CAGE helps students find their niche abroad

Nestled deep within the I.D. Weeks Library, there exists an office dedicated to helping students reach new levels of learning and success.

The Center for Academic and Global Engagement (CAGE) offers several study abroad options for students looking to escape the turbulent weather of South Dakota.

Many students have misconceptions about studying abroad, Dana Elliott, a Global Learning adviser for CAGE, said. Students often believe it’s too expensive, credits don’t transfer, only foreign language majors study abroad or that it won’t benefit them.

“There are a lot of myths, and I wish that it wasn’t that way,” Elliott said.

Studying abroad doesn’t have to be expensive. According to the CAGE website, the most affordable way to study abroad is through the USD Direct Program. With this option, students get to pay USD tuition and continue to use federal aid and most USD scholarships.

Elliott said that all credits will transfer, so classes taken abroad won’t be a waste of money.

The majority of students that travel abroad are science, technology and humanities majors, Elliott said. Myths that only foreign-speaking students travel abroad aren’t true, she added.

“(Foreign language majors) are only about 7 percent of the overall population,” she said.

Elliott said most of the universities involved speak English and offer English classes and that students have little difficulty succeeding and navigating those places.

The benefits of studying abroad are innumerable, Elliott said.

“It is not just the fact they put study abroad on their resume, it is the results of study abroad… students are developing the more intangible things that cannot be quantified,” she said.

Elliott said students gain confidence, leadership skills, intercultural competence, flexibility in unknown situations, motivation, language skills and more, all of which make an individual stand out during the hiring process.

Junior Brianna Brage is currently studying at La Universidad Veritas in San Jose. Brage is a health sciences major and is minoring in Spanish. Through her study abroad trip, Brage said she’s been able to do things she never thought she would’ve.

“I’ve been able to go to the Caribbean and Pacific coast, hike up a volcano, relax in natural hot springs and zip line,” Brage said.

Brage said she would recommend studying abroad to anyone who’s a language major or simply searching for adventure.

Her language skills have improved, as she’s been able to practice Spanish everywhere, and she has become more confident and understanding of other cultures, she added.

CAGE applications for summer or fall semester study abroad trips are due March 15.