What a Wonderful World by Mikayla

What a Wonderful World by Mikayla - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

In a perfect world, I think it would be wonderful if all students were required to spend some time studying abroad. On the whole, I believe that Americans are woefully unfamiliar with other cultures and societies. Yes, we’ve adopted many of their foods and products, but our knowledge and appreciation for foreign customs and behaviors is often lacking. But to have it be a requirement, especially in this era when college has become outrageously expensive and income disparity is ever-widening, seems like it would cause more stress than anything else. A better solution, I think, would be to start with simply encouraging more and more students to study abroad.

When I graduated from high school, there were roughly 600 students in my graduating class. Of those, I would estimate that about 30 have actually attended school abroad. Many have gone on quick vacations to see the touristy sites, but few actually go to study. A large part of this is financial, but I think a bigger part of it is the fear of combining school (stressful in and of itself) with being in a foreign country where you nearly have to relearn how to conduct yourself in the world. Though this fear is completely justified, I think too many students allow it to get in the way of taking a risk and having an adventurous semester abroad.

Instead of requiring students to study abroad, I think a more interesting and helpful solution would be to, for starters, require students to take more classes that cover other cultures. Not just a general world history class like is often mandatory, but classes that focus on life and society and culture in other countries. Within these classes, the professors could actively encourage students to spend time abroad in a country that they’re interested in, and then help prepare those that decide to go with as much information as possible. The students could work together to hold fundraisers to help offset the costs of time spent abroad. By emphasizing that attending school abroad shouldn’t be an intimidating prospect, and helping students prepare themselves to go, colleges and universities would be molding a generation of students that are more worldly, and enthusiastic about daunting tasks.