“The goal of Whitman’s study abroad program is to enable students to see the world from a different perspective” says Brick, who has worked in the Study Abroad office since the early nineties. “Living in another country allows people to really get to know the values and concerns of people from other societies.”

The study abroad program’s larger goal is to prepare students for the new millennium where the need for a more internationally-informed citizenry will be vital to global cooperation.

According to Brick, “Spending time abroad teaches students to challenge their own assumptions. In addition to this it gives students the chance to fine-tune their own values.”

These goals may seem a bit lofty to most students wishing to study abroad. For many, the idea of studying abroad conjures up the ideal mix of relaxation and work.

“I feel it was mainly a semi-vacation, semi-learning experience with possibly some other stuff on the side,” said Patterson, who studied in Ireland last fall. “It was worth it, but not life changing.”

For Eric Hess, a senior Environmental Studies/Sociology major who studied for a semester in New Zealand, the experience offered a new outlook on life.

“It was life-changing for me,” said Hess. “It showed me a lot about myself, got me to try new things and taught me how to adapt new environments. In addition to this it was a really insightful experience about how Americans are different from other nationalities.”

In the end, the experience of studying abroad will be different for everyone. These differences are due to the large number of factors that make-up the whole of the experience. What is certain, however, is that exploring the possibility of studying abroad is always worth the effort.