Working with puppets Photo: Matthew London
“There’s nothing like learning about how children grow up, how they relate to adults and other kids, to learn about another culture,” says Dr. Witte. Her program provides many opportunities for cultural exploration through the lenses of child development, teaching, and storytelling. Much of her students’ time is spent engaging hands-on in local schools and in the Leon community. Students visit a local public and private school, first observing and then returning several weeks later to give lessons in English and Spanish. The lessons are great opportunities for the UW students to put their new teaching through storytelling skills in action. “Schools in Leon are basically bi-lingual,” explains Dr. Witte, and local educators are excited for American students to participate in their classrooms.
Performing for an audience – with wolf ears Photo: Matthew London
The program culminates with a public storytelling event at the Leon Center, organized and performed by the program students. The free event is publicized by the Leon Mayor’s office, and tickets sell out on the first day! This spring, UW students performed a “story salad”, mixing together several familiar stories, a song, and a puppet show for the audience of 30 youngsters. Because the event’s theme was “The Wolf”, one group even made wolf ears for every child in the audience!
Celebrating the performance Photo: Matthew London
“This was the best experience of my 30-year teaching career,” says Dr. Witte. “The program showed students that being in the classroom is a lot of work, but they ended up wanting more interaction with the children! I look forward to building even closer relationships with schools in Leon.” These partnerships will no doubt benefit children in Leon as well as UW study abroad students.
Dr. Witte watches the perfomance Photo: Matthew London
Learn more about funding for faculty and programs! Grant applications are due April 11.
A Provost’s Grant from the Office of Global Affairs will further enrich an exciting UW study abroad program to Zambia in summer 2013.
Developed and led by Dr. Leslie Ashbaugh, Director of UW Bothell’s Center for University Studies and Programs, the month-long interdisciplinary program began in 2010 and introduces students to the socio-economic, political and health challenges faced by Zambians 45 years after the end of British colonial rule. While in Zambia, undergraduates from all three UW campuses retrace the steps of Dr. Ashbaugh’s own previous research on urban-to-rural migration pathways and outcomes. Along the way, they gain exposure to the complex problems facing individuals and institutions in a country where the government and the international donor community struggle to meet citizens’ basic needs.
Traveling by foot Photo: Rabeka Anne Randall
Program activities include collaborating with University of Zambia students promoting healthy practices on their campus, observing at health clinics and children’s centers, conducting a health education workshop, and spending 10 days in Luangwa National Park, working in local clinics by day and viewing game by dusk. “We’re on the go from 7am to 7pm every day”, says Dr. Ashbaugh. The program’s packed schedule is designed to provide many opportunities for cultural exchange with Zambian students, professionals and local residents.
The Provost’s Grant has allowed Dr. Ashbaugh to add a completely new field experience to this summer’s program. With grant support, the group will embark on a five-hour journey, by bus and then on foot, to visit a rural village and volunteer-based goat farm where HIV positive individuals raise goats for milk and pasteurize goat milk for consumption by babies. Goat’s milk is a better substitute for breast milk than cow’s milk, so the enterprise provides community members with a livelihood, a safe and healthy infant feeding solution for HIV positive mothers, and a chance to overcome the stigma of HIV infection. Dr. Ashbaugh sees the visit to this village as a chance to witness best practices in development work, but also as an opportunity for students to experience and learn from the strength of Zambian communities and the generosity, kindness, and family-orientation of the local people.
Hearing local stories Photo: Misty Provenzano
With the support of the Office of Global Affairs, Dr. Ashbaugh’s study abroad program allows students to engage in meaningful international field work, learn first-hand about the challenges faced by members of another culture in an increasingly globalized world, and test career interests in global health and development. Just as importantly, she says, students gain humility and “recognition that [Americans] have much to learn from Zambians. I’ve done my job if students leave for Zambia thinking they have some answers, and then return home humbled and able to recognize the complexity of issues related to development.”
