OXFORD, Miss. – Rachel Johnson of Fort Collins, Colo., a senior at the University of Mississippi, spent the spring semester in Quito, Ecuador, studying at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
The study abroad further validates her decision to “get away from home and have a different college experience.”
Majoring in international studies and Spanish, Johnson is a member of both the Croft Institute for International Studies and Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at UM. She said the dual opportunity weighed heavily in her college choice.
“Croft and the Honors College really hooked me because of their small, discussion-based class approach, which is hard to find at big universities,” she said. “The study abroad that Croft requires, including the emphasis on language acquisition and using the time and experiences to decide on a thesis topic, really shows the program’s dedication to exposing students to the regions and languages they study.”
Croft is a privately endowed, selective program for students majoring in international studies to prepare them for jobs in a global marketplace. The Honors College provides undergraduate students from all disciplines with a vibrant center of academic excellence, merging intellectual rigor with public service, to help them become outstanding in their fields and engaged citizens of their communities.
During the spring semester, 109 Ole Miss students participated in Study Abroad programs. Each year, the Study Abroad Office sends around 600 students abroad, offering programs in more than 80 countries covering Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
Through the exchange partnership with USFQ, Johnson’s courses included 13 hours of credit toward her UM degree.
Living with a host family in Quito and interacting with the native people not only helped improve her Spanish-speaking skills but also provided a better understanding of Latin America.
“You can only learn so much in a classroom about the political, economic and social atmosphere of a country, but being able to hear and see firsthand gave me a better sense of how things really are,” Johnson said.
An extension of her classes was participation in a Model United Nations simulation, led by her international relations professor.
“As usual with Model UN, I had a blast,” she said. “I represented South Africa, and the body we were simulating was the International Atomic Energy Agency. The topics set before us were the 2010 Review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and Disarmament, Nuclear Terrorism and Iran’s Nuclear Program.”
She also enrolled in the Andinismo class, which included mountaineering with frequent camping, hiking and climbing trips.
With more than 150 international students studying at USFQ during the spring semester, Johnson said they formed a little community.
“It was really easy to bond, since we were all out of our element and needed a support system so far from home. Most of the students actually spoke English, so we would go back-and-forth between languages.”
During the school’s “Carnaval” break, they traveled to Puerto Lopez, a beach town in southern Ecuador.
“We went to beaches in Machalilla national park and visited Isla de la Plata, where we hiked to view species of birds such as red-footed boobies and frigate birds, which only live on that island and the Galapagos,” she said. “And I went snorkeling there for the first time ever.”
She joined friends to visit the Peruvian cities of Lima and Cusco, and Machu Picchu, a pre-Columbian Inca site.
“We saw some amazing ruins, historic churches and even a museum about the uses of coca, a plant indigenous to the Andes which has useful medicinal applications.”
During her four-month sojourn, there was no Internet access at her host family’s home, which made homework a challenge, and an unreliable hot water system made it difficult to plan ahead for a hot shower, “but these were not big issues,” she said. “The entire experience really broadened my horizons and made me realize how lucky we are in the U.S. to have the opportunities and comforts we enjoy.”
Johnson is slated to graduate from UM in May 2011. During her senior year, she will be writing her combined Croft Institute/Honors College thesis on the violence and drug trafficking in Columbia. She hopes to attend graduate school, concentrating on Latin American studies and global communication, so she can work in an area that combines her interests in Columbian politics and journalism.
“I don’t think my college experience and education in international studies and Spanish would have been complete without my study abroad,” Johnson said. “The things I learned pertaining to my major and language of study, as well as what I learned about myself, are invaluable.”
A graduate of Fort Collins High School, she is the daughter of Dru and Jeff Johnson, formerly of Fort Collins, and the granddaughter of Drew and Geri Coleman of Hoover, Ala.
For more information about UM’s Study Abroad programs, Croft Institute or Honors College, go to http://www.outreach.olemiss.