![\"Nicaragua\"](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/12\/1203-nica-trip-04119.jpg\")
<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\nMore than 10,000 people <\/span><\/strong>from across the United States and from 300 educational institutions have studied abroad in more than 40 countries through Augsburg College\u2019s Center for Global Education and Experience. Nearly 80 percent of those\u2014now living and working throughout the globe\u2014credit their study abroad experience with having a strong impact on their work lives.<\/p>\n It\u2019s accepted as common wisdom that studying in another culture yields recognizable benefits including personal growth, intercultural development, foreign language improvement, and the formation of friendships.<\/p>\n Less well explored is how being immersed in another culture plays a role in helping people discern their callings and find employment within their vocation.<\/p>\n This past spring, the center conducted a survey to gather data about its programs, specifically the impact of programs on the personal and professional lives of participants. The survey found that 79 percent of summer and semester program alumni feel their experience abroad has had a strong effect on their ability to secure employment after graduation.<\/p>\n To find out how studying abroad influences the lives of its participants, we talked to Auggie alumni about their experiences, how studying abroad helped shape their careers and lives, and what they would like current students to take away from it all.<\/p>\n Since 1982 and with locations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Namibia, and Nicaragua, Augsburg has provided thousands of people cross-cultural educational opportunities that foster critical analysis of local and global conditions and challenge students\u2019 perceptions about global justice and human rights.<\/p>\n Nationally recognized with various awards for its work in experiential and educational travel opportunities, the center most recently won a 2014 award for Best Practices in International Education Exchange from NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. NASPA seeks to recognize domestic and international colleagues and institutions for exceptional work related to international higher education.<\/p>\n Eric Canny is the dean of global education at Augsburg College. Prior to joining Augsburg, he was executive director of International Learning at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. He has held international leadership positions at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. He received his bachelor\u2019s in fine arts and master\u2019s in education from New York University in New York City. He is completing his doctorate in global executive leadership with a focus on higher education at the University of Southern California, Rossier\u2019s School of Education in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Bruce Shoemaker, a metro-urban studies and sociology major, studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in 1980. This experience led to more than 30 years of international development work in Southeast Asia where he has focused on natural resource conflict issues by helping local communities resist the loss and exploitation of their land, rivers, and forests by outside investors and companies.<\/p>\n Stephen Hindle, a history major, studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and in Nicaragua and Honduras during 1988. Today, he is the director of Asia Pacific at Pearson Clinical and Talent Assessment where he oversees staff across five countries, developing models to explain talent management issues for clients and also developing and executing solutions to solve organizational problems.<\/p>\n IN A STUDY BY THE INSTITUTE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION OF STUDENTS<\/span>,<\/strong> two-thirds of 17,000 alumni surveyed credit their education abroad with influencing their lives by opening up an interest in or passion for another culture. It\u2019s that passion that leads students to lifelong careers in global work.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should follow your passion,\u201d Eric Canny<\/strong>, Augsburg dean of global education, confirmed. \u201cI always say I \u2018fell into\u2019 global [education]. But I think it\u2019s critically important for students\u2019 academic and personal growth to study abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce Shoemaker \u201981<\/strong> believes that not only does studying abroad create an interest in global work, but it also helps graduates obtain that work. \u201cHaving international experience lets employers know that you have challenged yourself; that you have stepped outside of your comfort zone\u2014done something innovative, creative, and new,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is one of those things that allows you to broaden your perspectives and\u2014in my case\u2014bring about social change.\u201d<\/p>\n That experience helps students to get ahead in life, too. \u201cNever stop asking questions\u2026recognizing assumptions, evaluating arguments, and drawing the correct conclusions,\u201d Stephen Hindle \u201989<\/strong> said. \u201cI learned this through my experiences studying abroad and that is why I have dedicated my life to teaching in one form or another.\u201d<\/p>\n So, we wanted to know, if studying abroad so dramatically shaped the lives of these Auggie alumni, what influence could it have on current and future college students\u2019 career paths?<\/strong><\/p>\n We asked our experts.<\/p>\n \u201cStudying abroad didn\u2019t help me to discern my vocation, it literally became my vocation. I was just really into traveling,<\/p>\n and THE INTERNATIONAL WORK GRIPPED ME AND BECAME MY CAREER<\/span><\/strong>. My participation\u2026led to a lifelong interest in international development and justice issues.\u201d \u2013SHOEMAKER<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs I studied and traveled through Mexico, <\/span>Nicaragua, and Honduras, I realized that I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD HELP OTHERS <\/span><\/strong>reach their goals and fulfill their potential.