The University of Central Missouri offers many travel abroad opportunities. Many students and staff involved in the study abroad program believe these opportunities are important for learning a global perspective.
“Being the other in another place, getting a feeling of what that’s like, just really opens a lot of doors,” Study Abroad Coordinator Matt Chiesi said.
UCM Student Union on Sept. 11. The Study Abroad Fair is held every year and offers students a
chance to learn about different opportunities available to them to go study in a different country. (Photo by Ethan Thompson)
Along with staff members, many students encourage others to embrace the travel opportunities at UCM. Sydney Roberts, a senior who had the opportunity to study in Roehampton University, London, explained how her time there differed from life in Missouri.
“It was very urban, there were lots of different restaurants, I was a thirty-minute walk from the city-city, so it was really cool to be able to see so much culture,” Roberts said.
“Go study abroad!” Junior Michael Harlow, another student at UCM who had the opportunity to travel abroad to Spain, said.
Because world travel can be unaffordable, many study abroad opportunities are funded by the school, organizations, or scholarships, so the financial burden on students can be significantly decreased.
“I think one thing that UCM does to make these opportunities possible is that there’s financial support, there’s international study grants, there’s scholarships available, including especially the Global Visions scholarship, which would actually pay for the whole program,” Cheisi said.
According to Chiesi, many study abroad opportunities are available through instructors, flyers, e-mails, and the study abroad website. Students can submit applications and receive more information at open advising sessions in the Center for Global Education, which occur every Tuesday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. From there, trips are organized by faculty, organizations, and volunteers.
