“Greece, I am falling in love with you already.”

That’s what student Izabella McPhee tweeted about her study-abroad experience this summer. She was one of at least 292 Cal State Fullerton students who participated in programs in other countries, ranging from cultural exploration to research projects.

Students attended a film camp in South Korea, studied communication design in Denmark, learned math in Thailand and took part in multimedia journalism in Spain. On an island off Puerto Rico’s mainland, students farmed, manned a radio station and contemplated their career goals by the ocean.

“We’re excited about the many diverse programs abroad and away that CSUF is offering in just one summer,” said Jack Hobson, director of the Office of Study Abroad. “Representing over a dozen countries, these programs encompass a variety of disciplines and include faculty-led department programs, research groups, experiential and service learning trips, internships and also independent program options.”

Eight students nominated by faculty traveled to Baja California Sur to develop their leadership skills while they supported community development projects.

“Not too many science majors study abroad, but it’s so important to our education,” said Maddie Ybarra, a senior biological science major who was excited to see the plant life of the Sonoran Desert.

“I remember being a freshman and not really knowing what I wanted to study,” said Andrew Vo, who is now eyeing a career in public relations. “Putting myself out there, and studying abroad, really did help define what I wanted to do in the future.”

Faculty pull all the strings they can to help students afford such trips. The Baja trip was sponsored partly by University Extended Education, for example, with travel provided by Southwest Airlines. To finance other trips, students held food sales and set up GoFundMe pages.

The students come home changed, said John Gleaves, associate professor of kinesiology, who led a group of students to Athens, Greece, to explore the history of the Olympic Games in the olive groves where they began. The idea, he said, was that students see that their professional ambitions – whether for physical therapy, physical education or medicine – connect to a tradition that goes back to the ancient Greeks.

“They are able to take a longer and larger view of the world,” Gleaves said. While they learn how big the world is, they also learn how interconnected we all are.

The students were able to run in the ancient stadium in Nemea where athletes ran for glory before the birth of Christ. Student Talia Jankowski posted on Instagram that tears filled her eyes as she stood on the same hill on which the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians.

“As a professor, it is incredible to watch young minds come alive,” Gleaves said. “I think studying on sites that are 2,500 years old awakens the curiosity and awe that is essential for learning. Students begin asking more and more questions and don’t even realize that class ended an hour ago because the conversation and questions are so fascinating.”

After taking three groups to Greece, Gleaves has noticed the study abroad students more often graduate with honors and go on to do great things.

“I think there is a direct connection between such an intense learning experience and the fire that motivates the students to be successful in their studies and careers after they return,” he said. “You see that study abroad has an impact not just on school, but also for life.”

The summer trips aren’t all fun and Olympic games. Six students lugged 21 donated suitcases of school and art supplies, CDs, balls, diapers, sheets and medical items to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for an orphanage school.

In sweltering open-air classrooms, the students taught reading, writing, art and music and played games with the children. In the evenings at their hotel, the students crafted lesson plans.

“This experience completely opened my eyes and changed my perspective about teaching,” said Lindsey Hass, a preschool teacher who completed the early childhood special education credential program in May and is beginning her master’s in education-special education this summer. After just an hour in the school’s preschool classroom, Hass admitted she wasn’t as prepared to teach kids struggling with learning as she thought.

“The experience reminded us to continue to be open-minded and self-reflective. The kids at this orphanage are so bright and kind; they have so much potential, and all they need is someone who is on their side to support and guide them,” said Hass, who is now sponsoring a 4-year-old boy from the orphanage.

Want to go?

Studying abroad isn’t just a summer thing; the university boasts a dozen programs available during Winter Session, for example.

The Study Abroad office can answer questions about how to participate in programs overseas and how to finance it. Information sessions are held regularly on campus.

A Fall Study Abroad Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 7 on the Central Quad.

Info: international.fullerton.edu/study-abroad