One way that students can get a better feel for different cultures is through traveling abroad. Katya Leek, the Study Abroad and National Student Exchange Advisor, encourages students to get out of their comfort zone.

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                                                                              “I feel that our students in central Wisconsin don’t get to experience as much as someone

                                                                                like me who’s from Europe,” Leek said. “Study abroad changes you so much. You learn more

                                                                                about yourself than you’re able to do so at home. You change the environment, you change

                                                                                the people, you see different cultural habits, and you understand that the way we do it is not

                                                                                the only way.”

 

                                                                                Sophomore business management and marketing student Lydia Thiel recently got to 

                                                                                experience this firsthand. In September of 2022, Thiel left the U.S. for the first time,

                                                                                embarking on a trip to Iceland with UWSP organization Adventure Tours. Overall, Thiel said

                                                                                that the trip was eye-opening for her.

 

                                                                                “I think the world seems less big and more

                                                                                   friendly,” Thiel said. “It was great talking to                                                                                                                                                                                                        people I never would have met if I hadn’t gone.”

 

                                                                                  The people of Iceland truly astonished Thiel in

the best way possible.

 

“I loved the community,” Thiel said. “Everyone cares about each other there.

I loved how close everyone was and how much they mattered to each other.”

 

In the end, Thiel said that this trip taught her a lot about herself.

 

“I didn’t realize how much I loved learning about other cultures,” Thiel said. “The

only time I’ve gotten to learn is through a seat in a school desk, which isn’t necessarily my favorite thing in the world, so being able to actually talk to people was really, really amazing. I loved learning through different perspectives of things.”

 

Senior communications and Spanish student Gabrielle Arnold is currently studying abroad in Valladolid, Spain. She said that traveling has helped her grow into herself.

 

                                                                                 “I never realized I was capable of traveling independently,” Arnold said. “I though I wouldn’t

                                                                                   be able to make it on my own. Then, after my first solo trip, all of that changed.”
 

                                                                                   Through language practice and meeting locals, Arnold has learned a lot.

 

“                                                                                  Speaking to locals was stressful at first, but after a while it started to flow naturally,”

                                                                                     Arnold said. “I also discovered how kind people are. You are never completely along

                                                                                      because you can rely on the help of others. Even if they are strangers, the world is not

                                                                                     necessarily as terrifying as what we see online.”

 

                                                                                    Whether it be personal travel or studying abroad, these students have shown the good   

                                                                                     that can come from it. Leek encourages all students to experience other countries while

                                                                                     still in school.

 

“I’m fortunate to see students before they study abroad and after,” Leek said.

“I see such an important in and huge difference in self-awareness, maturity, in

the way that students approach all the problems that hey have to tackle. This is

something that you cannot acquire by learning, it’s only experience that will

do that.”

 

When it comes to interacting with people, Leek believes that studying abroad

is essential.

 

“You will learn how to get along with people who are completely different from

you,” Leek said. “Learning about cultures will help you later in life, not only at

your workplace where you most likely will experience a very diverse, team, but

also in your personal life, because we are all different. Your spouse is different,

your neighbor is different, and learning how to deal with those differences,

cultural or personal, while you are on study abroad in a safe environment really

brings you so far in life.”

 

Diversity is all around us, both on and off campus. Whether through studying abroad or going to events put on by cultural organizations, learning more about people who are different from you will always be a good idea.