36 That is one of the reasons that study abroad exists. It’s what we call, in university language, a high-impact learning practice, meaning that it has a real, marked impact. It’s not just about the students and how they perceive themselves and the world; it also changes their relationship with faculty and other students in the program. Going abroad altogether is transformative, but in a group setting, it can create close connections that become valuable. Simpson: Establishing lifelong connections among people students didn’t even know existed. Outside of study abroad, we have many students who intern abroad. There is another path toward networking through the Global Studies program. In these instances, students intentionally put themselves in a program with people from all around the world. When they finish these programs, they will have a network of people from different areas, including governments, NGOs, universities, and other businesses. From an employer’s perspective, are there any tangible benefits of hiring candidates with international perspectives and experiences? Kluver: Here in Global Studies, we understand that the world is international. We deal with people from around the world, and we must have people who have that perspective. We cannot afford someone who gets impatient with foreigners because they don’t understand the system. It’s so important that people have that adaptability, flexibility, and patience. Students who attend these programs learn that flexibility and patience are required to work in the global market. Simpson: It’s great to think of it in terms of interacting with students who aspire to work with these big international corporations. If they have no international experience in their background and are competing against someone who does, it’s easy to see where the upper hand is. The company will see the value in an applicant who they don’t have to train in the skills needed in that role, like patience and flexibility. How can students integrate overseas experiences into job applications and interviews? Kluver: In some sense, it becomes inevitably ingrained into those things. When you go abroad, your perspective changes, and the longer you spend overseas, the more these changes are embedded. Most of our students go overseas for a week to two weeks, and more time is needed to see measurable change. Although it helps heighten students’ awareness of cultural and national differences, they still need to begin to live with them. However, if somebody goes overseas for a year, they come back different because they have gained perspective that they didn’t have before. They understand their culture better, and their sense of cultural identity becomes evident to them, so it’s hard not to incorporate it into your work or resume. Simpson: Students, especially if it’s their first time abroad, may have difficulty unpacking that experience. To them, it can be a series of photos on their phone they’ll look at occasionally. If you ask about their experience, they summarize it as good food, beautiful architecture, and surface-level things. But when you start looking through their reflections, they will talk about thoughtful, complex issues like race, gender, and experiences they had with people who don’t speak English. Moreover, concepts like empathy or awareness of others become heightened. For example, if you’ve been abroad, you’ve struggled to speak the language. That gives you a different perspective when you come home, and someone attempts to speak English. You now have firsthand experience with the challenges people are overcoming, and it opens your mind to higher levels of support for them and curbs frustrations. The key is to instill the skills of expressing these experiences and developing concepts in articulate ways that can transfer into an interview or job application. If students can talk about the knowledge regarding the skills and talents that come from it, that will resonate with that employ-
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