LaTasha Crutcher was a sophomore at Howard University when she saw the flier on a hallway bulletin board on campus. It was promoting opportunities to study abroad, something Crutcher, who grew up in housing projects in Buffalo, N.Y., had never seriously considered.
Fast forward nearly two years. Crutcher, now a senior at Howard, is a walking advertisement for studying abroad. The semester she spent in Spain last spring was her first trip outside the United States. The 21-yearold administration of justice major immersed herself in Spanish language studies, culture, literature and history. Now, she feels more confident than ever about herself and feels she has an edge in her ability to compete in the job market or for a spot in graduate school after graduation.
“I would recommend study abroad to every student. It opens up your eyes. You learn a lot more about yourself … . We can’t be leaders in a global community with just an American point of view,” Crutcher says.
“I changed more in six months in Spain than in the entire three years I had spent at Howard,” adds Whitney Hampton, a 21- year-old senior from New Orleans. “I’m more assertive now. I speak my mind. I’m not afraid to do things. You can’t learn about yourself if you aren’t taken out of your comfort zone. I realized I was out of my comfort zone when I stepped off the plane (in Spain).”
At a time when American businesses and government agencies are scrambling for new hires with a better sense of the world, Crutcher and a handful of Howard classmates are a minority within a minority of American college students. They have expanded their academic pursuits — and chances for advancement in the future — by spending time outside of the United States in a formal academic environment. They are learning other languages, about other cultures and seeing the world from other perspectives.
“Study abroad experience in an applicant is valuable since, as a global firm, we like our employees to be knowledgeable about not only local matters, but also about other places and cultures in which we participate as a business,” says Thomas A. Russo, vice chairman of Lehman Brothers.
