Texas by Aylin

Texas by Aylin - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Immersing in the daily lives and practices of other cultures found in various parts around the world has to be one of the greatest learning experiences anybody could be a part of. By learning about others and trying to understand different points of views, the rise in conflict is diminished. While it is currently not a requirement in most universities, I agree that at some point in the very near future, studying abroad should be required. However, this should only be implemented provided that the university at hand agrees that the responsibility doesn’t fall solely on the students and helps them out financially to be able to afford their trip and other required costs.
Coming from El Paso, Texas, a relatively normal-sized border city, I’ve never studied abroad or had the opportunity to travel much, but I’m currently looking the possibility of embarking on that journey during the Spring semester of 2017. While doing so, I’m taking into consideration the language of instruction, the courses that are offered, the location and excursions available, the duration of the whole experience, and where I would be housed. In this research, I have found that my university has various options for their abroad program. I could study in cities in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific. It also offers pre-departure advising, student visa support, scholarship opportunities, 24-hour emergency assistance, volunteer opportunities, on-site tutoring and academic support, and tuition payments. All of these offers within the program are extremely helpful to the students, like me, who want to embark on an experience of a lifetime. I realize some students and schools may not be as privileged and may not have study abroad programs because of lack of funding, so bringing awareness to these types of programs is key for more funds to start flowing in, and if studying abroad is incorporated as a requirement of the curriculum, I believe it would create a sense of urgency for the universities to figure out a way for the students to be able to make their dreams of studying abroad and widening their social spectrum happen.
People in societies nowadays, are stuck in their own ways and the world is at a standstill because we tend to stay in one place for all our lives. We don’t have conversations with people who deal with different problems than our suburban neighbors. Families who are lucky to go on vacation don’t go on outside adventures or expeditions of nature. They choose amusement parks instead of museums, or to watch orcas in captivity perform tricks instead of whale-watching in other parts of the world. When working with people from different backgrounds, different approaches arise to the situation at hand. Your classmate coming from Boston, Massachusetts will most likely have different scenarios in mind for how to solve a math, political science, chemistry, or any type of problem than the student in the same class coming from the small town of Ravenna, Italy. This is because of the different backgrounds, different values, different education systems, different everything that we have. Different people can shine a different light on things and expand others’ minds in the process of explaining what goes on in theirs. This is how the world’s greatest creations come about. Educated people asking for help, listening to their peers, taking part in new activities. They say “children are like sponges” because humans can retain information easily and fast when younger, but I believe adults can be sponges too if they keep an open mind.
With study abroad programs, the world can keep moving and innovating and solving problems instead of standing still. We have to realize that our native country is not the center of the world, and there are other places to go to, people to talk to, and knowledge to learn from that student from Boston, Massachusetts, the student from Ravenna, Italy or the student from El Paso, Texas.