Hailey Rohn, Penn State Landscape Architecture Student: Bonn, Germany, Spring 2016

A Letter to the Parents from a Penn State Student

Global Penn State Website
Dear Parents,
As a student at Penn State, here in rural little State College, it seems unreal that in eight
months time I will be moving to St. Petersburg, Russia, for an entire semester. 4,400 miles, a 10
plus hour flight, will separate me from home. Not to mention the vast cultural and ideological
chasm between America and Russia Or the language barrier.
Currently, I know almost nothing useful to help me survive this change. I have never
travelled to Russia, never spoken the language, and never had to consider the implications of
cultural differences. I know only one word in Russian, ironically, nyet no.
But what I do know is that by this time next year, I will have developed all the skills and
attributes needed to survive life in a foreign country. And I am very lucky to have supportive
parents who also believe in the transformative power of studying abroad. Not every student has
this support, however, and you may even be one of those parents who seek to discourage their
child from going abroad. But with your patience, I believe I and the resources available
through Global Penn State may enhance your opinion of Study Abroad.

You will, Im sure, have many concerns as you embark on this journey with your child:
How will their academic and career plans be affected? How will experience abroad benefit him
or her? And how can I keep my child safe in a foreign country? Yes, it is terrifying to take that
first step into the unknown. But with a little help you and your student can be ready for this lifechanging experience.

Academic Plan
I am a sophomore, majoring in Chemical Engineering, one of the less represented majors
in study abroad participants and for good reason. Academics are often difficult to design
around a full semester abroad, especially in the STEM fields. But I have planned ahead, working
with my adviser, to fit one into my academic plan and still graduate on-time, and your student
can too. In fact, I believe my education is being enhanced through studying abroad, creating a
more well-rounded and globalized set of coursework. I will benefit academically from studying
abroad, and the evidence shows most study abroad participants do.
An assessment of the University System of Georgia, examining the effect of studying
abroad on college completion, found that students who went abroad had a 17.8% higher fouryear graduation rate than their peers. And the results show that participants made more
successful use of those four years. A study by Indiana University found that students who study
abroad earn higher grades; their cumulative GPA averaged around 3.21, compared to 3.12 for
non-participants. And here at Penn State there are numerous resources to assist students in
planning their study abroad around and to enhance their academic experience.

Career Advancement and Return on Investment

At this point in their lives, the only thing you care more about than your students
academics is probably their career prospects. With high unemployment rates for millennials and
rising college costs, you are right to be concerned, and to wonder whether study abroad and the
large cost associated is worth it. But as a future engineer I can say that it is. And employers
agree.
One cannot emphasize enough the importance of an international experience, says Clair
Powers, a recruiter from AlphaSight. The confidence and self-awareness students gain is an
asset for any business. According to an AIM Overseas survey, 61% of graduate employers
agreed with Powers, and an Erasmus Impact study found that the unemployment rate of students
with experience abroad is 23% lower five years after graduation. Another survey by IES Abroad
showed that 90% of study abroad alumni found a job within six months of graduation, compared
to just 49% of alumni nationally. And the starting salaries were, on average, $7,000 higher.

Still, travel
abroad is staggeringly
expensive, and for many
this is a deterrent.
However, Penn State
offers five scholarships
to go abroad, and the
Global office lists other

Growth of Study Abroad Participants, from Penn State Global

sources of aid, from college and department-based grants to outside providers. In fact, UNESCO
cites over 50,000 separate international grants, of which 18,000 are offered by American donors.
Yet the Open Doors Report by IIE states that fewer than 10% of all US undergraduates study
abroad. These financial resources were designed to get your child international experience at
minimal cost, so why not make use of them?

Language Skill
Many will argue that foreign languages are becoming irrelevant as English takes its place
as the Global Language. And while it is true that more and more businesses are choosing to
conduct relations in English, it is also true that only 20% of the worlds seven billion people
speak English proficiently. In our globalized economy, the need to connect with the other 5.8
billion is growing.
Unfortunately, the US education system is not up-to-scratch when it comes to foreign
languages. In a telephone poll by the University of Michigan in 1979, only 40% of those
surveyed believed public schools should have language requirements. Yet the US is in desperate

