Spring Break Study Abroad

Spring Break Study Abroad

October 17, 2011
Working adults travel to Seville for a hybrid study abroad program

By Jamie Shoaf, ‘11 with Collin Wilson, C‘13

This past March, students traveled with the School of Continuing Studies Human Resources Management (HRM) department to Seville, Spain, for a hands-on spring break study abroad experience titled “Immigration, Labor Markets, and Societies.”

Led by Dr. Patricia Strait, chair of the HRM program, the study abroad experience aimed to provide students with a first-hand education on the role of immigration and labor markets in a global perspective.

“It is critical for students to be able to understand the humbling aspect that comes from studying abroad,” comments Strait. “You begin to have great empathy for people in the U.S. that do not speak the native language, which is critical for understanding how those you study actually feel.”

Gretchen Flynn Morris, program coordinator of the HRM program, assisted in coordinating the study abroad program to ensure students had the opportunity to experience all aspects of a study abroad program—condensed into a one-week period.

Morris speaks on the importance of study abroad in an SCS setting: “As far as I know, there are no other study abroad programs in the area for continuing education students because it is difficult for these students to take more than a week or two off. We found the opportunity to create a program that is both cost and time effective for our students’ needs.”

In its first year, 2009, the spring break study abroad program traveled to Mexico and focused on Human Resources Management in Latin America. For this second experience, Seville matched the program’s needs.

“We needed to get students somewhere relatively easy, which ruled out any programs in the Far East or Australia,” says Morris. “Spain is a really rich country that has a mixture of people from all over Europe and Northern Africa, creating a perfect environment to study immigration issues.”

Not only did the country of study provide diverse perspectives, but students in the program also found a variety of backgrounds and majors within their studying cohort.

While the majority of the students in the program are pursuing a master's degree in HRM, the presence of students from other majors and programs created a unique blend of travelers.

Michael Booker, C‘12, had the opportunity to conduct research toward his Master of Liberal Arts degree. With a focus on military history in his major, he was able to research roots of Spanish versus American immigration from a military perspective.

“As the trip focused on immigration, I was able to tie this into my studies by comparing the Spanish role with immigration versus the U.S. Army’s role with immigration,” Booker asserts. “Having the opportunity to speak with military police in Seville first-hand is a research convenience that you cannot find at almost any other adult education program.”

The course instruction differs from standard SCS scheduling, as students met for class for four hours each day over the course of one week while in Spain.

Taught by Professor Henry Trull, a British national who has lived in Spain for over twenty years, students gained multiple perspectives on immigration through his lessons.

Kim Marano, C‘13, pursuing a Master of HRM degree, comments on the differing teaching experience abroad: “We learned from a very different teaching perspective in Seville. Once you sit down and talk with others you realize the reality of those differences and I was personally amazed by the professor's [Trull] openness with differences of opinion.”

Learning experiences outside of the classroom are also built into the program, as students met with Spanish business owners and visited sites such as Tio Pepe Bodega.

One of these business owners, Enrique Ybarra—founder/CEO of City Sightseeing—provided students with an international perspective on human resource practices as he runs a global sightseeing bus company.

“Meeting with Mr. Ybarra was great because it gave us real-life application of practices that can be limited in application in the classroom,” says Marano.

As many SCS students are currently employed, the timing of the study abroad program is critical to its attractiveness for people who cannot afford to take much time off as most study abroad experiences require.

Strait believes the program accomplishes this goal effectively, noting that it provides “hands-on, practical knowledge through a condensed format in another country.”

Even though this program does not classify as a standard semester-long study abroad opportunity, it allows for students to embrace the customs of others while demonstrating flexibility that businesses seek with their employees.

In future years, the program is looking to expand to other countries, currently investigating a summer study abroad program possibility for the summer of 2012.

The School believes that the Spring Break study abroad program is a valuable experience for students and plans to continue that tradition by surveying the interest of all SCS students to express a future country of interest.

In the meantime, students returning from Seville encourage anyone to add this experience to their curriculum. Its design for convenience and various learning modules expand one’s cultural and educational knowledge far beyond the standard classroom setting.