The ACAC was home this Thursday to a wide assortment of study abroad programs and opportunities for students to explore.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, various study abroad programs and opportunities offered by the University of Tulsa advertised themselves in the Allen Chapman Student Union. With their tables decorated, and the smell of food wafting in from the adjoining room, the Great Hall was transformed into a downsized version of the world itself. Without needing a passport, students could walk from India to Saudi Arabia in a few steps, then wander over to Italy from there.
The fair opened at 5 p.m. with around two dozen tables showcasing different paths around the world students can take studying abroad. Exchange partners stood alongside professors and faculty promoting their courses, which included a spring community-engaged psychology course in Nepal and a Sino-American history course traveling to China and South Korea. Alongside these courses, students had the opportunity to explore programs in destinations like Peru, Italy and Australia. Taylor Tarrant, a freshman psychology major, stated that, “There was a lot of options. I’m excited to learn more about all of them because a lot of them sounded pretty great. … I don’t think I realized just how many opportunities there were, but going in there I saw how much they do so each student can go where they want.” That sense of possibility was the focal point of the fair, but people who attended ended up getting a little more than just the brochures.
Once students had their slips stamped by five of the tables, they could choose to walk into the adjoining Faculty Club room, where tastes from many of the countries were served. There was vegetable biryani, chicken pastels, cheese wontons and more for students to select from. Additionally, there were various cultural beverages (mostly fruit-themed), such as mango and pomegranate juices. Muhammad Yesilgul, a senior exchange student studying business law, said that it was “nice eating food from these different cultures and trying something new … all of it was pretty enjoyable.” The Faculty Club also provided a nice seating environment for students to enjoy, although most decided to eat just outside the Great Hall where there were more seats.
For some students attending the fair, it was less about exploring other destinations so much as representing one of their own. Yesilgul was working the Germany table along with a few others and said they had a good amount of interest in their location. “We had a lot of people coming to our table, many people liked that it was a green city … some people even came up to us speaking German.” Yesilgul continued and stated he and the others at the table had spent much of the night answering questions about life in Germany and offering their perspectives as people who lived there.
Students who missed the fair or who just want to learn more can visit the Center for Global Engagement on the third floor of the Holmes Student Center. For quicker information, visit their website(https://utulsa.edu/academics/global-engagement/) to find out more about any of the programs they offer.
