During the college search as a senior in high school, the first question that I asked each college I visited, is if they offer study abroad programs. Fortunately, Bonaventure does offer study abroad and has a great system of people set up to help you make the process as easy as possible. In my opinion, travel is one of the best ways to gain new experiences and learn about different cultures and the way people live. Sure, you can learn about it in classes and look at pictures of different places throughout the world, but actually being in such places gives you a whole new perspective. Besides just gaining some new memories and maybe meeting some new faces, studying abroad actually has many more benefits that you might not think about.
1. Education
While study abroad might seem like you just get to leave Olean during the 3 months of the year to go and explore a new country, you do have to do classes while you are there. Education in each country varies a lot. By studying abroad, you will be able to admire different styles of education that students across the world use as their learning. You may also be able to look at oyu major from a different view point that you would have never seen before studying abroad.
2. Taking in the New Culture
Students who choose to study abroad are often leaving home for the first time. While leaving what you are used to and going across the world for months at a time can be scary, when students arrive, they are fascinated with the new way of life that they are experiencing all around them. New foods, traditions, fashion, customs and the overall atmosphere that students experience often give them a deeper appreciation of the rich history and traditions of each country that created each of those unique cultures.
3. Find New Interests
We all know how different countries can vary from one another and who really knows what they are truly interested in until they experience all of it? Each place students go to offer new things that there are to learn about. Those different aspects may spark your interest that you are passionate about way more than what you see in your day to day life in the US.
4. Career Opportunities
Thousands of students are coming out of this University, what is going to make you stand out against the rest? Study Abroad. Not many students can say that they went out of their comfort zone and left the country for 3 months to gain a whole new perspective on the world. When you return from those 3 months you will have grasp on different languages, cultures, new information that relates to your major, and so much more. That will put you on the top of the list when future employers are looking through the exact same boring applications from hundreds of other people.
5. Personal Development
Many of us think we are already independent and know everything we need to know about getting through life. Although that many be true and you will be fine getting through your entire life without studying abroad, being put in a position where you are really taken out of your norm and away from you friends and family and everything you may have back at home and going to a different country, gives you a brand new feeling. The feeling of actual independence, relying on no one but yourself, kind of growing up in a sense and having all these great new experiences that you get on your own.
https://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/guide/ten-benefits-to-studying-abroad/
Article by Casey Wolfe