Study
Abroad Program exports students
by PAUL FALLON
for The Parthenon
Exports, including steel and coal, have poured out of Huntington
over the years.
However, the city is now exporting a good of a different kind --
people, via Marshall University and the Study Abroad Program.
Through this process a national network of schools share courses
at academic institutions in other countries. Marshall sends approximately
100 students to study abroad every year.
Western Europe is the choice of the majority of Marshall students
who utilize the program.
"Normally about three fourths of the students choose countries
such as Spain, France or Germany to study in," Dr. Clair Matz,
political science professor and Study Abroad adviser, said. "These
students normally go to these countries to satisfy language requirements
here at Marshall," Matz said.
But he added, "All kinds of courses transfer to Marshall.
Students study everything from political science to math."
Matz also said he believes studying abroad can help students get
work after school.
"Imagine if you have two equally qualified students applying
for the same job, but one has studied in France and one never made
it out of Huntington," he said. "I think that the person
who studied abroad would have to get the job."
ResumŽ building and studying are not the only reasons to study
abroad, some students said.
"I went to study in Spain, but I also went for the experience
of seeing other countries," Joe Abbatte, senior public relations
major from Long Island, N.Y., said. "It was really something
to see."
Holley Barker, a senior print journalism major from Milton, received
six hours of French credit for studying in Lyon, France.
"I loved it. It one of the best experiences of my life,"
Barker said. "We traveled to Paris for a weekend and we went
to Italy too.
"The food was really the highlight of the trip," she
said. "One time I ate $12 worth of ice cream at one sitting.
"Studying French was easier there than it is here. I guess
it was because you become immersed in the culture. I lived with
a host family while I was there. That helped a lot too," Barker
said.
Marshall has three study abroad programs -- exchange, summer study
and transfer credits.
Students normally must wait until their junior years to study abroad,
Matz said. They also must have at least a 3.0 grade point average.
"We want the student to have a certain amount of maturity
before we send them to another country," he said.
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