This story is featured in the Fall 2022 edition of the HPU Magazine.
HPU students charter their education across the globe to build lasting relationships through different cultures.
When studying abroad, students deepen their understanding of their own cultural attitudes and behaviors, how those practices came to be and how they may be both similar and different to those of people they meet abroad.
“We call this ‘enculturation through acculturation. ’ We learn about ourselves as we learn about others, ” says Dr . Jeffrey Palis, assistant vice president for Global Education at HPU. “I’ve come to see that the most impactful relationship studying overseas builds within students is their partnership with themselves. Studying abroad is empowering. Students grow in confidence, independence, resilience and self-belief. ”
Students are immersed in living and learning as a local – engaging with their studies and host culture in a deep plus intimate way.
“This sort of purposeful, intentional educational travel is one of the largest opportunities students have open to them in college. Students look back on the decision to study abroad as something that shaped who they are for the rest of their own lives, ” says Palis.
Studies show that college students who research abroad possess improved academic performance upon returning to their particular home campus. But the particular positive impact of an international education lasts well beyond a student’s time in school.
The global life skills developed – including intercultural communication skills, the ability to navigate complex and unfamiliar environments, the empathy and friendships designed with fellow global citizens – are always in the student’s professional toolbox plus can be used in the particular classroom, the laboratory, the particular medical office or the boardroom.
Learning Begins Where Your Comfort Zone Ends
Jorgen Krone is a prime example of 1 student segueing his international education into his career.
A junior political science major along with minors in global commerce, business administration and sales from Chicago, Illinois, Krone’s interests run the gamut. He’s even pursuing a certification in finance and accounting via Chartered Worldwide Management Accountants (CGMA).
And last spring, he took the Global Business course led by Dr. Bob Hirth, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship. In this course, Krone plus his classmates spent the semester studying international trade, strategy, human resources, and cultural and political topics. Then, they required a two-week trip to Germany, France and the Netherlands to see these affairs within action.
They visited businesses such as the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility, EuraTechnologies Company Incubator, the particular Heineken production facility and the famous Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Students also visited the Port of Rotterdam and the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
Upon his return, Krone interned with Gallagher, a global insurance, risk management plus consulting firm. But before he actually stepped foot in their U. S. workplace, he met with their global partners during his study abroad trip.
“This experience truly set me up to make international business connections and allowed me a leg upward in the particular global setting, ” he says. “Making those connections before I formally began my internship was amazing. ”
‘All the World’s a Stage’
Demetria Hale is the Class of 2022 graduate with a degree in theater performance plus minor inside musical theatre from Dansville, New York. She performs with regard to local movie theater companies and has been completing various auditions across the country to further her profession in the performing arts.
The girl also got a Global Experience class in London, England, titled Shakespeare in Performance and taught by Associate Professor associated with Theater Jay Putnam.
“The performing arts is an universal language that needs no translation. Getting to experience the arts inside a city where so many groundbreaking, historic plays debuted is unparalleled, ” says Hale. On this journey, students saw performances in some of the most popular theaters in the world, including the particular Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.
“As someone pursuing this particular career, having the historical context as well as the international context makes us a better performer and helps me stand out from my peers in this profession, ” Hale explains.
These experiential learning possibilities make all the difference in students’ transformational trip at HPU.
“We talk about preparing learners for the world because it’s going to be, ” Palis says. “The world is becoming even more interconnected since time moves forward. What happens inside Mumbai or Jakarta can impact lives everywhere. Students who experience an international education will be all the particular more ready for that interconnectivity. ”
