Guy Reschenthaler, Wire Service Editor Study abroad opens students' eyes to other cultures by Melanie Yeager Knight Ridder Newspapers Chaotic order. That’s how American-raised Truong Nguyen de- according to the Institute of International Educa scribed the traffic patterns in Ho Chi Minh City, tion. FSU’s numbers have nearly tripled to 1,412 Vietnam, where mo-peds and vendor carts rule the students since 1996. About one-third of those are streets. It’s a stark illustration, he said, of the cul- from other universities and enroll at FSU for a se tural differences between the United States and a mester just for the inremational experience. More country in the Far East. “There, it’s like the chicken crossing the road - Frogger, basi cally,” said Nguyen, referring to the computer game that pits a frog against oncoming traffic. And af ter an exhilarating journey across a Vietnam avenue, he said, few will take American crosswalks and stoplights for granted again. Therein lies the chief lesson Florida State University students say they gain from studying abroad: The world is filled with people who approach life differ- “The program is a unique experience that you cannot get in a classroom, reading a book or watch ing television,” said Brian O’Donniley, a senior ma joring in history and international affairs who has gone to Croatia twice. “Only making a visit reveals the full, unbiased story of the people on the ground. After participating, I will never again consider a 30- second sound bite sufficient to draw a conclusion on an international issue.” FSU’s Office of International Programs is launch ing five new study sites in four countries - Ghana, Ireland, Germany and South Africa - this summer. “Interest in traveling to Africa has been growing nationwide,” said Jim Pitts, international programs director. “Our motto is ‘The World is Your Cam pus,’ and we wanted to give students here in Talla hassee (and elsewhere) the opportunity to person ally experience tfcerworld in all its diversity.” Students can tike photography courses in Accra or Kumasi, Ghana, or study contemporary artists in Johannesburg, South Africa. Cost for each program #mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Large 14-inch pizza & two depends on the number of weeks and accommoda tions. FSU is No. 10 among U.S. research institutions in the number of students studying in foreign lands, The number of U.S. college students receiving credit for studying abroad has jumped 11 percent from the previous year. than two-thirds of the participants are female - a figure that follows the national trend. The number of U.S. college students receiving credit for studying abroad in 1999-2000 - the latest figures known - jumped 11 percent from the previ ous year to 143,590, according to the institute. Among the trends: Instead of opting for a semester aw;ij, students are choosing shorter programs. When terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, Pitts and Provost Larry Abele were quick to respond - posting a letter online assuring parents that FSU’s priority is student security. No FSU stu dents returned prematurely, Pitts said. A recent institute survey indicates that most American students planned to continue studying overseas, despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “We did notice that some students who had planned to study with us this their international plans to a later ever, it appears that ouf vftTl . be near normal.” Behrend College Special! bottles of NATIONAL CAMPUS NEWS Friday, February 22, 2002 Current job market jolts college grads by J. Linn Allen Chicago Tribune When Loyola University senior Lacey Donovan was a freshman, she wanted to major in marketing but decided to change to information technology in part because she felt sure she would end up with a high- paying job. Oops. Now Donovan, 21, of Neola, lowa, is hoping an internship she lined up for next semester with a small web development company in Wicker Park, 111., might end in a job offer, though she's been told there are no guarantees. She's thinking about graduate school as an alternative. “The jokes with the top students around here used to be about sign ing bonuses, but now nobody is talk ing about a signing bonus - it’s just, get the job,” she said. Donovan is typical of this year’s seniors in many fields, who are cop ing with a drastic contraction in the entry-level job market, hiring freezes in some areas and heavy competition from laid-off workers and last year’s seniors who are still looking. Members of the Class 0f2002 have lowered salary and bonus expecta tions for the jobs that do exist. That can be a big problem, because many will face paying for student loans and credit-card debts. “Seniors are starting to be in a panic,” said John Bradarich, direc- internship and career * dfcwfefc' fUteyfre heard frem the last graduating class, who had offers postponed and some taken away al together.” cheese 20 oz. pop A survey by the Collegiate Em ployment Research Institute at Michigan State University reported that the number of graduates hired right out of college has fallen dras tically in the last two years. Much of the contraction oc curred last spring as employers began to feel the effects of the flag ging economy, according to insti tute director Philip Gardner. Companies “hired in the fall (of 2000), then really had to step back when things started contracting in January, with the dot corns and consulting and manufacturing con tinued to slow,” Gardner said. “Then there was Sept. 11, and con sumer spending, transportation, tourism, food and lodging were hit.” The biggest losers will be engi neers, computer science and busi ness graduates, Gardner said. They will still have opportunities but should not expect the multiple of fers or special incentives of the late 19905, he added. To be sure, hiring has not stopped dead and many students will still get jobs, but the squeeze extends over a wide range of fields and affects even graduates of top programs. Hiring freeze Lauren Arestie, a mid-year graduate from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Jour nalism, said she interviewed with recruiters from several newspapers during the fell but was told they had hiring freezes and could only take interns. $6.99 I Free Delivery! 897-1818 “I heard in the past students com- The Behrend Beacon ing out of Medill could have any jobs they wanted, that papers were begging and pleading with them to come, but nobody is beg ging and pleading anymore," she said. Arestie, 21, from Austin, Texas, said she is hoping to be hired by a paper w here she had interned, but an exception would have to be made due to a hiring freeze. “I’m worried, because I don't want to be at home and be a sponge, sitting on the couch all day,” she said. Arestie has more than $lO,OOO in student loans, and like many in her position she's considering going to graduate school. “I’m willing to stay out (of the job market) for a year or two, if 1 can’t find a job or only a low-pay ing one. I’ll go back to school, not have to pay off my loans, and accumulate more debt," she said with a rueful chuckle. Managing debt Debt was on the minds of stu dents from schools all over Illi nois who recently attended a meeting of the student advisory commission of the stale Hoard of Higher Education, said Katie Cox, 21, an Eastern Illinois Uni versity senior from Lovington in central Illinois. “Some fear after they graduate in May they’ll be making less than $30,000 a year. With student loans increasing, it's difficult to get on our feet," said Cox. She’s a political science major inter ested in public policy. ■■■■■■■■■■% Page
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