Classes Help Returnees

By Rachel Davidson

Abroad adjustment made easier by university
Rachel Davidson
Associate Reporter

While campus adjusts to an influx of nearly 500 students returning to Santa Clara after spending the last several months studying abroad, the returnees often have an even more difficult time simply readjusting to life in America.

With the 50th anniversary of Santa Clara's study abroad program approaching in 2014, there is much to be said, not only about the experience itself, but in the ways that the university welcomes back returning students.

In its second year running, Assistant Professor Hsin-I Cheng's Global Interpersonal Communication class provides a space for students, especially those who studied abroad or on immersion trips, to process the cognitive, emotional and behavioral adjustments that they experience when returning to Santa Clara.

There are currently 19 students enrolled in Cheng's class, representing international programs in Milan, Barcelona, Australia, Belgium, Brussels, London, South Africa, El Salvador and Istanbul. Regardless of where they return from, students universally agree that their greatest desire when returning to the states is to share what they've seen, heard or learned with others.

The Office of International Programs aims to create a number of platforms that makes that sharing possible. Assistant Director for Study Abroad Andrea Muilenburg listed the many ways for these students to work with their office, some of which are participating in workshops like Study Abroad 101, How to Succeed in Study Abroad, as well as program-specific discussions during orientation and a number of other ways to talk about their experience with others.

Cheng encourages her students not only to talk about individual change, but emphasizes thinking about the future and globalization through an interpersonal lens. Her own background is in intercultural communication and focuses on how traveling affects how people shape and form their identities as well as their relationships.

"People become extra aware of their own cultural assumptions," said Cheng.

Student's experiences abroad make it easier for them to examine their immediate American society and to think about social justice in different ways.

This year's study abroad process has seen its largest applicant pool ever with 510 eager students. The last couple of years have seen a significant increase in the number of applications, attributed both to larger classes admitted into Santa Clara and to the improving economy, according to Associate Provost for International Programs Susan Popko. The diversity of study abroad locations allows students to apply to 31 different programs around the world.

"This is diversity that we want to see, it's a model of an excellent program on an international level," said Popko. "We're happy to see that we're moving in that direction."

Santa Clara students are lucky, according to Popko, who stated that while we send approximately one-third of our students abroad every year, nationally only four percent of students have this opportunity.

In addition to the classroom aspect of Cheng's course, each student develops a web site about his or her experience. During their final presentations last winter quarter, one parent expressed her appreciation for this project because it made her feel like she was truly sharing this experience with her daughter, a Santa Clara student.

A "Welcome Back" reception for students returning from studying abroad will be held on Jan. 22, as the first formal opportunity for students to talk about their experiences. The International Student Services Office will be holding a similar get-together, the International Cafe.

The international programs team is continually striving to ease the adjustment period for returning study abroad students, and Popko in particular looks forward to partnering with other offices to help support these efforts.

Contact Rachel Davidson at rldavidson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.