Engineering A Semester Abroad in Italy #HogsAbroad

Via Po to Piazza Vittorio in Torino, Italy.
Photo by Justin Carter, a mechanical engineering student who spent Spring 2011 at PdT on exchange.

As part of an agreement between Southeastern Conference universities and the Politecnico di Torino (PdT), SEC engineering students are currently studying abroad at the Italian university. The exchange program, in its seventh year, provides a way for Italian students to study at conference universities in the fall and SEC students to study in Italy the following spring.

One of this year’s SEC exchange students is Andrew McArthur, a sophomore at the University of Arkansas who is studying mechanical engineering. McArthur talked with SECU, the conference’s academic initiative, about his experience.

SECU: What sparked your interest in taking part in the SEC engineering exchange program?   

Andrew McArthur: “The University of Arkansas does a great job of exposing students to opportunities abroad. I heard about the program and all its benefits for those in my major and I was hooked. Combine that with the fact that it’s in an amazing city and country, there was no way I was going to pass on this opportunity.”    

SECU: What were your expectations going into this experience? 

Andrew McArthur: “I knew the PdT would be difficult because it’s a prestigious institution and everyone around me would be in a similar field. I expected the adjustment would be hard, but that I wouldn’t have too many issues getting acclimated to the difficulty and style of my classes. My expectations have been met and I'm succeeding, I believe, in my classes, but it has been no easy task.”

SECU: What are some educational goals you would like to accomplish during your time at the PdT?

Andrew McArthur: “Being here and doing well is an impressive goal in itself. The lectures are very different than the U.S. and it’s noticeably more theoretic. Besides that, I’ve been trying to accomplish more outside of class. Aside from talking about school, I've made a huge effort to engage with classmates about their work experience, research and more. I want to have a general idea of what the international stage is like for mechanical engineering majors.”

SECU: What are some of the challenges you’ve faced so far? 

Andrew McArthur: “One of the biggest challenges is the change in class structure. Instead of weekly homework and two or three tests per semester, I have only one test for each class at the end of the semester. This shifts the pressure to the students because we must pace our study habits without the help of benchmarks like midterm exams. As a sophomore, I’ve only been in school for three semesters and I’m still getting to know how classes work in the U.S. This change is certainly a challenge, but I'm staying on top of all my lectures and I always attend class. When you start missing classes here, it’s almost impossible to catch back up.”

SECU: When this experience is over and you return to the U.S., what do you hope to have accomplished during your time in Italy? 

Andrew McArthur: “In general, I hope to become a more well-rounded person. Applied to education, I hope to become a student, who when tossed into a daunting class, can adapt and overcome the challenges of that class. I want to be able to use my knowledge of the Italian course structure to help in my upper-level classes that might have fewer required assignments. I would also like to say that I achieved success through hard work and flexibility at one of Europe’s engineering hubs. Down the road, I would like to study abroad again to further these accomplishments.”

Article Excerpts Courtesy of: Bryant Welbourne, Assistant Director SECU

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Students interested in learning more about study abroad opportunities should contact the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange.

Find out more about the University of Politecnico Exchange with the College of Engineering at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/pdt

Engineering A Spring Exchange in Italy #HogsAbroad

Katie Edwards found independence by studying abroad for a semester at Italy's Politecnico di Torino.

Katie Edwards is the baby of her family. The youngest of four siblings, she is always doted on, always inquired about, always cared for. She found a bit of independence when she came to the University of Arkansas as a freshman in 2012. But, with an older brother on campus, she still didn't truly know what it would be like to be on her own.

"When I came to the University of Arkansas, I still had my big brother with me," she said. "While it was nice to have his support, I was never really on my own completely. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go abroad."

To really gauge her level of self-sufficiency, Edwards knew she would have to select a program that was longer than a few weeks. She opted for a semester-long exchange program for engineering students at Italy's Politecnico di Torino.

"I chose a longer program because I didn't think I would get as much experience if I were just there for the summer," she said. "I also felt like I had a lot more freedom because I didn't have professors with me from Arkansas. I was more on my own and had to learn a lot more, but I think I got a lot more out of it."

