Larry Basirico, dean of international programs, wrote an op-ed piece on the benefits of study abroad in the Sunday, Dec. 11 edition of the Greensboro News & Record. Basirico was asked to speak to the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program last spring about the importance of study abroad at Elon and the impact it has on students. The commission recently called on Congress to provide enhanced funding for study abroad programs.
“The study abroad experience, just a generation ago thought to be reserved for only the wealthy and worldly, is now becoming a part of mainstream academic programs,” Basirico wrote. “…Aside from the language skills that students develop in programs in non-English speaking countries, students who study abroad return as more mature citizens and as better learners.”
Included with the op-ed were photos of Elon students Sakeenah Thompson, Amy Jo Jenkins and Matt Dawson during a 2004 study abroad course in Belize.