An article in last weeks A&T Register states that one can have the “full study abroad experience” at UNC Asheville (UNCA) as part of a domestic exchange program organized by the Multicultural Student Centers at A&T and UNCA.
I differ with this conclusion, not only as the Director of A&T’s Office of International Programs (OIP), which administers our study abroad programs and the Global Studies Certificate Program, but as an individual who has experienced both study abroad and study on a non-HBCU campus.
While I support this exchange effort, we must be clear that there are few comparisons that can be made between studying “away” and studying “abroad.”
Many U.S. universities allow their students to “study away.” I was able to leave Binghamton University to study at Fisk University. That was very different from my study abroad in Liberia and Nigeria.
They were both incredible opportunities for me as an undergraduate student, but I would never trade my experience abroad for anything and nothing changed my life more. My study abroad experience turned me into a world citizen and led me to devote my career to international human assistance, first working to improve the lives and conditions of people in Africa and Southeast Asia and later to international education (another form of international human assistance).
A person riding in a car for 3 hours within North Carolina will never know what it is like to fly on an airplane for 13 hours to Brazil, transit customs and immigration, and exchange their dollars for reais while experiencing the fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
The student who goes abroad will learn something about language – even if the language of the country is English – the accent, the use of words and colloquialisms will be different and the student will find him/herself challenged to communicate.
They will eat food they may not recognize, experience a different educational system and encounter cultures totally unfamiliar. There is no doubt that domestic exchange is a valuable experience.
However, I would not treat this experience as comparable to study abroad. Rather, I hope all students will attend our Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 and meet students who have studied abroad to see how it was sometimes less expensive than staying at A&T.
 My advice to those who want to study abroad is don’t let fear of an unknown price tag prevent you from the opportunity to study abroad.
Come to the Fair and get the facts, then let OIP help you choose an affordable method for studying abroad. It is possible.
- Minnie Battle Mayes