Edwards' experience in Italy got off to a rocky start. As soon as her plane landed, she realized she had no idea how to get to her university dorm. With no cell service and limited Italian language ability, Edwards had to get creative in finding her way.

"Honestly, that's an experience I'm glad I had," she said. "It was the big 'freak out' moment of my trip, and I was able to just get it over with right away. It was terrifying at the time, but I think it was good for me in the end."

For Edwards, getting settled and figuring things out away from her comfort zone was challenging at first. However, as she began making friends and building a support system, things started getting a lot easier and a lot more fun.

Edwards, a senior mechanical engineering student, now reflects on her time as an exchange student as one of the best experiences of her life.

"My time in Italy definitely made me grow up a lot, but gaining that sense of independence was so rewarding," she said. "It was the best experience I could have given myself."

The College of Engineering, in partnership with the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange, has greatly expanded the semester exchange opportunities for engineering students.

"Spending a semester in a foreign country is the best way to learn the culture, make new friends and learn how engineering is performed around the world," said Bryan Hill, assistant dean of student recruitment and diversity, honors and international programs in the College of Engineering. "With our expanded semester exchange options, it is great to be able to hand an incoming freshman engineering student an eight-semester degree plan that includes a semester abroad."

Students interested in learning more about study abroad opportunities should contact the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange.

Find out more about the University of Politecnico Exchange with the College of Engineering at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/pdt

My #Gilman Scholarship & The Matrix: Dodging Bullets & Achieving the Impossible #HogsAbroad #TBT

Before I get going on the core of this post where I humbly and sincerely give thanks for an amazing scholarship I’ve recently received I’d just like to point out I’ve been able to figure most of this blogging stuff out but honestly I think the most difficult thing is knowing exactly what I want to say about everything going on. But to fill you in on what I mean let me take you on a magic carpet ride about how this whole blog thing got started (cue flashback harp melody):

It was another action packed day in the Mechanical Engineering building where I found myself doing homework in the lobby, you know, explaining how to create universes and stuff, when some good friends stopped by to chit chat. Once again I found myself laughing at their invitations to join their escapade to conquer Italy. I mean I was thrilled that they were going, don’t get me wrong, but it never once had crossed my mind that I could study abroad, see other countries and have dastardly adventures that would later go on to inspire Oscar,  Golden Globe, and MTV award winning flicks. Sounds awesome, no doubt, but nah not in my immediate plans. Thanking them once again for their consideration I finished up my dissertation of a homework assignment. 

       So it should be no surprise the surprise I received about an email about a prized scholarship I would later go on to praise. The email was from none other than Laura Moix, Study Abroad Program Manager and Coordinator at the U of A. Apparently I had a great shot at getting the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship which is a pretty awesome award. That email might as well have been a dragon piercing black arrow going through my skull (source: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug) because after reading that message all I could think was: “study abroad…..Italy….automotive engineering….sweet….maybe?” But let’s skip to the good stuff. 

       With two weeks or so left before the scholarship and program deadlines I worked my tail off to prepare my application requirements and got them submitted in the nick of time. Few weeks later, open email, “Congratulations…”, freakin out………squealed like a girl, emailed Laura. After getting my t-shirt and souvy cup from Cloud 9 I managed to read the next message from Laura asking me to blog about my Gilman award. I eagerly promised I would and immediately after sending my response I thought “Wait, what?”………Looking back I think I was filled with such gratitude for receiving the award that I woulda said yes to anything.

Do your homework? Heck yeah!  

My debit card? No problem, take it! Here’s the PIN!

A kidney?……..Take bo– OK, maybe not, but point is I kinda stumbled into this blog. Don’t worry though! I promise I’m willingly and gladly writing on this new blog I’ve crafted as I’ll soon share (cue flashback harp melody once again).

