Study Abroad program offers alternative study

After going to school day in and day out, some students are looking for a little more excitement. Thankfully, Ball State offers a wide variety of options to study abroad.On Wednesday, students who were interested in taking their education not just outside of Muncie, but the United States altogether, were provided answers to their questions and concerns. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ball State held a Study Abroad and Passport Fair in the Atrium.The fair was to help individual students decide which study abroad program was right for them. For every major, Ball State offers a program to suit it. To make it so students could browse options freely and easily, the fair was comprised of booths, each containing information about a particular program.Sophomore international business major Zack Bingham said he came to the fair in hopes of learning more about studying in Germany.

I'm looking forward to working at a German company,Bingham said.I figure that from studying abroad, I can get more personal skills in the culture I hope to work in.Krista Miller, freshman hospitality major, said she feels she would benefit from a foreign education.I've never been overseas, and all of my family travels, so I'd like to,Miller said.It'd be really cool to be in a different culture and different courses. With hospitality, that's what I want to be doing, some kind of resort or traveling job.At each booth, volunteers were stationed to provide additional information. Many were students who had completed study abroad programs in the past.

Senior history major and volunteer Jared Shrack spent a year studying in South Korea. For Shrack, getting an education in Asia was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, he said.It's a totally different culture from any other part of the world that you'd go to,Shrack said.Korea's amazing. The food's great, and the people are so much fun. It's just an amazing experience.Sophomore and secondary English education major Casey Earl spent four months learning in Italy. Like Shrack, she enjoyed her experience.It was honestly one of the most life changing things I've ever done, Earl said.You are forced to learn so much about yourself because you are in a completely different setting. You have to learn to figure things out for yourself. You learn in four months what you would normally learn in for years.With the world increasing globalizing, studying overseas is becoming a more considerable option for students.Being diversified, now more than ever, is a crucial skill for many careers. Ultimately, Ball State will continue to offer ample study abroad programs in an effort to provide future students with ways to broaden their perspectives.It opened up so many new opportunities for me, and it made me a much more open-minded person, Earl said.