Expanding one’s point of view is a benefit that can be earned in college alongside a degree. Students at Weber State University have the opportunity to do this in a unique way through study abroad trips.
With this program, students can visit new countries that are different from ours. Individuals can experience music, food, travel and the culture of the country where the program is located.
“It’s weird because you’ll be walking around a major city, and then you’re walking across a bridge, and you know that bridge has been there for 1,500 years,” Eric Hunter, Study Abroad director at Weber State, said. “We’re basically in diapers here as a nation. Then we have all these other countries that have long-established traditions.”
Hunter has worked in multiple exchange and study abroad programs at Weber State since 2017, but he became the director of Study Abroad after the coronavirus pandemic.
“Personally, I’m really proud of how our office has developed,” Hunter said. “Five years ago, if we had 15 programs, it was the best year of our lives. Every year now, if we don’t have 20, then we’ve messed up somewhere along the way.”
Hunter got the position at Weber because of personal experience with a study abroad program, through living in the Dominican Republic during the summer of 2012 and having the opportunity of being able to get to know the people and take classes. It was also an opportunity to learn a new language.
“I didn’t speak any Spanish,” Hunter said. “I had a wonderful baptism by fire, so to speak, of learning Spanish by having a little five-foot lady yell at me every morning, asking me if I want breakfast.”
At the end of the trip, Hunter was able to have conversations in Spanish without difficulty. He even remembers having a few dreams in Spanish.
For Hunter, the opportunity to study abroad improved his ability to understand and work with people of different backgrounds.
“The more we understand about what makes us different, but more importantly, what makes us the same, the better we can get along and become better world citizens,” Hunter said.
The first step in being able to participate in Study Abroad is to contact the Weber State Study Abroad office. The program website has an abundance of information about the types of trips available. Students can also visit the office, which has recently been moved to Modular 7 between Lind Lecture Hall and the Interprofessional Education building.
“It is honestly one of the best bangs for your buck for students,” Hunter said. “A faculty-led program has tuition built in, and the tuition is a reduced rate.”
Weber State has some of the most affordable study abroad programs, according to Hunter. Despite the discount, the trip can still be expensive. However, there are scholarships available to alleviate the cost, including the Benjamin A. Gillman Scholarship, which offers up to $5,000 to study abroad. There are also many scholarships within and outside of Weber, and some departments, such as World Languages, offer scholarships to their students.
“You would be surprised how many people don’t apply for scholarships,” Hunter said. “Out of the 150-ish students that will be going this summer, I think as of last week, nine applied for a scholarship in my office, which is just ridiculous.”
The study abroad office wants to thank everyone who has participated in their programs, and they want to encourage students to participate more.
“If I could have every single student at Weber State Study Abroad, I would do it because I think that it has the ability to impact them in ways they can’t even imagine yet,” Hunter said. “You figure out who you are when you’re in another country.”
