[BE Education Package] Study, Intern, Work Overseas—Yes, You!

Obstacles to studying abroad.
Last year Diversity Abroad surveyed more than 2,000 students, and across the board, finances emerged as the greatest barrier. “The reality is we’re not going to raise enough money to provide scholarships for all the students who want to study abroad,” Gordon concedes.

Another barrier is more of a myth, he says – that of believing that studying abroad will prevent or complicate graduating on time. “A lot of colleges and universities are set up so that students will still graduate on time. That’s a myth that needs to be debunked.”

But he mentions other barriers that may be as challenging to overcome: a student’s culture. “The only group in which fear was one of the top three barriers to studying abroad was African American. Out of all the students we surveyed, fear was not checked by other students. Also, in the global education industry we always hear that for Latino students it’s important to focus on the family. But the survey results showed that family was less of an issue for Latino students than it was for black students, as far as it being a barrier to studying abroad.”

The survey, Gordon said, helped him to appreciate the power of student culture and how it can be as significant a barrier as financial need. “Most people of color don’t have a history of being globally engaged,” he says.

A fear of the unknown and the fact that a culture of global engagement – of studying abroad, interning abroad, doing research overseas – hasn’t been part of African American identity, Gordon says, doesn’t mean that that kind of broader cultural shift can’t occur. In fact, it needs to.

“Funding and scholarships are important,” Gordon says, “but that can be unsustainable over time. We find money for things that we value, and in our community we have to value global engagement. In doing so, more money will fall into that.” Gordon notes that the African American community has tremendous spending power, money that can be set aside to pursue global opportunities.

“We also need to develop opportunities that will attract more diverse students. We don’t have enough opportunities for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.”

For more information about Diversity Abroad and to learn about opportunities to work overseas, explore its extensive website.