Ali Luciani, arts & living editor

Berry students are gaining academic experience and exploring different cultures through study abroad programs this year. Students who choose to study abroad have the opportunity to take classes, gain hands-on experience in their fields of study and develop skills outside of the traditional classroom.

This fall, Berry introduced a new semester-long study abroad program that allows incoming freshmen to begin their college experience at Harlaxton in England before returning to Berry’s main campus in the spring.

Elizabeth Davis, director of international experiences, said the program differs from Berry’s other semester programs because students begin their college career in England.

“There’s a group of first year students that instead of starting here at Berry in the fall, they actually started in England,” Davis said.

Christy Snider, associate professor in the history department, is accompanying the students this semester, teaching history courses and Berry College Course 100 (BCC). BCC 100 is a first-year course designed for freshman to get comfortable with college and the courseload.

Freshman creative writing major Darby Weldon is one of the students participating in the Harlaxton program. Weldon said her interest in British literature, encouraged her to         study abroad.

“My favorite genre of literature is British literature, especially British romantic literature,” Weldon said.  “I was really interested in coming here to learn about that literature and getting the experience to write [similiar] things while I am here.”

Weldon said the academic environment in Harlaxton has been different her initial expectations of college. Her classes begin at 11 a.m. and she spends her free time studying with friends, playing soccer and traveling.

“Honestly, it’s a lot more chill here than what I expected college to be like,” Weldon said. “I came into college with all my high school teachers being like ‘This won’t slide in college, you’re going to have such a hard time and you’ll have to do] so much work’.”

Weldon said the workload allows students to travel to different parts of England on weekends. One of her favorite aspects of living abroad has been the accessibility of                  public transportation.

“We have time to travel on the weekends and experience all there is to do here,” Weldon said. “My favorite part is honestly the public transportation. It’s super cheap and I can basically get anywhere I want.”

Although Weldon has enjoyed her experience, beginning college in a different country has also presented challenges such as being away from family and learning how to navigate through college in a different country.

“I think the biggest adjustment has definitely been being away from my family  the first time,” Weldon said. “Especially because I am a freshman and I started off my college experience so far with away from everything I had ever experienced in the United States.”

Weldon said she initially worried about making friends and missing out on the opportunities freshmen have to meet other students on Berry’s main campus. However, she said being part of a smaller group of Berry students has helped her develop friendships while adjusting to college life abroad.

“I was really nervous I wouldn’t make a lot of friends and especially because there was such a small group of Berry students going,” Weldon said. “I was nervous that I was going to miss out on all the like things they had for freshman at Berry like where you get to know a lot of people.”

Ryan said the programs offer more hands-on learning opportunities than she typically experiences in her classes at Berry.

“There’s a lot of field work,” Ryan said. “So, we’re going to wildlife rescues and getting to observe different things.”

She also completed a week of shadowing at a veterinary clinic, where she learned about administering IVs and observed surgeries.

The program’s changing schedule has been another adjustment for Ryan. Some days required her to arrive at school early in the morning, while other classes continued until 8 p.m.

Ryan said the program is demanding with courseload and hands-on activities because it allows students to have 200 hours of hands-on experience that could be used when she applies to veterinary school.

“I think the pre-vet program is probably the most hectic out of all of them,” Ryan said. “I think the reason for that is because they guarantee us about 200 hours of hands-on experience with animals.”

Although the experience has been academically rewarding, Ryan said adjusting to a different culture and meeting new people have been challenging.

“I absolutely love the culture here of being very like family-based,” Ryan said. “I’m a very reserved person so I do feel like it’s a little bit of a challenge to find people who kind of mesh with me.”

However, Ryan said the language barrier and differences between herself and other students has made it difficult to develop connections.

Despite these challenges, Ryan said the veterinary experience will benefit her when she returns to Berry and continued preparing for veterinary school.

“In your lecture-based courses, there’s a lot of conceptual ideas,” Ryan said. “When you get that hands-on experience, you really get to solidify this is what it means when it says this.”

Davis said studying abroad offers students opportunities for academic, professional, cultural and personal development.

“It really lets you get that little bit of a deeper experience in terms of learning a different context, while keeping you on track with graduation,” Davis said. “When students come back, they tend to feel a little more self-assured, [having] a little bit of a better sense of who they are in terms of their identity.”

Students can take courses that may not be available at Berry or study familiar subjects from a different cultural perspective. Davis said these experiences can also help students develop skills that are valuable when applying for jobs or graduate programs, including communication, time management, problem-solving and cultural awareness.

“Students will get a lot of skills that are really in high demand from employers,” Davis said. “[These skills] are really valuable in the job market, grad school applications, and you can really leverage that through your study program and really hone those skills.”

Davis said students participating in approved semester programs can use their existing Berry financial aid packages and apply for additional scholarship cover expenses.

For the Harlaxton program, students also have the option of taking an included group flight with other Berry students.

Davis said the Office of International Experiences helps students throughout the study abroad process, including selecting programs, completing applications, preparing for travel and transferring academic credits.

Davis said students who are interested in studying abroad should visit the office, even if they are unsure whether a program will fit their academic or financial needs.

“I really think if you are unsure, [students] should still come and talk to us because we can explain more about the financial, the scholarships, classes, programs,” Davis said.

Davis said studying abroad during college provides an opportunity to live and learn in another country that students may not have again after graduation.

“It’s a very different type of international experience that you can get in college versus other points in your life,” Davis said. “I always recommend and encourage you to think about it during their college years if they’re able to make it work.”