Students receive assistance for studying abroad

The College of Arts and Sciences offered students stipends to help eliminate some of the costs for participating in the study abroad program.

One of the unique opportunities that UW-River Falls offers students is the chance to expand their education and cultural experiences by studying overseas.

Each student applying for the stipend had the option of requesting up to $1,000 of aid through the college. The final stipend amounts were decided upon by a committee who reviewed the overall cost of the trip as well and the student’s financial aid situation.

The money for the stipends for this program came from donations to the College of Arts and Sciences from alumni.

In order to be eligible for the stipends, students had to apply to the college by means of a written essay stating where they were going, why they wanted to study abroad there, and what they hoped to gain out of the experience and how it will further themselves toward their goals at UWRF.

Senior Nathanial Wagner was one of the students who were awarded the stipend for the international study abroad program. Wagner is a political science and international studies major.

“I want to study abroad because I love learning about the cultures and history of other countries,” Wagner said.

Wagner will be traveling to Germany to study in the spring and was awarded a stipend of $500 to help with the expenses of the program.

“I hope to work abroad after college and would like to have prior experience before I go,” Wagner said.

Jayme Argall is another senior who will be traveling abroad during J-term and received a stipend of $600 to help in the expenses. Argall will be traveling to Mexico to study, and has previous experience in the study abroad program.

“I already spent a semester in Spain and have been itching to go somewhere else ever since I got back,” Argall said.

Argall is majoring in Spanish with a minor in international studies, which will be heavily implemented in this upcoming trip.

“In the future I plan on working for a non-profit organization that works to either improve conditions in Latin America or to protect the rights of Hispanic Americans in the United States,” Argall said. “For this reason, experience in Mexico will be very valuable.”

Argall expressed feelings on the importance of the study abroad program especially for those who plan on working in an environment where other cultures and dealing with foreign situations might become a factor.

“I can hardly try and improve conditions somewhere if I have never been there or don’t have an understanding of different cultural aspects,” Argall said.

Argall will be gaining experience and be able to put learned class materials to use in real world situations to study another culture and gain insight into future endeavors working with the Latin culture.

“It will be very interesting to actually see in person many of the things that I have already learned about, such as the ancient city of Teotihuacan,” Argall said. “It is one thing to read about something and see pictures of it in a text book; it is a whole other thing to actually see it in person.”

The international study abroad program offers a wide variety of opportunities for students to travel and study in different countries around the world and offer students help in the financial aspect of the trips. More information on the University’s international study abroad program can be found at www.uwrf.edu/globalconnections/handbook.htm.