Students Urged to go abroad
Castleton State College officials believe their students’ education should not be limited to campus and urge them to take advantage of the study abroad program.
Students who have studied abroad say they couldn’t agree more.
“Being abroad you get to experience a completely different part of the world in a completely different culture,” said Drew Shea, who has traveled through the school to Costa Rica and Peru.
The abroad program is a way for students to realize that the world we live in is a lot bigger than just the United States, Castleton officials say.
“There are many different types of cultures out there that are very similar to ours, but also very different as well,” said Roy Vestrich, a CSC communication professor who leads the London semester.
“It’s a way for students to take a look at their own values when they travel,” Vestrich said.
That might be especially true, students say, for those those who are traveling for the first time. Junior Megan Harris, who traveled to India last semester for her first study abroad trip, came back a changed person.
“Going to India was like taking a fish out of water and letting it go and see how it does,” she said.
Harris said she was overwhelmed by “the humbleness of the people who don’t have anything and don’t want anything else.”
Yasmine Ziesler is the associate academic dean who oversees the study abroad program. She believes that everyone should study abroad at least once in their life.
“You learn much more about yourself,” she said, adding that she knows this from experiences studying in Poland and teaching English in South Korea.
Ziesler and others said it’s very easy to study abroad at Castleton. You can travel wherever you want. It’s as easy as emailing Ziesler and letting her know you are interested. She can be reached at yasmine.ziesler@castleton.edu.
And those interested in the London semester in the fall can visit with officials from Roehampton University when they visit campus on March 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Alumni Room of Huden Dining Hall.