This past week, Nov. 16–20, was nationally recognized as International Education Week. However, NC State expanded this annual tradition throughout the entire month of November.

Events included an international tea and coffee tasting at NCSU Libraries, the fifth annual “Pangea Race,” where students are given challenges that involved an international theme, the Office of International Affairs’ annual passport fair, an Institute for the International Education of Students’ virtual conference focused on diversity hosted in Talley Student Union, and NC State’s first “Think & Do in Two: Global Storytelling Competition,” where eight student finalists displayed their global experiences.

The goal and purpose of these events are to inspire more students to study abroad. NC State is a part of Generation Study Abroad, a national organization that is working toward doubling study abroad participation by 2019 as it believes study abroad “is one of the most important components of a 21st century resume,” according to its website.

Following this initiative, NC State has the ambitious goal to increase study abroad participation on campus by 50 percent, and they are about half way there, according to Study Abroad regional coordinator of the Americas, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, Mallory Smith.

Within that goal, Smith said the Study Abroad Office is trying to increase diversity within its participants and is hoping to see more participation with ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, low-income students, students from STEM fields and males.

Caila Holley, a junior studying civil engineering, studied abroad in Mexico with the Caldwell Fellow’s in the “The Vecinos Program.” 

“It was my first time outside of the country, and although I am rather familiar with Mexican culture, it is a different experience as a black person,” Holley said. “It was also different being in a place that doesn’t often see non-Caucasian Americans, if many Americans, period. I was often assumed not to know the language, and I was asked my ancestry for generations because people thought that I was from Africa. That was probably the most interesting experience. For that reason, I am very much an advocate for more minorities studying abroad.”

The Study Abroad Office, in coordination with other departments of the university, are trying to eliminate the misconceptions that study abroad cannot be applicable to curriculums, is not affordable or that the knowledge of another language is required, according to Smith.

“We are trying to have a diversity of options for students in different majors and making sure that study abroad experiences allow students to stay on track and graduate on time,” said Julia Kisner Law, associate director of Curriculum Integration in Study Abroad. “We want to make sure that it is helping to meet other academic goals and career goals so it can tie nicely into their overall experience at NC State.”

Cristal Vivanco, a senior studying  business administration and international studies, said she chose her program at the American University of Rome because she was able to learn Italian and art history as well as take classes in marketing and finance to go toward her studies in business.

In regards to finances, the Study Abroad Office has been hosting “Funding Talks,” which are comprehensive discussions to make sure students have the means to travel. The next Funding Talk will be Dec. 2 and is open to all students.

“The chancellor has given $90,000 to help fund Study Abroad this year,” Law said. “This money — on top of other scholarship money — helps students afford traveling. In addition, many times the semester options are really affordable because the only additional cost is airfare, and then the cost of living while you are there can be very low. A lot of students think that it will cost more, but that is not necessarily true. We have seen students have it to cost the same as living in Raleigh.”

Although, NC State International Education “Month” is coming to a close, it is not too late to apply for a semester, summer or academic-year study abroad program. During the Thanksgiving and winter break, study abroad applications will be open. The semester and academic-year Study Abroad deadline is Feb. 1, and the summer Study Abroad deadline is Feb. 15.

“It is one of the only opportunities of your life to spend time abroad, whether that be with a faculty member who has a special knowledge of their field or your experience living somewhere for three or four months,” Smith said. “There are not that many chances to take advantage of something like that.”

• Summer 2016:
  • Argentina: International Marketing in South America
  • Cuba: History, Environment, and Culture in Havana
  • Spain: Spanish Language & Culture in Valencia
  • Spain: Language, Culture, & Technology in Segovia
  • Spain: Marketing and Language in Sevilla
  • Mexico: Culture, Language and Service Learning for Educators
  • Guatemala: Ethnographic Field School
  • Peru: Spanish Language & Peruvian Culture
• Semester 2016:
  • Semester in Spain (Santander)
  • Ecuador: Universidad San Francisco de Quito
  • Costa Rica: Semester in Costa Rica (San Jose)
  • Universidad del Pais Vasco, Spain (Basque Country)
  • Spain: Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
  • Argentina ISA: Buenos Aires
  • Dominican Republic: ISA: Sanitago
  • Mexico: Universidad de Las Americas Puebla
  • Chile: Universidad Adolfo Ibanez