With the new semester starting up, Park University students are coming back to many new opportunities on campus to explore.

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the Academic Underground, students will be able to broaden their horizons even further by visiting the spring semester study abroad fair that will showcase the upcoming fall semester trips as well as the alternative school break trips. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

With over 100 programs in over 30 countries, Park’s Global Education and Study Abroad department provides many options to students looking for a different style of education outside of the United States.

The fair will provide drinks and exotic snacks in the form of samosas, an Indian fried pastry filled with meat or vegetables.

The fair will provide information on not only three of the faculty-led trips occurring in the summer and fall but also information on the two alternative spring breaks for 2015 and the one being offered for next fall break.

A 10-day trip to England is being offered in May in conjunction with a Psychology and Culture in Europe course led by Christina Jenkins, an adjunct professor of psychology and sociology.

Fall semester will offer 10-day trips over fall break, including another trip to England, this time with an English focus led by Dr. Lolly Ockerstrom. The second faculty-led fall trip will be to Germany and Poland to study the impact of the Holocaust from an academic perspective with Brian Cowley.

The fair is a perfect place for students to discuss the benefits and details of what these trips have to offer that other supplementary education might not, according to Angela Peterson, director of the program.

“Every student says ‘That was the best experience of my education,’” said Peterson. “It makes students feel so much more enlightened and self-sufficient. It’s one of the most exciting and eye-opening things you can do.”

If you’re not looking for an education opportunity but rather a community service one, the availability of alternative breaks is another way to gain a new perspective.

Where the faculty-led trips and courses are put together by the professors who want to lead them, the alternative breaks are inexpensive programs found by the Study Abroad program which allows students to interact with communities outside of their own.

The alternative spring breaks being offered this semester are one-week trips to either Tennessee or Guatemala. Both are volunteer excursions that work with a charity to help people and families in the area where students would be staying.

Whatever location and opportunity sounds interesting, students and faculty alike encourage others to consider the once in a lifetime benefits of traveling while working on higher education.

“It’s hard to even to put into one sentence why study abroad is so important,” said Ayla Parham, a junior double majoring in biology and secondary education.

“There are so many aspects like going into a whole different culture. You have to figure everything out again.”
Parham is a seasoned traveler now having visited over 14 countries in her time at Park.

“It’s a whole new realm of figuring out systems for yourself,” she said.

“Seeing there’s so much more that lies outside of the United States and how other people see you and your country is so interesting. It’s a constant influx of learning and knowledge. I would suggest it to anybody.”

For more information, attend the Study Abroad Fair or call the Global Education and Study Abroad Office at 816-584-6510.