“They seem really excited about going overseas he said.
Several IP events in the weeks leading up to the deadline allow freshmen access to information about the opportunity. Seminars during New Student Orientation, a booth at the Waves Expo and a movie in the park night were all a part of an extensive marketing strategy.
This year the IP office has expanded to include programs in Fiji, Russia and India.
The Fiji Medical Mission is a new summer program as well as a mission opportunity for students. Students enrolled in this program will work in dental and vision clinics while earning two service learning credits.
The program in Russia also has a mission component. Students in this program will work in an orphanage and at a Christian youth conference.
Students in the Russian program will attend a Christian university in St. Petersburg, Russia, and take Intercultural Communication and religion courses.
The India program will be available between the fall and spring terms and will offer a class on world religions, with a particular focus on those religions practiced in India. Students will have the opportunity to visit Bodh Gaya, tour the river Ganges, explore the Taj Majal, and to ride elephants in Agra.
While expanding its catalog, IP took this opportunity to build on the already-established programs. Several programs will take their Educational Field Trips (EFT) to Egypt this year and students participating in the Shanghai, China program will take it in Cambodia. For the first time, the group attending Florence, Italy, will take an EFT to Israel in the spring.
The Educational Field Trips that each group gets to go on are phenomenal Hall said.
The expansion of Pepperdine’s global footprint allows students more access to the world.
Those studying in the European programs have traditionally used the proximity to friends and Pepperdine facilities in other European cities to maximize their exposure to the continent. Students studying in Asia will have a similar experience: Those in Shanghai will have the opportunity to visit peers in the India program.
In Lausanne, Switzerland, there will be a new live-in Assistant Director, Mary Shelton. The program there and in Shanghai will also accept more students.
Many freshmen were shocked to learn that the priority deadline to apply to study abroad was less than a month after classes started.
It makes it hard to think about picking a country when you’re still adjusting to life in Malibu said sophomore Mary Clayton, who applied in September of 2008 and is currently in the Buenos Aires program.
However, Hall does offer some tips for the nearly due application. For the essay, he recommends that hopefuls show an understanding of the International Program’s motto, which emphasizes learning to cross boundaries between people.
Within the interview component of the application, Hall said students should approach it with professionalism and make sure they let the interviewer know why they want to go overseas.
Not everyone can go overseas he said. We want to make sure that we are able to provide the kind of experience that they want to have.”
Despite the difficulties and the competitive nature of the application process Hall urges students to consider study abroad. “The world has changed and Americans more than ever before need to understand the viewpoint of the rest of the worldhe said.
In addition to improving students’ world perspective, Hall stressed the transformational power of students’ personal lives.
You are going to be a different person he said. You are going to be a more confident person and you are going to grow spiritually … after having an international experience.”