Semester abroad – a student travel option

By Katie Hicks
The Collegian

As a student in 1978, Bill Erysian went to London as part of the International Study Abroad Program.

Today he sends Fresno State students globetrotting and he tells every one who walks through his office door that studying abroad is an experience of a lifetime.

“As all of our study abroad alums would attest, it’s a life changing experience,” said Erysian, interim director of the international study abroad program.

For students who are looking to explore, seeking a challenge or just trying to get out of the Valley, Fresno State offers a wide array of opportunities to study abroad in more than 25 countries around the world.

Fresno State senior Brendan Evans left home in the fall 2005 to study in Ireland for a semester and said he would recommend studying abroad to every student.

Evans said it took a little time getting used to daily life at Cork University College in Ireland, but he attended classes four days a week and had plenty of time to sightsee and even learned Irish on the weekends.

“It’s a different lifestyle there because, for instance they don’t have Wal-Marts or stores where you can get everything in one place,” Evans said. “And you can’t buy anything in bulk so you have to go to the store like every other day for groceries. But everything is fresh.”

Evans said he enjoyed his trip because he was given a lot of freedom to plan his own activities outside of school.

“I thought it was great because I was able to visit places like Dublin and the beach,” Evans said.

Erysian said there are several options for students who want to study abroad. The first is the International Study Abroad Program sponsored by the California State University system and the second is the University Study Abroad Consortium – a group of 31 U.S. universities that has been helping students study abroad program for almost 25 years.

Senior Anthony Grillo spent the 2004-2005 school year attending

Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and stayed with a host family in Kawasaki, Japan.

“Japanese people see the world in a completely different frame of mind,” Grillo said. “Being able to see and spend some time trying to understand things from their point of view was something I will never forget.

I had a great time.”

Grillo said he thinks it should be mandatory for college students to spend at least one semester overseas. Something President John Welty agrees with, Erysian said.

“Welty wants a minimum of 10 percent of our students to have some kind or international experience,” Erysian said.

He encourages every student to stop by the study abroad office and check out the many opportunities available to them.

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