Studying abroad is the greatest gift you can give yourself, said Danielle Glenn, a senior studying speech-language pathology at the University of Arkansas.

Faculty members describe studying abroad as an exciting adventure that allows students in the College of Education and Health Professions and other colleges to work together to achieve a combined goal. The College of Education and Health Professions has several study abroad programs now accepting applications.

Through these programs, students will be able to grow in their passion for their majors and learn and experience the differences of other cultures firsthand, faculty members said. Students bring back from these trips a new outlook and fresh perspective on the world around them.

Trips to Belize, Sweden, China and Ireland will take place following the spring 2016 semester.

"It's incredibly intimidating to go on a trip across the country essentially by yourself, but going in the first day with an open mind is the greatest gift you can give yourself," Glenn said. "Having no expectations and a positive attitude is the way to go."

The College of Education and Health Professions has two informational meetings scheduled next week for students interested in the study abroad trips. Students interested in going to Limerick, Ireland, should attend a meeting from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9 in Room 343 of the Graduate Education Building. Students interested in going to Xuzhou, China, should attend a meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 in Room 113 of the Graduate Education Building. Information is also available on the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange website.

A Student's Perspective

This past summer, Glenn traveled to Dangriga, Belize, for a community development project. The program lasts four weeks with three weeks abroad and one week in class preparing for the trip. The 56 U of A students who traveled to Belize last summer came from a variety of majors such as business, ecology, health professions, nutrition and engineering. As a whole, they were involved in several activities within the community.

For example, Glenn and her teammates painted an inspirational mural for one of the schools where they taught. They also had the chance to work with POWA, an empowerment program for women in Dangriga, and planned two evening workshops with the youth cadets in the area. Specifically, she was assigned to the social work team within the school system and her task was to plan and teach lessons on topics such as grief and loss, bullying, self-esteem and healthy relationships.

"My job in Dangriga was to plan and teach lessons that seem simple to us in America, but are incredibly needed in the schools there," Glenn said. "Bullying, self-esteem and healthy relationships were 'easy' topics for me because they weren't something I particularly struggled with but when grief and loss came up, I really struggled to answer some really tough questions the kids asked. This was the hardest area, but I honestly believe that, if I had not experienced it, I wouldn't have made the relationships with the kids that I did. By addressing such a hard topic, and being transparent about my own struggles with grief and loss, the kids were more open to speaking and sharing their feelings."

Glenn is grateful for the memories she made during her time in Belize. It not only helped her to become more knowledgeable as a student but it also helped her grow as a person and learn more about leadership and self-sacrifice.

"Without my time abroad, I would not know so many people in other programs, form relationships with teachers in several areas outside of my own field of study, and have the opportunity to go back to Belize to further my education," Glenn said. "Studying abroad, specifically in the Belize community development program, was one of the best things I decided to do in my college career."  

Ireland

Paul Calleja, clinical associate professor of kinesiology-teacher education, coordinates a study abroad trip to Ireland. The trip is in its second year and allows students to compare the similarities and differences between Irish and American education systems.

The trip is 17 days this year. Students will arrive in Dublin and then be bused to the University of Limerick. The entire trip takes place in the southern half of the country.

"Initially, our students will take some coursework at the University of Limerick," Calleja said. "Just some short lectures to introduce them to Irish culture. Then, their education faculty provides our students with a background in Irish education."

While in Limerick, students will spend time working with children at two primary schools. As part of the experience, baseline data gathered at Elmdale Elementary School in Springdale will be used to make comparisons to the Irish education system.

Students will also get to travel locally, exploring areas such as the Milk Market and King John's Castle.

"We have quite a bit of opportunity to do several things within minutes of the University of Limerick," Calleja said. "Limerick is a town like Fayetteville and about the same size. But, it's a town a lot older than Fayetteville, so it has quite a bit of history."

Savannah Franklin, a senior majoring in childhood education, went on the trip last year and said it was an incredible learning experience.

"It was such an amazing experience traveling with such a great group, I would recommend it to anyone in the College of Education and Health Professions," Franklin said.

Franklin said her biggest takeaways from the trip were the relationships and experiences gained from traveling to another country.

"During my time with my group, I was able to make so many new friends that I am still in contact with months later," she said.

The Cliffs of Moher is another stop the students get to make on the trip this spring.

"My favorite part of the trip besides visiting the schools was definitely our day trip to the Cliffs of Moher," Franklin said. "Nothing can describe how breathtaking that view is; you just have to see it to believe it. I love being near the ocean and that day was my most favorite."

Calleja said he hopes the students come back from the trip with a more confident, driven outlook to go places.

"Some of my students come to the University of Arkansas from smaller towns," Calleja said. "When they've completed their degree, they return to their hometown to live. Before returning home, I want them to spread their wings and see the world."

