The majority of Ferris State University students are born and raised in the great state of Michigan; I am indeed one of the majority.
I have never lived anywhere else besides the Great Lakes State and I bleed Michigan pride, whether it is in sports, the economy, or whatever else Michigan has to offer. Even with the state and national pride, it is tough not to wonder about what could be outside of the state.
Learning a different culture and living in a different community where one has no previous experience is extremely tempting to me. Living in Australia, Japan or China would be an indescribable experience.
Studying abroad allows us to take our American personality and our heritage to different parts of the world to experience what it is like for people across the globe. Adding a different dimension to our world knowledge is a priceless commodity in today’s life.
In 2008, about 260,000 American university students studied in many different countries. What makes this number significant is the fact that in the past decade there has been a 130 percent increase in students studying abroad. That is a whole lot of worldly experience coming in from different regions of the globe. Honestly, the students who study and take classes in a different country definitely have an advantage of moving forward in life with more worldly connections.
Imagine this situation: There are a couple people applying for a high paying dream job, only one of the applicants has taken a semester to study abroad and enroll in classes. That experience definitely gives you a leg up on the other potential employees.
The fact is that going out and establishing yourself in a completely different culture is something that will put you in a rosy situation moving forward in one’s life.
Cultural enrichment, worldly knowledge, foreign language skills, and job connections are few of the many positives in studying abroad. We are purely lucky to have this opportunity and anyone that does not at least look and research more into studying abroad is sheltering themselves for the future.
It is understandable that a lot of people cannot go because of money or family issues; however, if this is a program staring you in the face it would be a wise choice to take advantage of the amazing opportunity at hand.