And that, Charlie Brown, is how you find yourself a newborn blogger. Now as you might imagine this is the part where I start saying how grateful I am with adjectives like “incredible” and “amazing” and “unbelievable” to describe other words like “opportunity” and “dream” or “adventure”. Mmm. Not quite. Or really what I mean is that that’s not enough because quite frankly I’m still not fully awake to what’s happening. Confused? I wouldn’t be surprised, but let me put it like this: The closer my departure date gets the more I become aware of how grand this small study abroad trip is evolving and how its impact is gripping roots into my life, all the way through to my very personality. Funnily enough I just wanted to go learn about automotive engineering, see some fast cars and kick it with local Italians. My inner nerd jumped headfirst into this so I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Yet once I knew that this was happening, once I knew there was no going back, when the flight had been scheduled, visa received, and officially admitted as a student in Italy, I was encroached upon by a slow and relentless draft of……numbness. That’s the best word I can find in Webster’s to explain my state at that moment. I was stoked that it was happening but for some reason I wasn’t ecstatic and at the same time I wasn’t really sad about anything. But I need to wrap this up so I can let you get back to your life, and yes I promise I’m going to bring up my Gilman Scholarship and how grateful I am for it (Laura), I just need to set up why ;)

It wasn’t until this Christmas break when I was home visiting the ol’ folks and fambam and friends that I finally got a foot hold on what was swimming around in my head in a conversation with my old man. My father is descended from hawks. He has to be because that man can spot when the tiniest thing is out of place with me. When we were alone he finally asked why I was depressed. Unfortunately his keen insight is equally impaired by a tendency for extremes. I laughed shakily, and reassured him I wasn’t depressed for sure…though at the same time I wasn’t really sure what was goin on with me either.

But after answering a few of his questions it dawned on me. Sweet revelation. There more I talked the more I began to understand and see this study abroad trip for what it actually was. My own words revealed to me that my numbness wasn’t a dissatisfaction with my life or career or family or friends. It was simply a readiness for more. I wasn’t fully comfortable even being home because honestly there was, and has always been, a strongly suppressed ember of desire for something new, something drastically different than everything I’d ever known. Yeah you read that right. Strongly suppressed. You should know why though. I bet anything I own that you’ve felt this suppression before and might even be feeling now and just merely have accepted it.

I came to explain to my father and myself that I couldn’t stand to hear anybody tell someone else that their goals and dreams were too high, unreachable; to hear one person tell another to “be real about it” and keep their feet on the ground. Sure, they’re just “lookin out for you” but those words do more damage than good. Approaching my senior year of engineering, I realized I had allowed myself to be influenced into giving up my own dreams and simply follow the norm. Get a job, make good money, have some kidos, etc. But now that this Italy thing is goin down, I realize I AM NOT READY FOR THAT! Don’t misinterpret what I said though! I would consider myself blessed to reach those things in life, they’re awesome! But…….It’s not what I need right now. So there in my parent’s living room with my father playing psychologist I came to understand that I was Neo from The Matrix.

Like badboy, super cool Neo, I had become aware of a desire for more. That the world I lived in couldn’t possible be the real deal. Was that it? And yes, in case you’re wondering, just like my boy Neo I also have gymnast flexability and can dodge bullets. I say that because I’ve come to understand how rare it is to do what I’m doing. I mean how many people can say not just that they’re traveling the world, no, that’s too small, but that they’re doing exactly what they’ve always wanted to do with their life? That they’re at the threshold of achieving dreams formed when they were a child? With the heart of a child? And I had been so CONFIDENT that nothing my friends said could change my mind about going to Italy…..

Thinking about this made me feel like I had just crossed the Grand Canyon on a tightrope. That’s when I saw the countless number of times I could have fallen off and obliterated my dreams. That’s when I saw all of the dodged bullets of my life and that to reach you’re dream you really do have to bend over backwards to get them, like Neo :)  I know you might be thinking “Well…yeah cool..but Neo got shot”. ‘Course he did. Do you honestly think you won’t fall down a few times trying to reach that prize you’re after? Yeah. Neo got shot but that bullet didn’t kill him, and like he went on to show: if it don’t kill you, it’ll make you stronger. And yes, it’s only the people who are ready to do anything, to face anything, that accept struggle and pain and sacrifice, that can reach their dreams. Only then can you learn to fly……..the super kung fu stuff is optional… ;)

So to the great folks at Gilman International, I would like to say thank you. You undoubtedly have my greatest appreciation that at the moment just keeps growing to unmeasurable heights. Not for helping in funding my study abroad trip with such a generous scholarship, but for waking me up to what I had almost lost. Thank you for helping me fuel that small ember for something more into an internal combustion engine that drives me forward to the things that I need most for myself (excuse the engineering metaphor).

