Study Abroad
It's Affordable. It's Marketable.
It's Rewarding.
Talk to any of the UNO students
turned global citizens and you'll know they have something that sets them
apart. They know it, too . . . Study Abroad.
UNO students interested in a
rewarding, life-changing experience can choose to participate in a UNO study
abroad program, join a third party organization which specializes in
facilitating study abroad, or direct-enroll at an international university.
UNO students who study abroad are
part of a national campaign to beef up sluggish numbers in the percentage of
college students who participate in a study abroad exchange as part of their
academic career. The U.S. Senate declared 2006 to be the "Year of Study
Abroad."
By encouraging traditional
education beyond the classroom, UNO's Office of International Studies and
Programs recognizes the value of a study abroad experience. UNO's wealth of
contacts and programs abroad makes studying abroad accessible to all students.
Study abroad goes both ways. The
1,163 international students from 103 countries who enrolled at UNO in the
2004-5 academic year also are set apart because of their study abroad
experience.
As students, teachers of their
cultures, and ambassadors of their countries, they know they are not only
enhancing their language and academic skills, but also developing cultural
knowledge which will change their lives forever.
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Morocco
Matt Holst, Omaha
Major: International
Studies
When Matt Holst decided to join four other UNO students on
the second consecutive summer study abroad in Ifrane, Morocco, the question he
most often was asked was, "Why would you want to go there?"
Matt sees the region as being
strategic and influential in today's globalized world. Matt did not just want
to study Arabic. Rather, it was Matt's attempt to understand the "Arab World"
and bring back that acquired understanding to his peers and community. Whether
Matt, a sophomore, is sharing stories of Moroccan hospitality, or of being
stuck in a sand storm in the middle of the Sahara Desert, one gets a sense that
this Omahan is keen on studying abroad.
In fact, he is ready to do it
again; this time, Matt is off to Beruit for an entire year.
Not only did studying abroad help
him learn about attitudes and ideas overseas versus those of the American way
of life, but it gave Matt a taste of just what makes study abroad so effective.
"I learned about myself, my major,
and most importantly about people."
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Japan
Justin Romsa, Grand
Island
Major: International
Studies / Computer Science
As a computer science major, Justin Romsa appreciated the
disciplines of programming and engineering, but those disciplines, he felt,
lacked enough human contact.
This was where Dean Thomas
Gouttierre and the Office of International Studies and Programs came into play.
Move forward one year and Justin—pursing a dual degree in both computer science
and international studies—finds himself in Japan, studying a new culture and
language.
A student at UNO's sibling
university in Shizuoka, Justin was the recipient of the Monbukagakusho
Scholarship, which funds one year of study in Japan. Shizuoka, known for its
quiet atmosphere and delicious tea and strawberries, became Justin's home. He
remembers "waking up every morning and taking a walk around the moat of a
ruined castle while inhaling the sweet smell of the green tea in the air."
His stay in Shizuoka made Justin
aware of the beauty of nature that coincides with urban surroundings. According
to Justin, "I think that Japanese people have a tendency to be more
appreciative and in tune with nature than most other cultures I have known. I
think in a way Japanese people believe that beauty is short . . . and that's
what makes something beautiful."
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Germany
Kyan Unstad,
Bellevue
Major:
Bioinformatics
Sophomore Kyan Unstad
knows most UNO students study Spanish; Kyan, however, recognizes the importance
of polishing her German—it sets her apart.
While most of her friends spent
last summer in Omaha working part-time jobs or taking a summer class or two,
Kyan was in Germany. As the 2005 Nene Field Ambassador Scholarship recipient,
Kyan's interest in Germanic-studies and an aptitude for the language landed her
on German soil last July. Having survived her first airplane ride, Kyan
immediately knew she wasn't alone in wanting to study at Technische Universität
Braunschweig's German language and culture course for foreigners. Once there,
Kyan met students from more than 25 nations, toured biomedical facilities, and
fell in love with the country's culture, people . . . and schnitzel.
Kyan lived the philosophy of
Germany's own Johan Wolfgang von Goethe: "Whatever you can do or dream you can,
begin it." Kyan began with her first plane ride and ended with so much more—she
learned that Auf Wiedersehen is not only German for "goodbye," but also for
"until we meet again."
You can bet that Kyan will be
returning to Germany some day soon.
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Ali Abdulwahab Alali
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Back home in Saudi Arabia, Ali Abdulwahab Alali was a
young tennis phenom—the best player on the Saudi team and the best player in
the inter-Arab league. All that stopped, though, when he grew up and started
working customer service in a bank.
Still, Ali dreamed of playing
tennis again and of getting a degree in business administration or management
information systems. When he had the opportunity to come to the UNO on a
scholarship offered by the government of Saudi Arabia, he was ready. "I heard
that it's a good place for studying, and they have good people, safe places,
quiet places. We can focus on our goal."
One of 72 Saudi scholarship
students studying intensive English at UNO, Ali is settling in well. After just
two months in Omaha, Ali feels at home. "The staff cooperates with
international students . . . they really help us."
Ali feels his English is
improving. He hopes to start his undergraduate program at UNO this summer or
fall. Then he would like to pursue a master's degree, go home and be useful for
his family and country. For now, Ali and his wife of three months are adjusting
well and learning about a new culture.
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Congo
Yannick Kwete
Lubumbashi,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Yannick Kwete has studied in many places—his home country,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Zambia; and now, UNO. Yannick learned
about UNO from his brother, Eric, who was studying here. He liked what he saw
and decided to enroll. "When I first came, it was winter. I had to adjust to
the weather and the change of culture as well."
He has adjusted well. He is
involved in 10 months of curricular practical training at Gallup, a member of
the PKI Diplomats and One Innovation Place, and has become a campus leader who
has learned to be welcoming and patient with people. "If you are not, you don't
get to know the real person. I view the world now from a different
perspective."
Yannick plans to graduate from UNO
in May 2007 then continue at UNO for an MS in software engineering. Along the
way he has learned more about himself and the country he left behind.
"Sometimes we take things for granted until we don't have them. I value my
friends and family more."
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Colombia
Esperanza Camargo
Bogatá, Colombia
Esperanza Camargo is interested in
social justice. She wants to make a difference. While working in the mayor's
office in Bogatá, Colombia, Esperanza learned firsthand the importance of being
bilingual. "The only way to understand culture and current events is the
ability to understand a language," she says.
So, in October 2001, Camargo came
to UNO to learn English. After eight months in the Intensive Language
University of Nebraska at Omaha (ILUNO) and International Professional
Development (IPD) programs, she realized, "Once I got the language—you start to
think—well, I can do this."
'This' was pursuit of a master's
degree in urban studies at UNO. Her classes taught her how to compare
developing and developed countries. The university had "opened for me a whole
new way to think." But Esperanza has done more than just think. She has put her
new education to the test through her practical training in Latin American
Studies at UNO. And she isn't finished yet. In 2005 she received a scholarship
to begin studies in UNO's Ph.D. program in criminal justice—a degree she wants
to use in order to make a difference when she returns to Colombia. "The only
way to change this world is to work in the public sector,"
Talk to any of the UNO students
turned global citizens and you'll know they have something that sets them
apart. They know it, too . . . Study Abroad.
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