by Adeola I., Staff Writer Have you ever thought about how incredible it would be to get the chance to study abroad? Was the next thought in your mind how unaffordable and impractical that would be? This is the same thought I had too, until I spoke to Mr. Takeo Suzuki, the executive director of the Center for Global Education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Mr. Suzuki emphasized the vast amount of scholarships and grants that are available for minority students to study abroad and how willing his office is to guide students through the process of funding their study abroad journey.
According to NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, 1.6 percent of US students attending an institution of higher education studied abroad during the 2015-2016 academic school year. As expected, most of those students were white: to be more exact, 71.6 percent. In contrast, only 5.9 percent of those students were African-American or black, 6.8 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 9.7 percent Hispanic/Latino American, 3.9 percent multiracial, and 0.5 percent American Indian/Alaska Native. These numbers reflect the reality of minorities either not having access to opportunities or not knowing how to utilize resources to experience the same opportunities their white counterparts do. Meshia Seay, a UTC student, studied abroad in Australia during the fall semester of her sophomore year and shared how the experience helped her. Seay expressed,“The experience was eye opening in regards to experiencing a new culture and learning to appreciate my culture and see the flaws in it.” With help from the Center for Global Education on UTC’s campus and other offices on campus, Seay was able to fully fund her study abroad trip. Let your doubts go, grab a Study Abroad Program Advisor, and take the chance to explore the world! If you are a student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, contact Laura Livermore in the Center for Global Education located in Hooper Hall at [email protected]. The percentages of students studying abroad during the 2015-2016 academic year is based on the most current data from the Institute of International Education's Open Doors Report and the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
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