Business Insider ranks SU #19 for study abroad

It’s time to pack your bags, SU

Just this week, Syracuse University’s Abroad programs were ranked 19th in the nation by Business Insider. If you are an undergraduate student (or a graduate student) and you are considering studying abroad, I’m here to convince you to do it.

Study abroad can be a wonderful addition to a college education and can supplement an individual’s life in a variety of ways. Students can take in a new culture, potentially learn new language, find new interests, and even make life long friends. Despite all of these things and more, unfortunately only 10 percent of American undergraduate students spend time overseas with their university. At SU, however, 50 percent of our campus goes abroad at some point during their undergraduate career to spend time at one of SU’s eight global centers or one of SU’s 60 world partner campuses.

Just letting the world know how American I am in Cinque Terre, Italia

I have had the privilege of studying abroad twice in the year that I have been at SU. I went to Florence, Italy with the Discovery program, a first semester program for freshmen to be able to start their college career in Florence, Strasbourg, or Madrid. Each program accepts between twelve and eighteen students in the College of Arts and Sciences each fall, making it highly selective.

The view from Piazzale Michelangelo in Firenze, Italia

I had never been to Europe (let alone anywhere outside of North America and the Caribbean islands) prior to studying abroad. However, the support system and opportunities that I found overseas helped to shape me into the person I wanted to be. Some of the opportunities I had include the ability to travel on my own (to France, Poland, Austria, and Hungary), to attend field trips run by the university (to Venezia, Roma, Assisi, Napoli, and Ravenna), and to live with a host family in the heart of Florence. I took classes that were related to life in Italy such as Italian language and geology, which included a trip to Mount Vesuvius in Napoli.

Burano, Italia

Cinque Terre National Park, Italia

Venezia, Italia

One of the best features of many SU Abroad program is that you live with a local host family. While this can be a bit frightening to some students, I can attest that it is one of the highlights of your time abroad. My Italian host mother, Giovanna, has such a warm heart and helped to make my study abroad experience even better. She helped me study Italian and made the best food. I spent a lot of time with her family, allowing me to dive further into Italian culture. One day my roommate and I had just gotten back from a day of Christmas shopping for our families when we found Christmas gifts from our host family on our beds. They gave us an ornament that was made in Italy and a book in Italian called “101 Storie su Firenze Che Non Ti Hanno Mai Raccontato.” I have it with me at school. Thankfully Italians love their WhatsApp so I’m still in communication with Giovanna and her family!

Me, my roommate Adriana, and Giovanna

The positive experiences that I had in Florence through SU Abroad led me to apply to study abroad again prior to leaving Italy. I was accepted to study abroad in Strasbourg, France one day after I got back from Italy and exactly one year after I was accepted to study in Florence (it was also my mom’s 50th birthday, which made for a nice surprise two years in a row).

This past summer I studied abroad in Strasbourg, France with SU Abroad’s summer program. Each summer program runs about 6-8 weeks at most of SU’s global centers with options ranging from three to twelve credits (or more, if you’re ambitious). I opted to take a three credit course called “Religion, Law, and Human Rights in a Comparative Perspective.” The course, taught by a fantastic Maxwell professor Dr. Yuksel Sezgin, allows students to look closely at issues of religious law in Europe and the Middle East. We focused a lot on the issues in France with laïcité and the ban of headscarves for Muslim girls and women in schools and workplaces. At the culmination of the course, the class of eight students had the chance to visit the Council of Europe to sit in on a trial. The Council of Europe, located just down the road from the SU Strasbourg center, works to protect the human rights of citizens of countries who are a part of the Council, many of which are not a part of the European Union. Ironically enough, the trial was against Italy.

A view of the Cathedral of Strasbourg from the SU Center

Strasbourg, France

While I was in Strasbourg, I had the chance to travel quite a bit in six weeks, visiting Berlin, Zürich, Lyon, Gutach, Freiburg, and other small towns in France and Germany. My host mother, Anne-Marie, was very supportive of me wanting to travel while I was there for such a short time. Anne-Marie didn’t speak a word of English but this gave me a chance to practice my French, as i studied French for six years in middle school and high school. We ended up communicating in a combination of French, Spanish (her late husband was Spanish), Italian, and German. (Fun fact: I don’t speak German.) It was such a unique situation but it worked out in a way that allowed both of us to practice each other’s language.

Anne-Marie, my French host mother

My house on Boulevard de la Marne in Strasbourg, France

If you’re on the edge regarding studying abroad, I’m here to tell you to go! Whether you chose to study in Hong Kong, Florence, Madrid, Strasbourg, Santiago, or Australia, you will gain skills and experiences that you won’t be able to get at home in the States. You will never forget your time abroad with one of the top study abroad programs in the nation.

G(L)uten tag from Berlin, Germany

Living the high life in Berlin, Germany

 

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