Of course my gratitude also extends to Laura Moix. I’ll always think of the moment I read that email as a moment where my life took a completely different direction. Thanks :)

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin themselves, they wanna tell you YOU can’t do it. You want somethin, go get it. Period”

by Christian Jacquez
Read more from Christian at http://thewanderfulengineerdude.wordpress.com

Find out more about the University of Politecnico Exchange with the College of Engineering at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/pdt 

 
About the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (http://www.iie.org/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program) offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. Such international study is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.

 

 

Dr. Pepper SEC Abroad Awards for #HogsAbroad

The University of Arkansas is a proud member of the South Eastern Conference.
SECU was established in 2005 and one of its original focal points was education abroad.
In response, students from SEC universities now have access to programs offered at other
SEC universities. The SEC also has a partnership with  Politecnico di Torino which gives
SEC engineering students the opportunity to study in Torino, Italy, each spring.

For the second year row, Dr. Pepper will award two $2,000 study abroad scholarships to students at the University of Arkansas, as well as other member schools in the SECU, to assist in defraying study abroad costs.  

"Dr Pepper has a long-standing commitment to higher education, and we are committed to increasing the amount and type of education abroad opportunities available for our students," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "With this generous contribution from Dr Pepper, we are better equipped to meet one of the charter goals for SECU as outlined by our Presidents and Chancellors."

By funding these awards, Dr Pepper will provide study abroad opportunities during the summer of 2016 for high achieving University of Arkansas students with demonstrated financial need who represent non-traditional study abroad participants. Preference will be given to students enrolling in a University of Arkansas faculty led program.

The application deadline for summer 2016 is February 15, 2016.  Qualified students who complete the Office of Study Abroad Scholarship Application will automatically be considered for this scholarship! No additional application is required.

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For more scholarships, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/funding 

The Perks of Being A #HogsAbroad Exchange Student Pal

Ciao ragazze!!

My name is Amy and I had the privilege of studying abroad in the beautiful country of Italy. While in the small town of Viterbo I had the most incredible language buddy, Federica. She took us to festivals, concerts and helped us acclimate to a new culture and town. In addition, she would help me with my Italian homework and kindly correct me on my grammar and pronunciation. Federica made adapting to the Italian lifestyle easier and I don't know how I would have survived without her.

While in Viterbo the director of study abroad, DeDe Long, was in town for the board of directors meeting. She told my roommate, Hannah, and I that three Italian boys from Torino would be studying at the U of A in the fall. We already couldn't wait to meet them and DeDe encouraged us to get involved in the Pals program. This program is a way to connect international exchange students with American students at Arkansas. I couldn't wait to show them around and continue to make new friends from other cultures. 

After returning to the U of A in August I picked my Pal, Francesco, up from the airport and moved him into his dorm.  Throughout the international student orientation week we had many opportunities to get together for trips to Sonic, Walmart and later that week we all went to a soccer game where I had the opportunity to meet the other international students including, Giacomo and Alfredo. 

I loved getting to show them around Fayetteville and introduce them to new things such as peanut butter, American football and chicken finger Friday. The three Italians cooked us authentic Italian dinners, taught us how to play some guitar and introduced us to classic Italian card games.

They were excited to travel around the country and the five of us took a road trip up to my hometown, Kansas City. We went up to the top of the World War I museum, toured the Country Club Plaza and ate enough barbecue to last a lifetime.  

I hope to have made their acclimation to Fayetteville smooth but what was unexpected was how they made my transition back to Fayetteville easier. After returning back to America from five months in Italy I experienced reverse culture shock. Coming back in August to a full schedule, RSO commitments and a ton to catch up on, these three boys brought Italy to Arkansas. The group of exchange students bring the spirit of studying abroad and adventure to Fayetteville. Whether you have studied abroad before, speak another language or just want to learn about other cultures I would encourage every student to apply to be a Pal! 

If you are interested in becoming an Exchange Student Pal, make sure you sign up for our Frequent Flyer here: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/sign-up-for-the-listserv.php.  Application information is announced via the listserv usually in June for the fall semester and November for the spring semester.

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Amy Cosgrove, Study Abroad Peer Advisor