By Ana Ruiz Brictson | Staff Writer
On Tuesday, the Center for Global Engagement hosted its spring study abroad fair during Dr Pepper Hour, having 23 tables set up for faculty-led study abroad programs.
Holly Joyner, assistant director of marketing and communications at the Center for Global Engagement, said they host a fall and spring fair for students to learn more about the options they have for studying abroad.
According to Joyner, this will be the first time since 2019 the summer programs will be available for students to apply for.
“It will probably be slightly less programs because there’s certain countries that won’t run because of COVID,” Joyner said. “For example, New Zealand is closed, but we do have a wide variety of programs that are opened, so we’re going to try and give as many options for students as possible.”
Joyner said the deadline for when the study abroad office would like to have all student applications submitted is March 1. After, students will have a window between the deadline and March 15 to make deposits.
Besides having an in-person fair, the study abroad office will host Zoom sessions for students who are interested. These virtual sessions are set to happen on Feb. 23 and 24, with times depending on the programs of interest.
“The student can log on our website, see what programs are offering info sessions and go to those,” Joyner said. “So we’ll get more students who go to those as well.”
Normally, the fall study abroad fair receives between 800 and 900 students. The spring fair receives a smaller amount, with an estimated 500 students.
Allen senior Courtney Chamness attended a study abroad program in London throughout the fall 2021 semester. She said her experience while applying wasn’t difficult considering the people who work within the Center for Global Engagement were very helpful.
“The rest of my application was through my program, and they were also pretty helpful in like figuring out a thesis and things like that,” Chamness said.
Chamness said her experience abroad was impactful because she finally got to travel and meet new people after a year and a half of not doing so. When she was in London, she said she met many people from different cultures.
“It was cool because I did still meet people that were very welcoming and inviting,” Chamness said. “Sometimes it just takes getting to know people a little bit for them to open up that side of themselves.”
