Studying Abroad is Just a Click Away
Logan is a cold place to live during spring semester.
Luckily, programs like Café Abroad are here to help.
Thomas Arm, media coordinator for Café Abroad, said the stud abroad program got its start in spring of 2007 and is a place for students to connect with each other about semester study abroad options.
The program’s Web site and magazine feature stories, experiences and upcoming activities from students who are currently studying abroad. Arm said it can be invaluable to students trying to decide where they would like to study abroad.
“I’ve directed people to the Web site to read stories and see where they want to go,” Arm said. “It’s real students and real stories.”
Arm, junior majoring in psychology and math as well as premed at Hamilton College, said he began working as a team manager in charge of organizing promotional events for Café Abroad when he was studying abroad in Athens, Greece. Arm said through promotional events he was able to meet many different people he still keeps in contact with.
Arm said he encourages students to get involved with Study Abroad programs and to explore different options through Café Abroad.
“It’s just an amazing and valuable tool,” Arm said. “The more students that use it, the more useful it would be.”
Current issues of Café Abroad magazine can be found in the USU Study Abroad Office, located in the Taggart Student Center Room 313.
Kay Forsyth, Study Abroad director, said there are various magazines including Glimpse and Student Traveler that can also provide useful information to students about studying abroad.
“The format of (Café Abroad) is nice,” Forsyth said. “It’s a little glossier and glitzier, plus it has more stories by students.”
Forsyth said more than 200 USU students choose to travel abroad each year and the number continues to grow. The most popular places students want to go are England and Australia, but she said there are many programs that are offered for all types of majors.
With so many choices, picking a place to study abroad can be overwhelming, she said. However, Forsyth said there are plenty of resources for students.
“A lot of the time students come in with no background and that’s just fine,” Forsyth said. “We talk about what they are interested in. There are so many options, it’s really exciting.”
Forsyth said she also suggested talking to professors from USU that travel to companion schools to teach for a semester. They can provide a lot of valuable knowledge, she said. A list of all professors currently involved can be found at the Study Abroad Office.
In addition stopping by the office, students can check the Web site at www.usu.edu/studyabroad. Here, Forsyth said students will find travel information, including how to get low-cost airfare to minimize costs. There is also information on scholarships, which Forsyth said one or two students from USU receive each year.
Forsyth said there are many programs through Study Abroad that let cost-conscious students study around the world for the same price as USU tuition. In addition, she said there are summer service programs that allow students to the opportunity for free accommodations, and the only thing they have to pay for is airfare.
Valerie Colby, senior majoring in Spanish education, said she went to Quernavaca, Mexico, as part of USU’s Study Abroad. Colby said she got most of her information from professors and friends in order to decide where she wanted to study abroad.
Colby said her favorite part of the whole experience was being able to learn a little bit about the culture from taxi drivers.
“I speak Spanish, so I would talk to the taxi drivers and it helped me understand more about the culture,” she said.
She said she definitely recommends the Study Abroad program and said there is a program for everyone.
“Whatever you want to do, it’s possible,” Colby said. “Just look until you find it.”
While in Mexico, Colby said the university there had plenty of brochures and written literature, but that a Web site like Café Abroad would have been very valuable.
“If there had been articles focused on where I was at, it would have been great,” Colby said.
For students looking for more information on studying abroad, they can visit www.cafeabroad.com or stop by the Study Abroad Office for brochures on all the different programs.
Study Abroad will also be hosting an open house as part of International Education Week on Nov. 14 in the TSC Room 219. The event will run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and is open to all students interested in studying abroad or who have previously studied abroad.
Forsyth said it will be a great opportunity to get information.
-amanda.m@aggiemail.usu.edu