Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Global Assistance, A World of Options

Advisory support for students who study abroad is always an important aspect of a student’s experience. This past fall, however, advisers at the University of Cape Town took on a new role as 10 Georgetown students struggled to cope with the tragic passing of Terrance Davis (COL ’10) while studying abroad in South Africa.

To remember this young man’s life and to assist those who were grieving, Program Director Quinton Redcliffe offered students support in a situation none of them could have expected, according to Morgan McGovern (SFS ’10), a Georgetown student who was studying abroad at UCT when the tragedy occurred.

“[Council on International Education Exchange] did an amazing job supporting its students throughout the rest of the semester. Quinton knew Terrance well and was clearly devastated by the ordeal,” McGovern said. “CIEE offered counseling to anyone who needed it [and] Quinton even met with all the Georgetown students upon our return from spring break to make sure we were alright. There was also a beautiful memorial service for anyone who wanted to join. CIEE students, UCT students, university staff and even Terrance’s home-stay family . came together to celebrate Terrance’s life.”

Before this tragic event, support at UCT had also been wonderful, said Allen Hunter, another student studying abroad there last semester.

“Support from CIEE was top notch,” Hunter said. “Navigating a foreign educational system is always difficult, but they kept an office on the campus of the University of Cape Town and were always available to assist you in any way they could. They would take us on a variety of field trips, they offered CIEE classes that pertained to different aspects of South African culture and study abroad in general, and overall provided access to a variety of resources we otherwise would never have had.”

While abroad, Students like McGovern and Hunter at UCT were offered support from CIEE, which offers opportunities to individuals interested in studying and working abroad, as well as training seminars and workshops in the United States for students and young professionals from abroad who are interested in gaining experience.

Third-party organizations like CIEE, which is the most commonly used organization by Georgetown and is affiliated with about 27 programs, offer high levels of service to students, according to Magdalena Chica-Garzon, assistant director of overseas studies for the Office of International Programs.

When students are planning on attending a program led by CIEE or another third-party organization, they are contacted once they are accepted and begin working with their adviser from abroad on medical and housing questionnaires as well as preparing for classes, according to Chica-Garzon. Then students work with their third-party organization advisers upon their arrival on registration, health and safety instructions, getting around the city and the advisers provide support throughout the semester.

Jennifer Jurivich (COL ’09), who studied abroad in Seville, Spain in the spring of 2008, also believed the support CIEE offered was very beneficial.

“CIEE was a wonderful resource to have while abroad,” she said. “They were wonderful and planned certain activities and put together a little `yearbook’ at the end as a gift. . Overall the advising was very helpful. Whether it was finding a tutor, revising a paper, finding directions for a trip, etc., someone was always at the CIEE office to help. . Also, the [OIP], if we had problems, would respond quickly to e-mails.”

However, Laura Snavely (COL ’10), who studied at Charles University in Prague last fall, had a very different experience when dealing with CIEE.

“While my study abroad experience was definitely my best college, and life, experience, the advising abroad was pretty much a joke,” she said. “The Czech [CIEE] advisers were not really aware of our academic situation in the United States, but at the same time, the study abroad students didn’t really desire advice from them in the first place.”

She added that the CIEE advisers were often unclear when handling students’ questions and inquires abroad.

CIEE and third-party supporters are not the only type of support provided to the 52.3 percent of Georgetown students who study abroad through Georgetown’s programs, according to Katherine Bellows, executive director of OIP. Other study abroad programs draw upon advisory support directly from host university program offices like OIP.

“Then we also have relationships with universities directly and send students to be supported by an office like ours – an OIP there,” Chica-Garzon said. “They have an office that offers services, orientation, guidance and registering for classes. . This [type of support] gives a little more independence [to the student] but it depends on the program.”

One graduate, Patrick O’Neill (SFS ’08), attended American University in Cairo, a program that offered support from the host university.

“I was actually highly impressed by the overall package that AUC’s International Programs Office offered for study abroad students. They had a mediocre on-campus orientation for several days, but that was followed [by] an awesome off-campus orientation at a resort on the Red Sea,” he said.

O’Neill added that throughout the semester, the IPO planned various outings within Cairo. But, O’Neill said, IPO did have a bureaucratic edifice that students had to learn to navigate through.

“The weakest part of the overall support system offered by the IPO was definitely the actual advising and registration system. They seemed to have a slightly archaic system to get study abroad students enrolled in classes and it was as if you had to meet with a minimum of five different people before you could get anything done,” he said. “So while it was frustrating to work with them on those issues, it served as a good introduction to all of the red tape and bureaucracies that Egypt is known for.”

The final way that students can find support while abroad is via local residents of countries abroad who are hired by Georgetown after personal interviews in a smaller capacity. Those hired can be tutors or advisers, according to Chica-Garzon.

“They are not full-time staff necessarily, but they are there for our students to support them . depending on what students need at a university, we assign the job for the person,” she said. “They are not with the students 24 hours a day, and I doubt students would like that to happen, so the best we should do is guide students on how to insert themselves in the environment in the safest way possible.”

One example of this kind of support exists in Germany, where academic structure is different than in the United States, according to Chica-Garzon. In this case, students have a tutorial abroad with these local advisers in order to help them adjust to the culture. Those hired, along with OIP, also give students the state department information on crime and safety for a certain country as well as links to the countries’ centers for disease control. Students can then check where they are going and the precautions that they have to take, Chica-Garzon said.

Although support while abroad varies, the process for studying abroad according to Bellows, is similar no matter where students are thinking about going.

“We have a system [when students are thinking of going abroad] – come into the resource center and talk about where you’re interested in going, what you’re interested in studying and narrowing down the options,” she said. “Then, students . go and talk to advisers for that particular region . [who] will look at the approved sites with [the student]. But if none of the approved sites work, the adviser might . look at programs that aren’t approved but we have [information] on.”

To ensure that Georgetown students find the best academic fit for them abroad, OIP advisers said that the office offers support throughout the application period depending on what a specific student needs.

Sheila O’Connell (NHS ’08) said that she got the necessary help before going abroad, but, like many other Georgetown students, once abroad she was able to go about her life without much necessary help.

“[OIP] really did not do that much while we were abroad, partially because we did not really need them,” O’Connell said. “I think I just e-mailed them my class schedule. However, [my adviser] did come visit us to touch base, which was really nice.”

Although student opinions vary in regards to the support they received while abroad, Chica-Garzon believes that the experience, overall, is extremely valuable.

“[Study abroad] plays an important role because it provides a different kind of education, which is exposing you to a different vision of the world, a different culture,” she said. “So, I think the amount of growth and personal realization that occurs while studying abroad really has the potential to be the most life-changing experience, but it depends on what a student does with it. . As a student, the more you invest in it, the more you get out of it.”

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