Studying abroad bridges gap between Penn and the world

Margie FishmanMargie FishmanThe Daily Pennsylvanian Hoping that students will immerse themselves in foreign cultures by running with the bulls in Spain or dancing the night away at a French discotheque, the Office of International Programs encourages students to distance themselves from their home culture. Overseas Program Manager Inga Herman wants Penn students to shrug off the "isolationist" U.S. approach to the world and develop a "sensitivity to the authenticity of otherness" while abroad. Last year, 483 Penn undergraduates enrolled in semester- or year-long Penn Abroad programs -- a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Gee attributed nearly the increase to a number of students studying abroad under the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, a College and Wharton joint-degree program requiring students to spend at least one semester abroad. Herman said students study abroad for a variety of reasons, noting that a poll of 10 students would yield 10 different responses. It used to be the "adventurous student" who tackled study abroad, she said, but now it is just the student who "values experiential learning and is ready for a challenge." "You can read Shakespeare, but only by visiting the Globe Theatre in England are you actually able to trace his footsteps," Herman added. According to OIP's 1996-97 composite profile, Penn students journeyed to 78 destinations in 36 countries on six continents last year. The United Kingdom was the top study abroad location for the second consecutive year, followed by Spain, France and Italy. OIP's annual report noted an increase in the number of students studying in the Americas and Australia, while Israel suffered from decreased enrollments. Israel's drop in ranking from fifth to eighth may be attributed to its unstable political climate, Gee said. "Enrollments in Israel go up and down like a yo-yo, depending on the latest terrorist incident," he added. Enrollment by class in Penn Abroad programs also tends to fluctuate from year to year. Juniors annually make up the largest percentage of Penn Abroad participants. About one in five juniors studied abroad last year, comprising about 90.7 percent of those abroad. Noting that a low 6 percent of seniors studied abroad in the 1996-97 academic year -- a figure that is consistent with previous years -- Gee said seniors spending spring semester abroad often encounter difficulties with processing grade reports in time for graduation. Sophomores, meanwhile, represented only 2.9 percent of the total number of Penn Abroad participants last year -- a slight drop from the 4.7 percent studying abroad in 1995-96. Citing these low figures, Gee said OIP is directing the majority of its efforts towards sophomore recruitment this year. Along with relatively low figures for sophomores, far fewer students majoring in the sciences, business, engineering and nursing study abroad than do humanities majors. Approximately three in four Penn Abroad students hailed from the College, followed by 13 percent from the Wharton School. Engineering students totaled 1.6 percent and Nursing students, 0.8 percent. The most popular majors included English, International Relations, Finance, History and Psychology. Although the Nursing School manages four Penn Abroad programs, Mary Naylor, director of Undergraduate Nursing, attributed the school's low enrollment to the its small size and rigorous clinical sequence. But some former participants said they worried that Nursing students may be missing out on an incredible opportunity. College senior Deborah Horowitz, who spent her junior year in Oaxaca, Mexico, said her experience renewed her "faith in the human spirit." She said she hopes to return to Latin America after graduation and join the Peace Corps.