Annual study abroad fair held Wednesday, crowd of 600 students attended

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Far-ranging countries all fit together in one room on Wednesday night.

Programs in more than 40 countries were on display from 6 to 8 p.m. in the University Center Rotunda at the annual Study Abroad Fair.

Central Michigan University’s Study Abroad program considers the fair its largest outreach event, according to Study Abroad Advisor Sarah Barnard.  About 600 students attended the fair this year.

Most of the tables representing programs from various countries were presided over by students who have already traveled with the program.

“It’s a chance for students to talk with other students who have gone abroad to find out what they have seen and studied,” said Director of Study Abroad Dianne DeSalvo.

Algonac junior Kelly Mytinger spent most of her last spring semester in the Czech Republic. She said she always wanted to study abroad and found last year that the fair was a place to easily obtain more information to fulfill her dream.

“I literally picked up every flyer from the fair and stared at them for two weeks,” Mytinger said.

International students provided information to students about the Study Abroad partnerships that exist between CMU and their schools in their native countries.

Hong Kong students Janet Luk and Mochu Zhang were part of a new program between CMU and their university, encouraging students to travel abroad to help improve communication skills.

“Learning English (in Hong Kong) and coming to live here were completely different experiences,” Zhang said. “English is only a tool to understanding the everyday culture.”

Davison sophomore Roxanne Harris said the event was an opportunity to learn more about overcoming potential obstacles to participate in a program.

“I didn’t know about all the varying periods of time that you could make your trip in, like a summer intensive instead of just fall or spring semester,” Harris said. “I feel like I could make time for a study abroad trip now.”

Another common misconception about study abroad addressed at the fair is the idea of students being proficient in another language to participate.

“If you don’t know another language, don’t let that set you back,” Barnard said.  “A lot of our programs and their classes are actually in English.”

Barnard said college is the time to travel abroad.

“You’ll never have another time when you can do something like this,” she said. “The experience is priceless.”