Published by Eric Epplett on Mon, Nov 17, 2014
Travel is the Only Thing You Can Buy That Makes You Richer
James Cody Fox
Aviation Management and Operations Student-2014
College is an experience that you only get to do once. It’s an investment in yourself and is precious time that should not be wasted. This is an opportunity to try new things, to ask questions, and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. Studying abroad is an adventure that will become a strong asset to your education, but you will also benefit in your personal life. Your life as you know it will change. How you think, how you feel, how you live... everything is different after you get a big dose of the world. Smells are different. Sights are different. Sounds are different. You come back a new person with a whole new view of the world. It may seem challenging to some, after you’re done, you’ll look back and thank yourself.
Throughout my college career, many of my peers shared with me that they would love to go abroad, but they would cling to excuses like, “It’s not part of my major,” or, “It’s too expensive.” On the contrary, many schools abroad actually cost less or equal to tuition in the US. There are also countless amounts of scholarships, grants, and financial aid available for students who wish to study abroad. Be flexible. Don’t let something like your curriculum stand between you and the experience of a lifetime.
My situation was very similar to the one above. I am an Aviation Management and Operations student, so the options to study abroad within my program were somewhat limited (or so I thought). The College of Aviation has a relationship with a school in Melbourne, Australia, but I wanted to study abroad in Europe. I wasn’t sure how to get there, but one thing I knew I wanted to do was learn another language. During my second semester of my freshman year, I decided to take a semester of French to see if I liked it. Some students feel limited by the courses they are required to take for their bachelor’s degree, but college is a time to explore different disciplines that you always found interesting but never knew much about. It is a time to take advantage of the little time you are given to learn new things and build your mind in hopes of becoming a well-rounded member of the global workforce.
During my first semester of French, I felt extremely challenged. Our class met four times per week, and every night we were required to go home and learn a bunch of new grammar and vocabulary before the following class. It was extremely tiring, but sticking with French is now one of my greatest accomplishments. At the end of the semester, I realized how rewarding learning a new language could be, and I decided to continue learning French.
Two semesters later, I met an international student in one of my aviation classes who had just moved to Kalamazoo from Africa. I told him I was learning French, and he invited me to come and meet some of his friends who were studying abroad from Paris, France. Although the French department at WMU has an agreement with a school in Besançon, France, these students became some of my closest friends and they encouraged me to study in Paris instead. I began investigating and soon after discovered that you could study abroad anywhere you wanted as long as you could get the courses approved prior to leaving. The process was simple, and before I knew it, I was enrolled in classes at the Catholic Institute of Paris for Spring 2013.
While in Paris, I realized that France plays a huge role in aviation development and manufacturing, as well as air travel. I was also able to meet people from all corners of the world who loved aviation as much as I did. I attended the Paris airshow, and I even took a tour of Airbus in Toulouse, France. Once I returned to the US, my desire to travel and see the world only grew. I ended up completing my French minor, and after graduation, I will be returning to Paris to continue my studies in a 12-month MBA program at the International School of Management. Living abroad not only gives you a global network and a global perspective (which is extremely useful in the global transport industry), but it also teaches you self-confidence. There is something indescribably rewarding about being surrounded by a completely different environment, separated from your own culture. You learn to think in a completely different way, and it teaches you to work with many different types of people. All in all, just because you can find a million excuses not to study abroad, just remember that this may be a once in a lifetime chance to really explore the world and transform yourself into a global citizen. After all, “travel is truly the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.”