Audio Report by Nickolas Boleware and Edgar Solis
TAMUK offers many opportunities to study throughout the world in the Study Abroad program.
Students were able to hear testimonials from other students who have engaged with this program at The Office of International Studies and Programs Study Abroad Fair, which lasted from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Nov. 20 in the Memorial Student Union Building.
Students learned about the benefits of studying abroad, the various types of programs available and what avenues there are to afford these opportunities.
Criminal Justice major Alberto Oliveira III was one of the students who was hesitant to sign up to study abroad because he did not think he could afford it, but now wonders why he was even worried in the first place.
Oliveira was able to get funding from friends, family and scholarship opportunities to support his trip to Berlin, Germany with the history department.
Oliveira reminisced on the gravity of being in Berlin, given his involvement with the Unity club.
“It was humbling to see the history of gay Jews in Germany, and it made me take pride in our community,” Oliveira said. “They paid a harsh price just to be who they were.”
Oliveira was not the only student at the fair sharing his experiences studying abroad.
General Education (EC-6) major Olivia Whiddon went to Taipei, Taiwan through the faculty-led program sponsored by Dr. Monica Ratcliff, associate professor in the Department of Teacher and Bilingual Education Department, to teach English to elementary students.
Whiddon loved the food, culture and teaching through the use of hands-on activities.
Ratcliff stated that she leads fundraisers to help education students pay for the trip to Taiwan, and that they really help students afford to study abroad.
The communications department is hosting their first study abroad program to Amsterdam to study how the city divides itself into quadrants and markets them.
This program is sponsored by Dr. Nick Sciullo, associate professor for the Arts, Communications and Theatre Department.
If you missed the Study Abroad Fair, information about the various study abroad programs can be found at: https://www.tamuk.edu/academicaffairssupport/studyabroad/index.html