If a student is looking to expand their skills, one opportunity stands out: Studying abroad. Kirkwood Community College offers a range of study abroad programs, including options for spring and summer, as well as semester-long trips, allowing students to gain global experience and broaden their horizons.
Hiromi Narita, study abroad advisor in Global Learning, helps student with questions about the programs, applications and scholarship procedures.
“With studying abroad, students learn to develop interpersonal skills, intercultural skills and communication skills, which cannot be taught in traditional classroom settings,” Narita said.
She added, this can be applied to students’ everyday experiences with their learning.
“Currently we have 19 short-term programs and four semester long programs,” Narita said. “If we could offer more program options, adding a Czech Republic program and an indigenous one, too, would be the recommended ideas.”
How many students can go on each trip is different for each program. “It depends on the providers or universities on how many students we can send,” Narita said. “The minimum for a trip is 10 students unless it is a GEN, which has no minimum. However, our maximum always changes.”
Narita said she enjoys being a study abroad advisor. “It is fun. We get to talk about how to study abroad to open the opportunities for students though the challenges are the hardest part of being the advisor.
“The previous study abroad advisor said that they also faced challenges which was the hardest part of being the advisor.”
For many students, participating in a study abroad trip is the first time they have traveled outside the U.S. Anna Wilson, Digital Arts major, talked about her experience during the Scotland trip this past summer.
“It was my first time being in Europe but it was a fantastic experience. The highlight of the trip was learning new cultural things and getting to know others from our group as well as the locals,” she said.
For students interested in learning more about studying abroad, Global Learning is hosting Study Abroad Application Help Session on Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Global Learning Lounge, second floor Iowa Hall.
| Summer 2025 locations -France – Innovation and Entrepreneurship -GEN Australia – Career and Culture -GEN Singapore – Global Learning Program -Scotland – Marketing and Media Global Experience -Germany – Design and Building -GEN Morocco – Service Learning and Culture of North Africa -Italy – Culinary Arts and Culture -Japan – Cultural Compare and Contrast -Italy – The Layers of Rome: Art and Literature -Ireland – Irish History and Culture -Brazil – Adventure in Manufacturing and Culture -GEN Singapore – Career and Culture -South Africa – The Intersection of Agriculture, Geology, and Civilization -South Africa – Interior Design and Interior Agriculture -Ghana – Future Africa: Innovation and Culture |
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