need of graduates with those skills. Businesses, the Department of State and the Peace Corps
have positions that go unfilled or are filled by employees with inadequate language skills,
resulting in serious communication problems. In Taiwan, Pepsi executives failed to realize that
their slogan Come alive with Pepsi had been translated into Pepsi brings your ancestors back
from the grave. Not only can inadequacy in foreign languages be disastrous for marketing
strategies, it can also misrepresent America internationally.
Therefore, graduates who can properly conduct global business are in high demand. The
AIM Overseas survey found that 72% of all graduate employers agreed that knowing a second
language adds to the appeal of a prospective employee. But since the American educational
system falls so short in this area, students should look elsewhere to gain language competency
they should look to study abroad.
Personal Growth
We all wish to cocoon our children in the strongest safety-net we can build, but at the
same time we want to see them succeed. I played tennis since I was a kid, and the one thing my
mom always used to tell me was, itll all be worth it when you can beat me. See, in many ways
I think we all want our children to be better versions of ourselves to have the morals weve
taught them but to acquire additional courage, brainpower, and success. We want them to achieve
things weve never even dreamed of. To take risks we were too afraid to take.
And only a Study Abroad will develop the skills and attributes your student needs to be
successful. What begins as a simple step into the unknown ends with a student who is more
confident, independent, and equipped to face any challenge. A study abroad experience
transforms young people, whatever their goals and ambitions and wherever the destination.

Experiencing a new way of life, meeting new people and trying new things while potentially
gaining proficiency in a foreign language, theyll learn the most about themselves and the world.
In The Outcomes of Outbound Student Mobility, a report by AIM Overseas, more than
90% of respondents, 10-15 years after studying abroad, agreed that their experience increased
their independence, enhanced their self-confidence, and increased their openness to new ideas.
Study abroad programs will transform your student as well into the kind of successful,
adventurous person youve always wanted them to be.

Societal Impact
After events like the Cold War and Vietnam, its no wonder that America has turned
inward. And what with ISIS and terrorism in Belgium you may have cause to fear sending your
child abroad. But the problem with turning inward is that it leaves the United States at the mercy
of ignorant foreign policy. One of the biggest handicaps to US national interests is its lack of
language skills, cultural competency, and understanding of global issues. The Study-Abroad
Solution: How to Open the American Mind, from Foreign Affairs, illustrates that fewer than
40% of US citizens hold passports, compared to more than 60% of Canadians and some 80% in
the United Kingdom. This, in turn, makes us a more ethnocentric, close-minded society and
decreases our ability to cope with problems abroad.
Luckily, there exists a simple way to address American close-mindedness: increase the
number of US students who study abroad and bring home essential knowledge and new
perspectives. Not only will the things gained through study abroad benefit your child, but they
will benefit the world in which your grandchildren grow up.

So Parents, while it may be hard to admit that we lack the global understanding necessary
to compete in the modern age, your student has the opportunity to prove us wrong. And while
you may not believe your child is ready to take that step into the unknown, I can guarantee you
that he or she will become ready if not before departure then at some point during their
journey. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, the opportunity to enhance ones education, career,
language, personal abilities, and beliefs. Dont let your student miss this opportunity. Because we
all deserve the chance to see our children succeed. Because our children deserve the chance to
succeed. And because I just learned a new Russian word: . Yes.

Respectfully,
A Penn State Student

Works Cited
Connington, James. Study Abroad: the Career Benefits. The Telegraph. 24 December 2014.
Custer, Sara. US: Study Abroad Alumni have Better Job Prospects. The Pie News. 3
September 2012. Web.
Education Abroad: Highlights for 2011-12. Global Penn State. The University Office of
Global Programs, They Pennsylvania State University. 2013. Web. 7 April 2016.
European Commission. The Erasmus Impact Study. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the
European Union, 2014. Print.
Indiana University. Overseas Study at Indiana University Bloomington: Plans, Participation,
and Outcomes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2009.
Li, Veronica Huang. "Foreign Languages: Tongue-Tied Americans." Editorial Research Reports
1980. Vol. II. Washington: CQ Press, 1980. 677-96. CQ Researcher. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
Malicki, Rob. The Outcomes of Outbound Student Mobility. AIM Overseas. August 2013.
Masci, David. "Future of Language." CQ Researcher 17 Nov. 2000: 929-52. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
ORear, Isaiah, Richard L. Sutton, and Donald L. Rubin. The Effect of Study Abroad on
College Completion in a State University System. University Systems of Georgia.
"Study-Abroad Programs Build 'Next Generation' Travelers." Education Week 21 Oct. 2015: 8.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
"Study abroad trends for U.S. students, 1985-86 to 2006-07." Digital Rights Management for ECommerce Systems. Ed. Dimitrios Tsolis, et al. Hershey, PA: Information Science
Reference, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
Ungar, Sanford J. "The study-abroad solution: how to open the American mind." Foreign Affairs

Mar.-Apr. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.