After high school everyone is finding themselves, whether they jump into the workforce, join the military, or decide what college they are attending. When students are in the application process, they decide if they want an adventure outside of their hometown, or if they want to attend somewhere just an hour away from home. Although study abroad programs aren’t usually the first pick students choose, this idea still crosses multiple students’ minds. Katernia Keck (10) has looked into study abroad programs since freshman year of high school.
“I’m hoping for my bachelor and maybe a master degree while abroad. I can do summer programs abroad, like Ireland, Korea, and Switzerland, while technically attending school in the states,” Keck said.
Sometimes they are students that cannot pick just one place. When a scholar has the heart for traveling, the study abroad program Semester at Sea (SAS) is the perfect choice. SAS is a program where you are on a ship, like a cruise ship, while earning college credit. On SAS students have actual classes, and each day it alternates between A-days and B-days. During the voyage students not only have the opportunity to learn while being on a boat, they also visit 11 different countries. During port days, scholars are able to go out and explore without feeling guilty about missing classes. SAS pushes their students to go out and learn about the country they are in, they do this by hosting competitions of “Who can get the best picture with the SAS logo flag.” This freedom and encouragement catches adolescents’ eyes and makes the program popular.
On the other hand, some scholars believe that study abroad is not worth it. It’s either that they rather travel on vacation or that it’s too expensive. Studying abroad is not for the faint of heart. Being away from home, or being away from people that speak the same language as you can be tough. Kennedy Hackworth (10) agrees with the statement that study abroad is not worth it.
“It’s never called to me; if I wanted to travel then I would just do it,” Hackworth said.
Just like Hackworth, Keck believes that doing an abroad program in the summer is as far as she will dip her toes in. She only wants to spend her summers soaking up the sun and her autumns grasping new topics at her prestigious school.
“Full years abroad are extremely expensive. Doing a summer program allows me to get scholarships to do it, and makes it much more affordable,” Keck said.
Although Hackworth has never had the need to study in another country, and Heck wants to only study in the summer, multiple students across the world have dreamed of studying abroad. Living in another country provides freedom and a chance to learn more about one’s self. Throughout all the chaos that living alone can bring, studying abroad broadens people’s horizons and shapes adolescents into who they are becoming.
Every person tells a different story, some memories might be filled with living on a boat and traveling to 11 different countries, and others are near their hometown building on the memories that they have had since they were little. This choice reflects upon the student that chooses what they want to do after high school.
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