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Study Abroad Fair booms with opportunity seekers 'in spite of the economy'

Publish Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The first floor of the Epply Center turned into a spectrum of international opportunities for Broad College students on Thursday afternoon.

Hundreds of students attended the annual Study Abroad Fair in conjunction with the Broad College, browsing through programs in more than 10 countries all over the globe. The fair consisted of about 10 booths, including external financial support groups such as MSU Federal Credit Union and the Office of Financial Aid. 

The fair also allowed the attendees to get the chance to learn about globalEDGE™. GlobalEDGE™ is a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals worldwide to a wealth of information, insights and learning resources on global business activities with the handful of giveaways as well.

"There are more students than last year which means today’s event turned out to be highly successful, indicating that MSU communities are gradually getting out of severe economic downturn," said Fong Bristor, a faculty member of the School of Hospitality Business.  

New hope and a passion of learning are helping students leave their financial woes behind. Dominique Gloden, a business freshman, is one of the ambitious opportunity seekers who are not giving in to current financial circumstances. 

"This economic depression definitely affected my family and me. When applying to MSU, I applied for more than 25 scholarships and was rejected so many times, but finally received two. I think I should go for it if I really wish. Study abroad would be an amazing opportunity to get to know about international business, different ways of thinking and learning in cultural differences, which will probably make me a better person. I already set up eight meetings to win possible scholarships, putting my name first on every list," she said. 

The Office of Study Abroad Scholarship offers academic merit-based scholarships while the Office of Financial Aid offers need-based scholarships.

This event provided precious opportunities to learn and hear about the different programs from previous participants. 

Emily Jacobson and Brgu Hellen attended a study abroad program together that traveled to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. After the program, they stayed in touch with one another. They visited the fair to recall valuable memories they shared in Europe and to greet other colleagues and faculty members.
 
"The biggest advantage of this program lies in its benefit to those who are looking for hand-on experience in the global business. You can really interact with professionals, an experience not available in a classroom. Those precious experiences should help me in seeking and landing a better job," Jacobson said. 

Should you miss the fair, don’t worry. The University-wide Study Abroad Fair is  coming up September 24th, from noon to 5pm on the second floor of the MSU Union.

Anyone who is interested can start their journey to making their study abroad wishes  come true.

Check the programs offered, financial aid available and scholarship information on this website:  http://studyabroad.msu.edu/