{"id":1221,"date":"2020-06-02T17:21:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T17:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/up.uscupstate.edu\/archive\/winter2023\/?page_id=1221"},"modified":"2023-02-22T20:39:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T20:39:01","slug":"usc-upstate-study-abroad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/up.uscupstate.edu\/archive\/winter2023\/usc-upstate-study-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Awaits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nUp Magazine<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Study abroad returns with more destinations and greater accessibility.<\/h2>\n
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Maria Monteso, center, once again led a six-week trip to Alicante, Spain, over the summer. Paused during the pandemic, study abroad programs have returned at USC Upstate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\nGreg Castillo, \u201922, and Miriam Elizalde, \u201922, barely had time to get used to being new USC Upstate graduates when they were on a plane headed to Alicante, Spain, for a month-long study abroad experience.<\/p>\n

The summer trip, led by senior Spanish instructor Maria Montes\u00f3 in coordination with the University of Alicante, marked the return of study abroad at USC Upstate. Temporarily on hold during the pandemic, international travel, including faculty-led trips like Montes\u00f3\u2019s, has resumed and now includes a new partnership with program provider ISEP. The arrangement will offer students more destinations at an affordable cost, says Patrick McCleary, blended classroom coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that we are able to engage with this many more institutions still using the exchange model, we never would have been able to accomplish this on our own,\u201d McCleary says.<\/p>\n

As an ISEP partner institution, USC Upstate can access 55 different countries and more than 280 programs, McCleary says. Instead of paying fees to a program provider, which can be expensive, students pay their regular USC Upstate tuition and room and board. This means that destinations that were previously cost-prohibitive \u2013 such as Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia \u2013 are now more accessible, McCleary notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m really hoping that our students are going to be able to start engaging with parts of the world that they maybe hadn\u2019t considered,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Castillo says the trip to Alicante was an opportunity to try a new experience. Inspired by Chancellor Bennie Harris\u2019 advice to \u201clive life with an empty cup,\u201d Castillo says, \u201cI knew that I was getting close to the end of my educational path and my cup was full with all this knowledge. I realized I had to empty some of it to learn more.\u201d\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Students who traveled to Spain with Monteso balanced their days between classes and cultural activities, such as enjoying churros and chocolate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\nFor Elizalde, the experience was a chance to improve her Spanish. Though a native speaker, \u201cI really wanted to expand my vocabulary even more,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve always dreamed of going to Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The summer program helped both students achieve their goals. All USC Upstate students lived with host families while attending classes at the University of Alicante. Castillo and Elizalde ended up being neighbors. Castillo boarded with the son and daughter-in-law of Elizalde\u2019s host mother, who Elizalde says they affectionately referred to as grandma, both because she was one and because she \u201cloved on us and gave us a lot of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience also brought the USC Upstate graduates closer together. Because of their proximity, Castillo, Elizalde and her roommate spent a lot of time together, taking trips to the beach, going shopping and catching the train together in the mornings to attend classes. \u201cStudy abroad definitely gives you new friendships,\u201d Elizalde says.<\/p>\n

Castillo admits he was a little wary at first about living with strangers. But he quickly grew to love the arrangement. \u201cI like coming home,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing in a dorm on campus, we probably wouldn\u2019t experience that \u2013 we\u2019d probably have been hanging out just with each other in the common room.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of a family, he says, he was able to experience Spanish culture firsthand, and he, Elizalde and her roommate were invited along when their host families visited friends in the mountains. \u201cEven going 35 minutes away and seeing a whole different scenery, we got to experience a different culture,\u201d Castillo says.<\/p>\n

Montes\u00f3 also led the USC Upstate group on field trips. A particular favorite for Castillo was the visit to the Valor Chocolate Museum in Villajoyosa, while Elizalde enjoyed trying out paddleboarding and kayaking at the ocean.<\/p>\n

These types of cultural and educational experiences, and the personal growth that accompanies them, are what make study abroad so enriching, McMillan says.\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Students in Monteso's summer travel program take part in a cooking class at the University of Alicante.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThere\u2019s that self-confidence that comes with removing yourself from everything you\u2019ve ever known, from a context you\u2019re quite comfortable in, and visiting somebody else\u2019s context and understanding how difficult that can be,\u201d he says. \u201cBut then after you\u2019ve gone through it, realizing, \u2018Oh wow, I am capable of this \u2013 so what\u2019s next?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

McMillan says while he used to emphasize how much students would love the experience if they tried it \u2013 he himself was an exchange student in Russia when he was 16 \u2013 he now focuses more on the career readiness benefits of international study.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if our students don\u2019t plan on working abroad, they need those global skills to be able to function in a global workforce locally,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Zane Gray, \u201918, former internship coordinator in USC Upstate\u2019s Office of Career Management, says those skills take many forms, foremost of which is the ability to speak another language. But beyond that, \u201cyou\u2019re learning to work with other cultures,\u201d he says. \u201cAs we look at the entire economy of the state of South Carolina, it\u2019s essentially international. So there\u2019s the ability to see how people do things differently and be curious and not judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray himself studied abroad while an Upstate student, through the university\u2019s dual degree program with Landshut University in Germany. He notes just negotiating a foreign country demonstrates two important skills: initiative and adaptability. \u201cYou\u2019re having to adjust to different languages, different techniques, find your way around a new city, figure out how to bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inevitably, students who go abroad come back transformed, McMillan observes. In fact, by the time they\u2019re ready to return, students often discover their host country feels like home now. That can be the impetus for many more adventures, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a lot of the students that we send, travel becomes a part of their life. They realize there\u2019s so many other wonderful places in the world to go see.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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