China

Carsten Schmidtke, assistant professor of human resource and workforce development, is leading the College of Education and Health Professions' first-ever study abroad trip to China to learn about a country that is going to be the major economic and political rival of the United States in the 21st century. Students will visit Jiangsu Normal University in Xuzhou to learn about the education system in China and have an opportunity to experience a culture quite different from our own.

"Students will learn so much about how life can be different for people elsewhere. Europe is just so similar. Anyone can travel to England, but China is a completely different story," Schmidtke stated.

 Jiangsu Normal University faculty members who speak English will teach U of A students so that they can get the Chinese perspective on current issues, not just the textbook perspective. Students will learn how Chinese people think about education, which is something they can't learn here, Schmidtke said.

"We will visit local schools, and they will have a chance to talk with students and with teachers at the local schools," he said. "They will get their perspective on what it's like to be a student or a teacher in China: the good parts, the bad parts, the easy parts, the hard parts, the fun parts."

Students will also attend Chinese language and culture classes. In addition, Schmidtke wants to pair the students up with an English-speaking Chinese student for a day so that they can experience the life of a Chinese college student.

A very attractive component of the trip, he said, is that assignments will be built around self-reflections. They will focus on how students experience unusual, different things and what that means to them.

The students will also get to explore the city of Xuzhou, see Beijing and the Great Wall of China, ride the bullet train, and eat authentic food using chopsticks. Forks are going to be hard to find, if at all, Schmidtke said. A second weekend trip will be to Qufu, the hometown of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

"You have to have a little bit of an adventurous spirit," Schmidtke said. "It is going to be an adventure. It's an enormous learning experience, and not just about China. People will learn a lot about themselves. I learned a lot about myself going there, and our students will do the same."

Sweden

Fran Hagstrom, assistant dean for health professions in the College of Education and Health Professions, and faculty from nursing and the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences take undergraduates from a variety of majors pursuing health-related career paths on the Health Teams Abroad - Sweden program. This program is designed as a way to bring students interested in health careers together so they could better understand other professions that they will work with as future health-care providers.  

"Because graduate and professional school is so competitive, the course has to provide 'added' value to those students who decide to travel with us," Hagstrom said. "Recognizing what they each have to do to get into professional school to start their careers becomes a bond and, after the trip, often a support group. We think while they are undergraduates, they are still open to understanding and sharing their experiences as they dream about their future professional goals. We bring them together so they will appreciate what they are all doing to be successful in health related careers."

 The faculty mix at the U of A as well as in Sweden is a vital part of the experience for students. Five faculty members who work with pre-medical, nursing, and allied health (occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language therapy) at the University of Arkansas and the partnering faculty at Jönköping University put all of this together to make it happen as a course. Four to five faculty members from the U of A travel with the group for varying durations of time. They participate in lectures and study visits both in Northwest Arkansas and then in Sweden that demonstrate at the faculty level how they each come from different backgrounds but work together for the common goal of preparing tomorrow's health-care professionals. When the students travel to Sweden, they see that faculty at Jönköping University's School of Health do the same things that we do here in the United States.

"This program allows students to understand what Swedish health care is like and how the body and mind reflect the values and priorities of a culture," Hagstrom said.

The Health Teams Abroad program in Sweden is celebrating its 10th year of being open to U of A students from varying majors. The priority deadline for this popular study abroad experience was Nov. 1. Hagstrom encouraged students to plan and apply early for next year's trip.

Belize

Debi Brown, clinical assistant professor of childhood education, is in charge of developing the education projects as part of the university-wide service learning program to Belize. This program works closely with Peacework, an organization focused on developing sustainable solutions for communities, to pinpoint needs in Dangriga, Belize. This program is open to students from various majors such as education, engineering, ecology, business, agriculture and clinical health. Together, the students will work with the education department of several schools in Dangriga.

"The students will be taking parent education back to the community," Brown said. "We hope to work with young school-age mothers to show them different literacy techniques that they can use with their infants and toddlers."

A typical day in this program will begin by meeting for breakfast, where students and faculty will discuss the schools they will be traveling to and the people they will be seeing. They talk about the needs of each facility and go over the plans for the day's strategies with literacy. After the team travels to the schools and implements programs, the students will come back together in the evening for dinner and discussions. Team members talk about what lessons they taught and what adjustments are needed for the following day's lesson, Brown said.

The students will provide supplemental help to elementary age students at the schools, she said. Also, they have the opportunity to provide the community with something it needs. In the past, the team has helped build a park, host a community-wide carnival with face-painting and games, and establish a recycling program. The program also allows the students to have fun with activities such as exploring a Mayan ruin, snorkeling in the barrier reef, and ziplining in the jungle.

"I think it is very important that all of us as educated people have the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures. I think that the way we become our best selves is to understand that basically all people have things in common," Brown said. "I hope that this program would give an opportunity for students who have not traveled outside the country to gain an appreciation of a broader community and to know that, even though education is not the same in Belize, the students are. I think we will also learn a great deal from the teachers there; students will just have to open themselves to new experiences and understand the culture of Belize and their way of doing things."