For Grove City College students, studying abroad is far from a foreign concept. Earlier this semester the Office of International Education hosted its biannual Study Abroad Fair in the Hall of Arts and Letters, where recruiters from various programs spent the morning selling their exotic wares to students pining for a good adventure.
Although an entire semester away may seem daunting when it comes to meeting academic requirements, graduation still rolls around on time for those who study abroad, and the value of the experience will often boost those grads’ chances of landing great jobs. And although it may be tough for engineers to take time away from their hover crafts and thermodynamics for foreign excursions, especially compared to those in the fields of, say, international business, communications, foreign languages and the like, Grove City engineers have equal opportunity to take part in the study abroad experience—a rarity at many other schools.
Meet Austin Eckhardt—a junior Mechanical Engineering major at the Grove. This past fall, Eckhardt ventured to France. Aside from getting his fill of crepes, baguettes and Brie, Eckhardt took advantage of the opportunity to travel and explore Europe, hitting Spain, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland and the Netherlands and made more memories than he could count.
Eckhardt was also grateful that Grove City only charged him $300 on top of tuition to go abroad, the fee of which covered the entirety of the trip, including airfare.
After having such a formative experience during what he considered a worthwhile investment of a semester, Eckhardt would highly encourage all students to take advantage of the study abroad program. Eckhardt is already getting his passport ready for more stamps. Could your passport be talking to you?
To get a glimpse of Eckhardt’s life as a Frenchman, check out his video below that captures the multifaceted beauty of Europe and the essence of the study abroad experience.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB7e3msjFFo]
