BOSTON–On Jan. 14, 2009, nine best friends will leave the comfort of Beacon Hill to scatter the globe separately as they spend their spring semester abroad.
This spring, Suffolk sophomores Geralyn Hashway, Rachel Huxley-Cohen, Melissa Errico, Kirsten Nelson, Haley Brennan, Allison Ryans, Alaina Spaziani, Abir Shehod, and Olga Panagopoulos will travel in small groups to England, Greece, Australia, and the Czech Republic to study abroad. They have received their acceptance letters from their respective host universities, and are now preparing for their four-month-long trip.Over the last decade, the number of American students studying abroad has increased more than 250%, according to vistawide.com. Suffolk University has two official campuses abroad, in Madrid, Spain and Dakar, Senegal, and has partnerships with more than 30 universities worldwide.
Beyond shopping for the best prices on flights across the pond, the girls are preparing for their trip by applying for visas, buying universal electronics, and planning trips throughout Europe.
“I’ve been looking at flights on Ryan Air, which has really cheap flights,” said Allison Ryans, who will be attending the American College of Thessaloniki. “I definitely want to see London and Prague!”
Ryans laughs as she lists her travel wish-list, as her destinations will all include the added bonus of seeing her friends. She adds with a smile, “I’m excited to study abroad, but I can’t go four months without seeing my girls!”
The girls have been planning group trips to IKEA and Target to stock up on supplies for the trip. For the girls traveling to London, these supplies are essential considering the current state of the economy. “I’m bringing linens, hair products, and most of my toiletries to London with me – they’d all be way too expensive to buy there,” said Rachel Huxley-Cohen. “We’re really going to have to budget.”
Geralyn Hashway, a sophomore at Suffolk University, will also be studying this spring at Regents College in London, England. She is traveling with the largest group, six girls all together, and is excited about how the experience will affect her future.
“Studying overseas will be very beneficial to me because I am interested in other cultures and plan to go into the field of public relations, and I find that having experiences such as this will be to my advantage.” Hashway is also excited for the personal growth she expects. “Being in another country teaches you so much more about life and the world than you could ever learn by sitting in a classroom anywhere,” she adds.
Hashway has been preparing for her semester abroad since the spring of her freshman year. Family members have been frequently asking why she chose to study abroad her sophomore year, because most students go abroad their junior year. In fact, 40% of students go abroad during their junior year, which means that the other 60% of students go abroad during the other three years.
Sophomore Abir Shehod is choosing to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Having grown up splitting her time between America and Egypt, Shehod is excited to spend an extended period of time abroad. “I chose to study abroad to fully experience what it is like to live in a different country, interact with new people, and expand my cultural horizon.”
The girls are excited to be facing the challenges of living abroad together. But what if you’re going abroad alone? Two of the girls, Shehod and Haley Brennan, will be studying abroad alone in Prague and Australia, respectively. Shehod worries about facing cultural and language barriers without the support of other Americans, and Brennan is especially worried about being so far away from her friends and families. However, both girls are optimistic that they will make new friends at their respective universities.
For more information on studying abroad, please visit Suffolk’s website.