Students were encouraged to explore and consider study options at the Education Abroad Fair

More than 20 brightly-colored booths on the first floor and ground level of the Compton Union Building allowed students to explore their options for exploring the world at Monday's Education Abroad Fair.The fair featured information about exchange, faculty-led, internship and study abroad programs. Representatives from various departments and organizations handed out pamphlets and answered questions.Jane Dickson attended the fair as a representative of the study abroad program interstudy. She said the most common questions and concerns she hears from students involve finances and curriculum, especially whether or not financial aid will apply to the program or how the classes fit into their major or minor requirements.

There are basically no limits to the curriculum students can take,she said.Interstudy sends students to South Africa, Botswana, Britain and Ireland. Dickson said interstudy is popular at WSU.There are numerous other programs that offer a variety of options for countries and curriculum, said Jaclyn Auvil, a peer adviser with the Education Abroad Office.I hope that people realize it's really attainable no matter what your major or what your financial situations is, and it's a really awesome opportunity everyone should at least look into,she said.Look into all your options. There's a bunch of different types of study abroad, and you can definitely make it work.Auvil spent last semester in Barcelona, Spain. She said she chose to study abroad so she could work on her Spanish language skills and experience school somewhere outside of the United States. It just opens your eyes to the world, and you get to know another culture and compare it to your home, she said.Students can also get a lot of exposure while studying in such universities and different course Mathematics,Master of Landscape and Sociology.

WSU assistant professor Michael Hubert represented the Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures at the fair. He said he encourages students to go abroad for an extra-cultural experience, especially if they are trying to learn another language.He said learning a new language in a country with native speakers is the best way to learn,100 times better than in an American classroom.From the point of view of the acquisition of another language, if you go to a country where they speak that other language, you're going to learn,he said.Dickson said one of the most important things students gain from studying abroad is a new sense of their own abilities and confidence. Any students at WSU interested in studying abroad should attend a Cougs Abroad advising session. The Education Abroad Office staff is knowledgeable and helpful, she said.There's a remarkable amount you learn about yourself, she said.I think learn as much about themselves as about their host country.I think the more involved a student is, the more people they meet and the more valuable the opportunity is.