Travelling Abroad: A Luxury Most Unconventional and Minority College Students Don't Have by Michael

Travelling Abroad: A Luxury Most Unconventional and Minority College Students Don't Have by Michael - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

A great regret many college graduates have is that they did not take advantage of the opportunities to study abroad while attaining their degree. There are many advantages to studying abroad: exposure to different cultures, exploration of new languages, and being forced to grow and mold oneself by being in a new, unfamiliar territory. A requirement to study abroad may seem like a good idea on the surface. However after further contemplation, this obligation would place an undue burden on many college students – especially those who contribute to their household income, those who cannot bear the financial burden travelling abroad, and most who – like me – are the unconventional student.

Truthfully, I would love to travel abroad and be exposed to the rich cultures of the world that I have never been able to experience. However as a single father of two boys (six and seven years old), I do not have the luxury of disappearing from my life and drowning into a seemingly new world. First and foremost, I could never leave my children for an extended period of time. Furthermore, I am only living off of only student loans; managing my household expenses and the cost of childcare already creates a great hardship on me. Adding the cost of studying abroad would only cause me more distress. Finally, I could not take my children with me, because I would not want to disturb their stable lifestyle during these formative years.

Due to my responsibilities, travelling abroad would simply be an impossibility for me – and students like me. Thus, a requirement to study abroad would hinder me – and those who are similarly situated – from being able to accomplish the next necessary step my life: attaining a college degree. In turn, this would further stall progression in my life – indefinitely keeping my children and me in our financial hardship. In the long term, this requirement would have a detrimental effect on more unconventional college students – those who may have young children to constantly care for, those who may be required to maintain their jobs to contribute to their family’s living expenses, those who may take care of disabled family members, and those who simply do not have the financial resources to spend extra money on such an expense.

A requirement to travel abroad would have restricted me gaining a college degree. It would then restricted me from attending Gould USC School of Law, where I have been accepted. These restrictions would occur regardless of how hardworking or intellectually capable I am. They would occur because I cannot abandon my children for an extended period of their lives; also, I will not take away from my children’s needs to travel the world. Though exposure to other cultures and languages is tremendously important, a requirement to travel abroad would deter most unconventional law students from going back to school to attain a college degree – something that would significantly detriment a group of society, including many minorities who have historically been marginalized and disadvantaged. As such, studying abroad should remain an encouraged opportunity; it should not be a requirement that must be fulfilled to attain a college degree.