Study Abroad with a SAGE Scholars Partner Institution

Are you thinking about studying abroad as part of your college experience? Maybe you’re excited about new cultural experiences or looking for ways to strengthen your resume. From language immersions to service-learning trips, SAGE Scholars partner institutions offer many ways to get off campus. And all this travel pays off. Studying abroad sets you apart as a student, scholar, and future employee, can help you make lifelong friends, learn new languages, and see new parts of the world.

While attending an international high school Tokyo, my stepdad played on the basketball team. On or off the court, he realized that despite their differences—like coming from different countries or speaking different languages—they were all on the same team. Over time, he refined this realization into a simple mantra: the bigger the world is, the smaller it becomes.

I wanted to study abroad after hearing about my stepdad’s childhood experiences. Every five years, his family would return to the United States for one year. As they traveled, they’d stop in different places around the world, like Tehran or Hong Kong. So, when I went to college, I wanted to travel more than anything. I ended up picking Ohio Wesleyan University because it offered so many options getting off campus. I took full advantage. While I was at OWU, I did a semester in Tanzania and Kenya, traveled to Cuba on a Theory-to-Practice Grant, and went to the UK as part of a Travel Learning Course. I also participated in as many off-campus opportunities as I could find, like cleaning up a local river and participating in the resettlement of a refugee family in Columbus, Ohio, which is also my Bringing Colleges & Students Together hometown. Getting off campus helped me learn about my community abroad and at home. It made me a better student because I was able to see how theories we read about in class played out in real life.

My stepdad grew up to become a professor of music at Capital University. Each semester, he asks his students to think about what his mantra means to them. To me, it means that people and places that were once far away are now part of my life. I have a responsibility as a global citizen to make the world better, even in small ways, because it is shared. What does it mean to you? Maybe you’ll find out on your next trip abroad with a SAGE Scholars member institution.

Need a place to start? In the US. News Rankings 2021 Study Abroad List, three SAGE Scholars member institutions—Goucher College, Kalamazoo College, and Arcadia University— emerge as top ten in the country, among all accredited colleges, for quality of study abroad programs. If you’re not convinced yet, also consider how studying abroad strengthens your resume and how it could set you apart as a job applicant.