Honor Program Students are more likely to study abroad
Frankenmuth senior Brittany Garcia stands in front of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
When Frankenmuth senior Brittany Garcia traveled to Beijing through the Honors Program, she didn't expect to catch the travel bug.
Since then, she has been to 10 countries through various study abroad programs. She said if she had never been apart of the Honors Program, she wouldn't have studied abroad.
According to a survey taken at the end of Honors 101, 93 percent of Central Michigan University's Honors Program students plan to study abroad before they graduate, said Judy Idema, associate director of the Honors Program.
"I think the Honors Program really advertises and supports (study abroad), so when I came into Honors as a freshman it was always on my mind," Garcia said.
Three percent of the total student population studied abroad in the 2013-2014 academic year, according to data provided by the Study Abroad Office. About 27 percent of Honors students studied abroad in 2013.
According to the Honors Program, 151 out of 780 Honors students studied abroad in the 2014 academic year. Twenty-one percent of the Honors freshman class will study abroad by the start of their freshman year, Idema said.
Director of the Honor Program Phame Camarena said the reason students in the program study abroad is a combination of different factors.
"Part of it is that there are extra scholarships available to Honors students, not for all, but for some," Camarena said. "Another big (reason) is from the time students come here we are telling them having an international experience is important."
Garcia studied in China, Italy, France and Spain. She said she first decided to study abroad because of an Honors class she took freshman year. Options for study abroad were presented to her in Honors 101.
"I thought to myself 'how cool would it be to go to China?' It's a place that I've only read about," Garcia said. "I went home and texted my friend jokingly, 'So do you want to go to China with me?' And she's like, 'Actually, yeah.'"
Garcia said she loved the opportunities to travel, learn about new cultures and meet people and traveling abroad caused her to gain stronger skills in communication and leadership. Camarena said the Honors Program encourages studying abroad because of the benefits it can provide.
"It is not whether you are going, it is where are you going and when are you doing it," Camarena said. "If we make students think about that from the very beginning, it is possible (for them) to build it into (their) program. We make it an expectation, and then it becomes a norm."
