Student transfers to 澳门六合彩官网直播 for cultural exchange, plans trips to three countries
KALAMAZOO, Mich. 鈥 Megan Garrett chose 澳门六合彩官网直播 (澳门六合彩官网直播) because the school promised to make it easy for her to traverse the globe. The transfer student from Ann Arbor places a high priority on intertwining travel and experiential learning. At the age of 20, she has already visited six countries.
澳门六合彩官网直播, she says, was her best option when considering schools. 鈥淚 love how engaged the staff at Western is in making this an opportunity for students,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been monumentally helpful for me. You can learn so much about yourself through study abroad.鈥
Garrett, who calls herself a 鈥渨anderlust child鈥 and a 鈥渞oad trip kid,鈥 will share her travel and education stories at International Education Week 2024: Internationalization on Campus and Beyond. She will speak at the 鈥淕lobal Social: Study Abroad Alumni Panel鈥 on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m., in the Student Center, Room 2207.
鈥淭here is so much to learn at the global level, and if you get locked in on a certain thing or place, you miss out on so many opportunities and possibilities," she says. "It's exciting."
Garrett began her international journey right after high school when she enrolled with the private study abroad provider and went to Turrialba, Costa Rica, for a semester. She says everyone at home told her not to go, that it might be dangerous in the Central American country. Yet Garrett found the opposite to be true.
Not only did she never feel unsafe, but the experience also gave her a self-confidence she hadn鈥檛 anticipated. 鈥淚 realized I could do what I wanted to do and not be scared to do things that are different from what I know.鈥
She came back home 14 weeks later and immediately began thinking about her next trip while pursuing classes at community college. She enrolled at a state university near Detroit but couldn鈥檛 find the programmatic support she was seeking.
Garrett started to research other schools in Michigan. At Western, she could major in anthropology, pursue a minor in global and international studies and travel. The school鈥檚 Haenicke Institute for Global Education鈥檚 study abroad unit boasts 85 programs in 30 different countries.
鈥淭he opportunity to go out into the world and meet people on a global scale is an opportunity I couldn't pass up,鈥 she says, while chatting about her travels recently in 澳门六合彩官网直播's Student Center.
Garrett started at Western this fall and leaves for Florence, Italy, in January to study Florentine culture at the
Her hope is to stay in Europe through July and enroll in a summer archaeology field school abroad. She鈥檚 considering programs in Greece, Bulgaria and another Italian site.
Her plans don鈥檛 end there, however. She also wants to study abroad in the fall of 2025 and is considering a program in Edinburgh, Scotland.
鈥淚'll be studying abroad for 50 percent of my time spent enrolled at 澳门六合彩官网直播,鈥 she exclaims. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of my identity. There is a lot of potential for me out in the world, and I don鈥檛 want to miss out.鈥
About
澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Haenicke Institute for Global Education hosts International Education Week every year. Several events are scheduled from November 18-22 to celebrate global diversity and promote cross-cultural understanding. All events are free and open to the public.
Garrett鈥檚 panel, 鈥淕lobal Social: Study Abroad Alumni鈥 is on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in the Student Center, Room 2207. Other sessions during the week are designed to support the more than 1,170 international students on campus and 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 460 study abroad participants. A full schedule of events is at wmich.edu/globallearning/events. We hope you join us to foster a more globally engaged and inclusive Kalamazoo.