\u201d \u2013HINDLE <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTHERE OFTEN IS NO OTHER EXPERIENCE IN COLLEGE THAT WILL BE AS TRANSFORMATIONAL AS STUDY ABROAD. WE NEED TO REACH STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT JUST INTERESTED IN A VACATION ABROAD, BUT IN THE SOCIAL JUSTICE FOCUS, WHO MAY NOT REALIZE WHAT ALL THEIR OPPORTUNITIES ARE.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013CANNY <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIT OPENED MY EYES TO THE WORLD <\/span><\/strong>outside of the United States. It made me realize that people around the world have similar desires and needs, and helped me understand that we can make a difference if we put our minds to it and work in a cooperative manner with the people living in the areas that need assistance.\u201d \u2013HINDLE<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI would challenge anyone to find a career that isn\u2019t somehow global today. It doesn\u2019t matter what you do, there is probably somehow a global connection. Even if you don\u2019t work in global\u2014studying abroad helps students to gain those sought-after \u2018soft skills\u2019 that can apply to any major.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013CANNY<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSTUDYING IN CUERNAVACA, MEXICO, WAS EYE OPENING\u2014ESPECIALLY LEARNING ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES<\/strong> ON AN INTERNATIONAL SCALE. WE LIVED WITH VERY POOR FAMILIES IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS AND GOT A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY WERE FACING, INCLUDING THINGS LIKE INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE.\u201d \u2013SHOEMAKER<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cONE IMPORTANT SKILL I GAINED WAS CRITICAL ANALYSIS. WHEN LIVING IN ANOTHER CULTURE, YOU NEED TO DO A LOT OF REAL THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU\u2019RE BEING TOLD VERSUS WHAT THE REALITY IS. ADDITIONALLY, IT HELPED ME TO DEVELOP A CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, REFINE COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND LEARN TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE AND PERSPECTIVES FROM OTHER CULTURES.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013SHOEMAKER<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeing a middle-class boy from a small town in Minnesota, I really had no understanding of other cultures. And yet, after all my travels around the globe, it still strikes me as fascinating how children play the same games, parents fear and rejoice over their children in similar ways, and WE ALL STRIVE FOR THE SAME THINGS.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013HINDLE <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPEOPLE WHO STUDY ABROAD KNOW HOW TO READ PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY\u2019RE USED TO READING THE INTERPRETATION OF DIFFERENT CULTURES. IT\u2019S ABOUT HAVING AN \u2018OPENNESS TO THE OTHER.\u2019 <\/strong>YOU DON\u2019T HAVE TO GO ABROAD TO BE EXPOSED TO DIVERSITY. LOOK AT Βι¶ΉΤ΄΄\u2019S INTENTIONAL DIVERSITY\u2014INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ON THIS CAMPUS HELP GIVE THE CLASSROOM A TRULY GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.\u201d \u2013CANNY <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI LEARNED RESPECT<\/strong>\u2014for myself, but more importantly for others. I learned that life is not fair but that with hard work, a good idea, and luck you can sometimes turn things around. I learned that information is key\u2014learn as much as you can about your surroundings.\u201d \u2013HINDLE<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSTUDYING ABROAD IS REALLY CHALLENGING.<\/strong><\/span>Individuals who study abroad usually have great interview skills; they know how to navigate complex situations; it can increase their sense of self worth and their survival skills.\u201d <\/span>\u2013CANNY <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cONE IMPORTANT SKILL I GAINED WAS CRITICAL ANALYSIS. WHEN LIVING IN ANOTHER CULTURE, YOU NEED TO DO A LOT OF REAL THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU\u2019RE BEING TOLD VERSUS WHAT THE REALITY IS. ADDITIONALLY, IT HELPED ME TO DEVELOP A CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, REFINE COMMUNICATION SKILLS, AND LEARN TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE AND PERSPECTIVES FROM OTHER CULTURES.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013SHOEMAKER<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More than 10,000 people from across the United States and from 300 educational institutions have studied abroad in more than 40 countries through Augsburg College\u2019s Center for Global Education and Experience. Nearly 80 percent of those\u2014now living and working throughout the globe\u2014credit their study abroad experience with having a strong impact on their work lives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[27,76],"class_list":["post-4431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-fall-2014","tag-sociology"],"wps_subtitle":"Auggies find their callings in the far reaches of the world","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4431"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10232,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4431\/revisions\/10232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Center for Global Education and Experience<\/h3>\n
Meet our experts<\/h3>\n
![\"Erick](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/12\/141014Eric-Canny.jpg\")
<\/b>ERIC CANNY<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Bruce](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/12\/140826-Bruce-Shoemaker48.jpg\")
<\/b>BRUCE SHOEMAKER \u201981<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/12\/Stephen_Hindle.jpg\")
<\/b>STEPHEN HINDLE \u201989<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u00a0Auggies discover their calling around the globe<\/h3>\n
How studying abroad can….<\/h3>\n
\n\u00a0Help support vocational discernment<\/h3>\n
\nIgnite an interest in global work<\/h3>\n
\nTranslate across cultures<\/h3>\n
\nDevelop skills for the workforce<\/h3>\n