Spring 2001

Volume 3 Number 2
A publication of Macon State College

Taking Abroad View

Scholarships, Financial Aid Available To Help MSC Students Study Abroad

By Sheron Smith

As a teenager, Gracen Strong had a chance to live with family friends in Paris and go to school for a year.
But the adventure ended before it began. An illness forced her to stay home, and what might have been the opportunity of a lifetime slipped away.

"I've always regretted that I wasn't able to go," said Strong, now 20 and a sophomore majoring in Communications & Information Technology at Macon State College. "I wanted another chance to immerse myself in a different culture but I love college and didn't want to interrupt my studies. So when I found out I could study abroad and get academic credit for it, I couldn't pass it up."

Strong finally will get to make that trip to Paris as one of five Macon State students who are participating in European study abroad programs this summer. The others are Sarah Rodriguez, also Paris-bound; Renota Dennard and Richard Sager, who are headed for London; and Maria Khave-Messing, who will study in Thessaloniki, Greece.

As Macon State's study abroad coordinator, Dr. Gwen S. Sell hopes to convince more students to follow their example. Although Macon State students are taking advantage of international programs like never before - since 1996, about two dozen have studied abroad, more than at any other period in the school's history - the numbers remain small in relation to the total enrollment.

"Many of our students have family and job obligations that make it hard for them to seriously consider study abroad," said Sell, an associate professor of English who has twice taught at a London-based study abroad program. "But there are others who have the freedom and desire to go but they're nervous because they've never traveled abroad before, or even been on a plane in some cases, so they talk themselves out of it. I tell students that if they can overcome their fear and try it once, they'll wonder why they ever hesitated. Study abroad can literally change their lives."

Raising Awareness

Want To Go? If you are a current Macon State student or plan to enroll soon, it's not too early to explore study abroad opportunities for summer 2002. To learn more, visit Macon State's study abroad website at http://www.maconstate.edu/academics/studyabroad/. You may also e-mail questions to Dr. Gwen S. Sell at gsell@mail.maconstate.edu. For MSC Foundation scholarship information, e-mail Sue Chipman in the Office of Development & Alumni Affairs at schipman@mail.maconstate.edu, or call 471-2732.

Traditionally the province of residential college students from upper-income families, study abroad is now a more realistic option for those with working- and middle-class backgrounds. International study opportunities for University System of Georgia students have significantly grown under the leadership of the chancellor, Dr. Stephen R. Portch, who is convinced that such experiences are vital in a world where technology is removing economic and cultural boundaries. Based on his conviction, Portch in 1995 told the state's 34 public institutions to do more to encourage study abroad.

To support that directive, the Board of Regents set up a Council for International Education and created a scholarship program to help students pay for study abroad experiences. The Regents also established a goal to send at least 2 percent of University System students to study abroad programs each year.

Under the council's umbrella, each of the 34 University System institutions appointed an international education coordinator - Sell holds the position at Macon State - to administer study abroad programs and help organize campus activities designed to raise global awareness among students and faculty.

Macon State's response included organizing an annual International Festival, featuring food and entertainment of various cultures, and developing a series of lunchtime "travelogues" where faculty share their recent international experiences with students. Sell also stepped up recruiting efforts through her appearances at MSC orientation sessions for new students and, working with the Student Life office, setting up study abroad information booths at the college's club fair held each fall.

The college's study abroad effort also includes emphasizing the relevance of international experience to students in Macon State's professionally oriented bachelor's degree programs of business, communications and information technology. This year's International Festival featured an appearance by Dr. David A. Ricks, international business and management professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Ricks wrote a book chronicling embarrassing blunders U.S. firms have made when trying to do business overseas because they didn't take the time to learn cultural differences.

Expanding Choices

Interest in study abroad among Macon State students is always high - some 50 to 75 seriously investigate the possibility each year - but generally about three to six end up actually going. Besides the fear factor and lack of time, a big obstacle for many students is coming up with the money.

Richard C. Sutton, director of international programs for the Board of Regents, said those issues are typical among students at most of the University System's non-residential schools. But it's important, he added, that all University System students are exposed to study abroad opportunities.

"If we are to serve our students effectively and prepare them well for the inescapable challenges of a global society, each of our institutions needs to contribute to the study abroad effort," Sutton said. "It's important for faculty to create study abroad programs that are tailored to the particular needs, interests and constraints of their students. Macon State College has the potential to be a leader in this process."

Various University System schools, including Macon State, have attempted to address student concerns by expanding the choices for five-week summer experiences, which are less costly, intimidating and time-consuming than the traditional study abroad model of spending an entire semester or academic year in another country.

Among the MSC students who will study abroad in summer 2001 are (back row, left to right) Sarah Rodriguez, Maria Khave-Messing and Gracen Strong. Seated are (left to right) Mary Mears, who is scheduled to teach in London this summer, and Dr. Gwen Sell, MSC's study abroad coordinator.

Macon State is directly involved with five of these shorter term University System programs, which cost between $3,500 and $3,800 each, including lodging and most meals: London, housed at the University of Surrey-Roehampton; Paris, housed at the Foundation Internationale d' Accueil de Paris; St. Petersburg, Russia, hosted by St. Petersburg Technical University; Thessaloniki, Greece, hosted by the University of Aristotle; and Montepulciano, Italy, housed at a city facility.

University System students travel as a group to these programs and take one or two courses each, with plenty of time built in for field trips and sightseeing. The courses are taught by faculty from University System schools.

Even with the greater affordability of the short-term programs, study abroad admittedly is not cheap.

But financial aid is available through federal programs and the state's HOPE and the Regents' scholarship programs. In addition, the MSC Foundation sets aside some funds each year toward study abroad scholarships for Macon State students. Sue Chipman, the Foundation's executive director, said that many other scholarships awarded through the Foundation could also be used to help pay for study abroad, even if they are not officially designated as study abroad scholarships.

"For example, the Anna M. Nemac Memorial Scholarship is specifically for psychology majors," Chipman said, "but there is nothing in the rules that says a psychology major who wants to study abroad couldn't apply that scholarship toward study abroad."

Planning Ahead

The key is planning ahead. If money is a concern, Sell said, students should begin applying for financial aid and setting up a savings plan at least six to eight months in advance of a study abroad trip.

In the case of most of the Foundation's regular scholarships (which are competitive but not solely based on grade point averages), applications are accepted each spring, with the money awarded to the successful applicants the following fall. So students who hope to use those scholarship funds for study abroad in summer 2002 would need to apply in spring 2001.

Many Macon State students who have participated in international programs socked away savings from their jobs and money they received as holiday and birthday gifts.

Michael Beasley, a sophomore history major, volunteered for some overtime shifts at his Robins Air Force Base aircraft worker job when he decided he wanted to study abroad in St. Petersburg last summer. The MSC Foundation supplemented his savings with a $250 study abroad scholarship, and Beasley - the first Macon State student to study abroad in Russia - also applied the entire amount of his 1999 income tax refund toward his trip.

"For me it was like, save $200 here and $100 there until I came up with what I needed," said Beasley, 28, who studied macroeconomics and art history during his month in St. Petersburg. "It was well worth it. Any student who wants to go should do whatever it takes to raise money. If they really want to go they'll find a way."