Every semester, Houghton students extend the classroom to a cross-cultural setting. With a variety of programs to choose from, students have the opportunity to engage their education in a new context through study abroad opportunities. These programs are intended to instill each student with a new sense of purpose and an ignited imagination.
Emily Barry ’17, a double major in international development and political science, studied abroad in Rwanda through the Go-ED program in Spring 2016. Her experience challenged her in many ways as she further developed her gifts.
“My favorite part was going on practicum,” she said. “I was on a fish farm teaching English at the private school on the premises.” She continued, “It was outside of my comfort zone to be teaching, but learning from the teachers there, getting to know my students and taking it day by day was a powerful experience for me.”
Studying abroad provides students with the opportunity to discover new gifts and abilities unknown to them before. These programs also challenge students academically to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of. Jonan Pilet ’17, a writing major, studied abroad in Oxford through Best Semester’s Scholar’s Semester in Oxford program in Fall 2016. “The most rewarding part of my experience was getting to the end of the program and recognizing the academic confidence I built in myself,” said Pilet. “This program forces you to grow as a student. You don’t really have an option.”
Judith Marklin ’17, an international development major with minors in linguistics and world religions, had two opportunities to study abroad last year. She began in New Zealand in the Spring of 2016 through the Creation Care Study Program, and last semester studied in India through Alliance for Global Education. Her time abroad in these various places allowed her to gain new perspectives through experiencing a different way of life. Her experiences gave her vision for direction in the future.
“My time in New Zealand was important for me to intentionally take a semester and slow down a little,” she said. “This different pace of life gave me time to think about what I want out of my experience at Houghton and the rest of my life.”
Houghton emphasizes the importance in valuing others in an intercultural setting. Marklin carried this lesson with her in her experiences abroad. “I learned that to love is to risk,” she said. “I traveled abroad to learn, listen, see, and try to understand another way of seeing the world and another way of living.” She added, “I learned the importance of interacting with people as people and seeing them as children of God.”
Barry, Pilet, and Marklin all highly recommended their study abroad programs to other students. Through these opportunities, they all say they developed lasting change in their lives that they will carry with them throughout the rest of their time at Houghton and beyond.