Students don’t have to cross oceans to broaden horizons
Wichita State Sophomore Carmen Ramirez is realizing that the number of sweatpants people wear decreases drastically the further one gets from Wichita.
Last month, Ramirez arrived at a university where no one knows her name, Towson University, just outside of Baltimore. She traded windy Kansas plains for hilly Maryland terrain where trees grow to heights unseen in the Midwest.
National Student Exchange allows students to pay WSU tuition while dipping their toes in a new university and culture. Besides the contiguous United States, the program covers Hawaii, Alaska, and territories such as Guam and the Virgin Islands.
“Everyone wants to leave Kansas at one point in their life,” Ramirez said. “This is a good way to get that experience and not waste a lot of money.”
Senior Kaitlyn Bouma chose a more exotic route. She landed in the Virgin Islands last fall finding the gorgeous beaches came with bad roads, unreliable Internet, and a sparse shopping scene.
“It was a really good experience just to see many levels of socioeconomics,” Bouma said. “I did not expect that.”
For Bouma’s perfectionist persona, living on island time was a struggle. But like all challenges, Bouma said she grew from it. When she wasn’t studying at the University of the Virgin Islands, she spent her free time in adventure sports such as snorkeling and jet skiing. Even though the semester wasn’t what she had in mind, she said she wouldn’t exchange it for another.
For many students, four months away from home can be daunting. It’s like being a freshman again, having to navigate through a sea of strangers in a new city. But it can also be an important first step in finding independence and a fresh perspective.
“Mostly I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it,” Junior Courtney Seddon, who is beginning her semester at University of Northern Colorado, said. “That someone could throw me in a pond and I could manage.”
The exchange process starts with a visit to the Marcus Welcome Center, where coordinator Bobby Gandu visits with students about what they want from a semester away.
Students collect references, write an essay, fill out an application and pay a small fee. In return, they spend a semester at one of their chosen campuses at WSU tuition prices.
“It’s definitely worth it,” Seddon said. “It’s definitely the best decision I’ve made at college.”
For such a deal, the number of students who participate in NSE is surprising. Out of more than 12,000 undergraduates, about a dozen participate in NSE each semester and about the same number study abroad.
“They’re the small percentage of people who are brave enough to do it,” Ramirez said.
Maybe WSU students are just homebodies. Or maybe NSE needs to improve its visibility. It’s mentioned in orientation, and at WU Camp. Yet Bouma said she didn’t know the program existed until just before she applied.
However, the program has a responsive and helpful reputation at WSU. Seddon said Gandu was more than happy to have a conversation with her about the program, and even talked to her parents to make them feel at ease.
“They take care of their students so well,” she said.
Although the deadline for going on exchange during the fall semester has passed, it’s not too early for students to begin thinking about Spring 2014. An applicant needs a 2.5 GPA, and to have attended WSU for at least a year. Gandu said exchanges can be tricky during a student’s senior year. But almost all applicants will be placed.
“Hopefully people will realize it’s easy,” said Ramirez. “You just have to take the first step.”
