Students at Florida A&M University attended the annual Study Abroad Fair on February 25 at Al Lawson, where they explored a variety of international academic opportunities. The event was organized by the Office of International Education and Development to inform students about global study programs, scholarships, destinations, and application procedures.
Twelve different program representatives were present to provide guidance and answer questions. Emily Gung, coordinator of the fair, spoke about the advantages of studying abroad. “There’s a lot of ways that students benefit. It benefits their career, and studies show that students who study abroad make more money, and have higher incomes, management positions, and graduation rates. They are able to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment. Employers are looking for people who are diverse, and can work in a multicultural setting,” said Gung.
Gung also encouraged students to use their undergraduate years as an opportunity to participate in these programs: She explained how students should “just jump right in” because they’re at the peak of their youth, and the best time to study abroad.
Faculty members echoed these points. Kenyatta Rosier, Ph.D., from the School of Business and Industry discussed her approach to teaching global business courses: “In global business, we are taking what we learned from the management and marketing side, and we are merging them to see what that means internationally, what types of relationships, what types of importing and exporting can companies decide to do. It’s all about what form of entry you would like to have globally” Rosier said. “Learning is borderless.”
A student shared her experience studying environmental issues abroad: “I was really interested in getting a hands-on perspective on the environmental field, and that’s what I got when I went abroad. I studied biodiversity and agriculture as well as biodiversity and sustainable food systems, specifically in coffee and chocolate. I learned about how exploitative that business is and how misleading a lot of the labels can be on the packaging,” she explained.
The fair highlighted options ranging from short summer trips to semester-long stays in countries including South Africa, South Korea, Germany, among others. Organizers advised students to plan early for scholarship opportunities related to study abroad programs.
More information about Florida A&M University’s Study Abroad Program is available at https://www.famu.edu/students/international-education-and-development/education-abroad/index.php.
