Invited to college parties with his new American friends, the Muslim student and Bangladesh native was unable to drink. He remembered settling for a glass of milk while his friends guzzled beer.

“The American party perspective is 'Let’s go crazy on alcohol,'” Shakib said. “I could not because my religion does not allow it. I expected that they not judge me, because I do not judge them. It was kind of weird, but I had a good time.”

Now a sophomore and president of the International Student Organization, Shakib spoke to students in the Park Library Auditorium Tuesday about study abroad programs and the importance of cultural awareness.

“This is about globalization,” he said. “You need to get out there and understand their cultures so you can put up with other customs.”

Shakib spoke as part of CMU’s Speak Up, Speak Out program, which included a seven-person panel comprised of students and faculty.

The event was sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences and moderated by foreign language instructor Daniela Richter.

“To truly enjoy your life and work, this is what we want to get the most out of education,” Richter said. “These things will be greatly enhanced if you’ve had the experience of living somewhere else for a while, or encountered someone from another culture.”

According to Richter, CMU offers 150 study abroad programs in 40 countries. She said the Office of Study Abroad has expended $160,000 in study abroad scholarships for this year.

Richter named a photography program in Australia, geology in Turkey and ceramics in China as programs students might not expect to find in a foreign country.

Also on the panel, English instructor Maureen Eke said study abroad programs are essential to students’ education, providing a world view unavailable at any other time or place.

“You do have to study abroad; how else will you be aware of the world?” Eke said. “Your origins – don’t you want to know where you come from? Think of what you bring back to America from all those other places.”

Eke addressed the stereotypical image of alcohol-fueled American parties and hoped study abroad programs could expand students’ perspectives on cultural norms, even sometimes their own.

“People party in all different ways,” Eke said. “I hope study abroad will show people these differences. Partying could mean a whole range of things to a lot of different people, but there are things that are universal. Cultural differences can skew the way we see each other. Study abroad can begin to solve this.”

Admitting difficulties often arise when students are introduced to foreign people and cultures, Eke said surviving the shock could enrich students and prepare them for their careers.

“Everybody goes through a degree of culture shock when you leave your comfort zone," Eke said. “For international students, that shock can be much more massive. There’s no way any country or state can consider itself insulated from other countries. That is what study abroad can do for you, give you that awareness.”

Eke described two kinds of Americans: those who accept and are open to other cultures, and those who view the United States as the only country that matters.

“You can either be the good American, who is open-minded and accepts other cultures, or you can be the ugly American who says America is it,” she said. “Do your research, figure out their culture. The good American is much more enriched and employable.”

Director of the Office of Study Abroad Amber Schneider said interaction with foreign countries is inevitable for students hoping to be successful after graduation.

“You might not leave the country, but you will work internationally, whether through email or the Internet. You need to be ready,” she said.