Taking Advantage of Abroad Opportunities
Take a class on campus and go abroad later; Marist offers courses for different majors to experience academic travel for a shorter time.
The Tower Bridge in London Credit: Phoebe Castellano '25
Whether you’re a new student on the Marist College campus or you’ve been here for years, it seems that everybody has heard of the International Programs offered. Marist holds the ranking of 2nd for academic year, semester study and the total number of students participating in abroad programs Accessible travel is a major appeal for prospective students, and the versatility of the Freshman Florence/Dublin experience, summer/winter programs, a pre-college opportunity and the traditional semester abroad already offers a full menu of travel. Yet another lesser-known option is available to any student who wants to spend two weeks abroad during the beginning of the summer months of May and June in the country offered while taking the required credits during a regular semester on campus.
The catalog for the Spring 2023 semester is exciting, to say the least; programs can be accessed on the website www.global.marist.edu where the possibilities extend to Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Greece, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Iceland and even different territories of the U.S. The cost of the program differs from $3,000 to $6,000, but this price tag pays for the plane ticket, hotel and planned costs for activities with the trip. Considering the heightened prices of tourism in recent years, the academic and personal experiences seem to outweigh the heavy piggy bank.
The application differs for each program, but there is a personal statement and basic paperwork to fill out in order to be accepted. But be warned, the list fills up fast! The program going to Amsterdam, Netherlands in the spring has already closed ahead of schedule, due to the influx of applications from hopeful students. There are waitlists for each program set up, so the possibility of attending even if the application closes is high. Even professors are eyeballing the opportunity to attend a two-week trip abroad.
In the spring of 2022, I had the opportunity to attend a spring attachment program in London, U.K. As a teenager who had never been outside of the U.S., I jumped at the chance and ended up in a Criminal Justice Law and Society class with twenty other people I had never known before. Throughout the year we learned about the differences in law between the U.S. and the U.K., as well as the influence of Parliament, the Crown and other legislative bodies. Throughout the semester excitement grew, and when we were waiting for our plane at JFK airport we finally began trading introductions outside the classroom.
When our plane touched down, the people I hadn’t known seven hours earlier became my lifeline between this unfamiliar terrain and the comfort of home. Between an impromptu trip to Paris, France, visits to Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, we became close friends through a shared view of the city from the Corner Hotel in Whitechapel. The spring attachment programs offer an extended brochure of experiences, of which we took full advantage. Walking to Kensington Palace through the spring humidity and watching the fireworks of Queen Elizabeth’s 70th anniversary of monarchy was a momentous opportunity, comparable only to the view of the Eiffel Towel through the Parisian buildings.
Nicaya-Isabella Rios ‘25 and Ariana Sunseri ‘24 were two students present on the London trip. When asked what their favorite part of the program was, they had similar statements.
“Getting to meet a wonderful group of people!” Sunseri said. “I was going to say the same thing,” Rios added. “I loved the experience of studying abroad as a class rather than separately.”
Sunseri said, “It was easy to adapt when I went into the program with a friend.” In terms of travel, Sunseri said that “visiting all the places that I had the chance to while we were there” was her personal favorite part of the trip.
For Rios, it was that she “got to experience the freedom of study abroad with a shorter time frame, which was better for me, and it made all of us [on the trip] experience as much as we could… We spent every minute doing something, experiencing as much of London that we could.”
This coming semester offers a grant from President Kevin C. Weinman who graciously set up the Presidential Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience to help make the spring programs accessible to a larger group of students. The funds for the payment of Spring Attachment Programs “enable talented students with financial need to access the same range of experiences as their classmates.” This program is a fantastic help for students who want to experience traveling abroad from all walks of life. Anyone can apply and the lucky students chosen would have part or almost all of the program’s cost covered.
Our Criminal Justice professor for the program, Dr. Julie Raines, also gave a statement encouraging students to apply. She looks forward to “being able to spend an awful lot of time with the students, much more than in an academic setting… We go on academic excursions while there but we also have personal time together. To me, that really enriches the whole experience of bonding with the students and spending extra time with them which improves my teaching, and it’s just a lot of fun!”
With the Spring 2023 semester right around the corner, consider applying for a Spring Attachment Program. Taken within the regular curriculum, traveling with a class of peers and expanding your horizons is just an application away. Don’t forget to apply for the Presidential Fund, and I hope to see more excited faces at JFK airport in May!