BW students spend fall semester abroad

As study abroad does a gradual rewind to return to its robust pre-pandemic days, BW students are once again getting excited about infusing their college experience with international travel. Last semester, six Baldwin Wallace students studied abroad in Europe - five in Great Britain and one in Denmark.

London Calling

One of the world's most culturally rich cities, London has the right amount of big-city swag and sparkle to make it a go-to place for many BW students. Among them was Caroline Binkley '23 of Delaware, Ohio, who was one of three Baldwin Wallace students participating in the Kingston University program.

The savvy human resource management and business administration major chose the program for its ability to help her professionally and personally.

Binkley, who took four courses at Kingston, admits there was an adjustment period of getting used to another university's schedule and norms.

"Education in the U.K. is quite different. There is much more emphasis on independent work that is not graded. Marks are given for final projects and maybe a few discussion posts. This model left me a lot of time for exploring the city as a young adult to experience all London has to offer," she noted.

Connecting to a Career

If the Beatles put Liverpool on the map, then Peyton Shubsda '22 brought a little Liverpudlian spirit from home for his study abroad experience. The Liverpool, New York, native spent the semester as a student of Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, which is 11 miles north of Liverpool, England.

The early childhood education major, who traveled abroad for the first time, saw the experience as a chance to learn more about the world in preparation for his role as an educator.

"I selected Edge Hill specifically because it would meet my academic requirements to graduate. I also wanted to remain in an English-prominent location to help ease the transition into another culture," he explained. "The more I see of the world, the better I can understand it, which will make me a more well-rounded educator and be able to connect with a broad network of resources."

Appreciating and Understanding Other Cultures

"Studying abroad is a great way to immerse yourself in a culture for a period of time where you get comfortable with it, but also have the comfort of knowing you'll be going home," believes Maddie Roth '22, a neuroscience and psychology major from Danville, Pennsylvania, who took classes at University College Dublin (USD) in Ireland.

"Living in another country contributed to my learning of other cultures that are different from my own experiences in America. It also helped me understand the way other people might see the world.

"Professionally, I hope to go to med school. I feel like having a better handle on appreciating and understanding other cultures will be helpful in the medical field. UCD is known to have a great science department. This allowed me to stay on track for graduation while taking classes that have the same high expectations BW has of me. It's all been really great," she added.

Looking Ahead

This semester, two BW faculty-led programs are scheduled. One will go to Iceland for two weeks under the direction of BW professors Dr. Carrie Davis Todd (department of biology and geology) and Dr. Jill Stephens Fleisher (department of sociology). The other is being led by BW professors Dr. Lisa Green (department of psychology) and Dr. Andrew Dohanos (department of communication arts and sciences) and will go to Germany for three weeks.