For a full taste of the abroad experience, there’s no better place to turn
than the worldly, abroad-minded experts themselves. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Tufts Director of Programs Abroad, Sheila Bayne, your number one go-to about study abroad and the ins and outs of what it offers. Read on for her insider perspective on study abroad and how it can benefit us as students—academically, career-wise, and in terms of our own self-growth.
1. How long have you been at Tufts? What drew you to the field of study abroad?
I came to Tufts twenty-one years ago as the Director of Programs Abroad. I actually came to Tufts directly from Belgium. I had lived, studied, and worked in France, Germany, and Belgium for fifteen years altogether. My years overseas had a big impact on me and were an important part of my life. It became natural for me to work in the field of study abroad and facilitate other people’s going to other countries for academic purposes.
2. How has study abroad changed since the time you entered the field?
When I started at Tufts, there were only five Tufts study abroad programs, all located in Europe. I hadn’t been at Tufts very long before we started expanding. Now we have ten programs that include Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Our students are now going to a wider range of destinations.
Also, the focus of study abroad used to mainly be on academics and what happened in the classroom. This is still important, but along with the wider range of destinations available, there has come to be more focus on health, safety, and activities outside the classroom---like internships and volunteering. These factors have become much more a part of my job over the years.
3. What are some of the top benefits of study abroad?
The real benefit of study abroad is that you get to go outside of your own environment and see how other people live. We are all human beings, but we don’t realize what that means until we see the wide range of human experience. It’s very powerful to go someplace where everything and everyone is different—the language, and the way that people eat, dress, think and live. It makes you realize that there are not right and wrong answers to every question.
There is also great intellectual benefit in going abroad to a foreign university. Abroad study combines intellectual development with direct experience. Both types of learning reinforce each other. When you go into a university in another country, you see that it is possible to study and learn in a completely different way.
4. How would you say study abroad supplements a student's academic experience at Tufts?
When you study a subject in a different country, you have different resources available to you. You will approach each academic discipline differently, and that can open up new avenues in your academic field. Every additional language you learn opens up a whole range of research and a whole discourse that has not yet been translated. You have at your disposal a lot more material.
5. How can a student make the most of his/her time abroad? What are your top suggestions to abroad students?
The philosophy of Tufts programs is immersion. We do everything we can to see that you really get to know people of that country. But it’s really up to you to decide how much you immerse yourself in the reality of another country.
I have two pieces of advice for abroad students: 1. Make friends with people of the country--whether with your host family, or students that you meet in your class or dorm and through clubs. These relationships are what will last. 2. You should be willing to go outside of your comfort zone. It’s really worth it to push yourself to get out there, meet people, speak the language, get to know your host country, and do things that you can only do while you’re abroad.
6. How do you think study abroad links to career exploration? What can students do while abroad to further their career search and development?
If you have an idea of a particular career you’re interested in, it would be valuable to see how that career is pursued in that country. You can inform yourself about how the career is pursued in the country you’re located in through informational interviews, internships, and volunteer activities. But as juniors, many students haven’t really decided on their career path. So while abroad, a lot of what you’re doing is developing yourself. You are being open to whatever you might see or learn, and you are becoming the person that you are going to be—the person who will ultimately have that career.
Interested in more information related to studying and working abroad? Check out the resources in the International section of the Career Resources by Field on the Career Services website.
