Kathie Bergquist, a part-time instructor in the School of Communications and Culture, discusses how studying abroad offers students new experiences and opportunities.

Transcript:

0:06: Welcome back to Conversations. 

 0:08: I’m your host, Levi Libson. 

 0:13: For some students, the possibility of studying abroad seems far-fetched and completely out there. 

 0:18: For others, it’s an exciting possibility. 

 0:21: Nevertheless, it’s undeniably a massive opportunity for everyone to view and witness new and unique experiences. 

 0:27: This last Wednesday, I attended the spring study abroad fair and spoke to Cathy Bergquist about the pros of studying abroad and what it has to offer. 

 0:35: We discussed details surrounding the process of application and what often holds students back. 

 0:40: If you have ever considered one of our school’s many programs, this episode is for you. 

 0:45: Sure, my name is Kathy Bergquist, and I am a part-time faculty at Columbia College, and I also lead the creative writing J Tour in Paris and the Creative Writing Sumer in Prague programs. 

 0:56: Back in 2011, Cathy began bringing Columbia College students to Prague, noticing powerful growth in the people who went. 

 1:03: So what would you say are some key experiences, key things that students can, can pull from something like this? 

 1:09: I think that there are 2 ways to think about it, one is the pragmatic way and one is the creative way. 

 1:14: , pragmatically, having a study abroad experience, particularly in the type of competitive creative fields that our students are entering, is one of the things that can set you apart when you are looking for jobs and opportunities post college. 

 1:29: So it can be a really practical choice to make, to say, in the increasingly globalized creative marketplace. 

 1:35: That I am going to give myself the opportunity to have a leg ahead by having this international experience, but it’s not just something to put on your resume, the act of navigating a different culture, figuring things out, solving problems, those are all life skills, soft skills that are highly transferable and easy to articulate to a future internship hire or a future employer. 

 1:56: That’s the pragmatic thing, but creatively, and this is what I think is really important. 

 2:01: Is that relocating yourself into a new situation and a new culture takes yourself out of the ruts, habits, patterns, and routines of your normal life. 

 2:11: If you’ve been feeling like you’re pulled in too many directions, you know, you’re taking 5 classes that all have different demands and you have your job and your friends and your family, and you are feeling creatively unmotivated, uninspired, or you just don’t have the concentrated time. 

 2:23: To work on your creative development, one of the best things that you can do for yourself is to put yourself in an entirely different environment. 

 2:29: Simply by putting yourself in an unknown environment, you subject yourself to new ideas and thoughts. 

 2:34: Sometimes as students, we get stuck up on patterns that feel hard to break. 

 2:38: This is a massive block in most of our roads. 

 2:41: No matter where you go. 

 2:43: If you are in Prague, you’re going to have all of these new sights, sounds, smells, those ruts of your old habits, patterns and routines don’t exist and you can completely not only reinvent yourself, but do so in a place that is creatively invigorating and and exciting and give you. 

 3:00: yourself the time to focus on just your creative process and creative development over the course of however long the duration of the program is with a group of like-minded creative people where you’re all deeply immersed in in a creative generation and creative process. 

 3:15: It’s such a gift to give to yourself as a creative. 

 3:18: What would you say is something that often holds people back that prevents students from wanting to to study abroad? 

 3:23: I think that, you know, the, the financial barriers are, are real, but I would also say that students who shut the door on it thinking, oh, this is not for me, this is not possible for me, really should talk to somebody at Columbia Central and a, a financial counselor before they make. 

 3:39: That decision that they can say this is something I wanna do as part of my plan at Columbia. 

 3:42: How can we make this happen? 

 3:44: because it’s been my experience that the counselors at Columbia Central really want to help make this happen for students so sometimes it’s a longer term picture, to be able to meet scholarship deadlines and things like that. 

 3:56: That aside, I think that a lot of times students feel like they wanna do it. 

 4:00: But they’re just not sure that it’s, that it’s for them, that it can work for them, but I will tell you that from my firsthand experience, if you like to tell stories, if you, if you are in a field that that creates narratives, which is almost all of Columbia’s majors, then there’s a, then there’s a place for you in these programs. 

 4:19: This all sounds great, but where should I get started? 

 4:22: If you go on the Global Ed website and just do a keyword search Columbia College Chicago faculty led. 

 4:28: It’ll show you the range of faculty led programs, and you can look through them, find the ones that feel suitable, the ones that interest you, and, and contact the faculty leader for them. 

 4:38: All of us have information sessions. 

 4:40: the ones for my two programs are done through Teams, so you can do them from your dorm or even commuting or whatever is convenient for you. 

 4:47: they last about 45 minutes and we’ll cover. 

 4:49: The costs of the program, the logistics, where you’ll be staying, how travel will work, things like that, what the schedule will look like, the academics, what the actual work is that you’re going to be doing and how to apply. 

 5:00: For any students who might be on the fence about this, about wanting to do it, what would you say to them? 

 5:05: Ultimately, take the leap of faith. 

 5:06: It’s an investment that you’re making in yourself, in your own creative development and in your future. 

 5:16: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and Metro News at Columbia Chronicle.com. 

 5:20: I’m Levi Libson. 

 5:22: Thanks for listening. 

Copy edited by Samantha Mosquera