Globe Trotters CAS study abroad programs take international learning to the next level created the magazine two years ago, when its spring break trip to Geneva was canceled because of COVID19. Students were able to produce a complete version last year after their trip to Scotland. Vienna’s Through an Orange Lens came out in May and highlighted what the students learned. Every student is tasked with writing an article on a topic of their choosing, while some students are also in charge of other magazine elements such as advertising and editing. “I think all students want to flex that creativity,” said Dr. Skye Cooley, OSU associate professor of strategic communications. “Human beings are innate storytellers. And this class really lets them flex that. It’s no pressure. You go in, you have fun, pick something that you’re interested in, and the story will naturally come.” For the students who are not majoring in an SMSC discipline, being able to write creatively outside their own major was a plus of the trip. Sukesh Kamesh, a biochemistry and molecular STORY MALLORY POOL | PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SMSC OSU students traveled to Vienna in 2024 with the School of Media and Strategic Communications for a weeklong study abroad. biology sophomore, said he got to hone his writing skills, which go hand-inhand with some of the writing he does for his degree classes. “It’s a good blend,” Kamesh said. “I just think that the class furthered my skills of storytelling from an unbiased lens because I think that’s important for the profession I’m going into. So, I definitely got to take those skills and continue to develop those to make sure that I’m an unbiased scientist one day.” Many other departments within the College of Arts and Sciences also offer for-credit study abroad trips that any OSU student can attend. For example, the Greenwood School of Music took a two-week trip to Italy and Greece last year, offering students a humanities credit. Dr. Erin Murphy, associate professor of flute, was one of the faculty members leading that trip. Murphy accompanied 15 students across the region, from Rome and Pompeii to Athens and Santorini. Students wrote a research paper before the trip over a topic related Griff McClellan sat at a cafe on the banks of the Danube seven weeks before graduating college. For him, the trip of a lifetime — a spring break study abroad to Vienna — came at just the right moment before he had to start life outside of college. Sitting and eating brunch along the glittering streets of Austria was one of his favorite memories. “Immersion programs are truly one of the best ways to learn about the world,” said McClellan, a sports media student who joined a diverse group of majors on the trip led by School of Media and Strategic Communications faculty. “It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and hear about its history, its culture and so on. But knowing when you actually go there and get to experience it firsthand, that’s life-changing.” What makes the SMSC study abroad trips unique is the course credit the students get in helping produce the school’s study abroad magazine, Through an Orange Lens. The SMSC OSU COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 27
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAxMjk=