Abroad Programs Draw High Interest For ‘15-‘16 School Year

After being forced to cancel four abroad programs for the 2014-15 school year, three of which were due to low student interest, this year the Office of Global Initiatives successfully garnered enough interest to reinstate these programs for the 2015-16 school year.

The reinstated programs include fall term Japan trip, fall term Russia trip and spring term Washington DC intern programs, along with the Ghana program, which was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus last year. The slots have quickly filled and detailed plans for the trips are in progress.

According to the Director of Global Initiatives Eimer Page, this upcoming school year students will be studying in fifteen different locations: England, France, Ghana, Russia, Japan, the Mountain School in Vermont, the Bahamas, Italy, Ecuador, Germany, Taiwan, Ireland, Washington and School Year Abroad (SYA) in China and in Spain.

“I believe we are already doing the right thing—teaching 10 languages, organizing and running awesome abroad programs, having assemblies dedicated to the programs so kids can learn about them.”

Lowered interest was the main cause of past cancellations of programs. According to history instructor Barbara Eggers, last year the Washington Intern program only had seven applications that were approved, and for the program to run, they needed eight.

Class of 2014 and former Washington intern David Castro believed that the vision of “senior spring” is what prevents uppers from applying to the program.

“I think the concern for many students is going away spring term. Because all graduation requirements must be taken care of, only seniors can go, and some don’t want to miss the fabled senior spring,” Castro said. “I know another worry might be that they won’t be able to hang out with friends one last time before college, but they can think of the program as an opportunity they wouldn’t have if they stay at Exeter.”

Fortunately, this year has brought in a drastic change in interest from current uppers, with the office of Global Initiatives receiving over fifteen applications for the spring of 2016, similar to the numbers they received for the spring of 2014.

However, although the numbers are sufficient for the trip to run at this point, Eggers believes that since this is just the beginning of the application process, nothing is yet finalized.

“We have begun the process for spring 2016, and it looks like we'll have sufficient enrollment for that year,” she said. “However, that is a year away, and anything can change.”

Similar to the Washington intern program, both the Japan summer program and the Japan fall term abroad program have received a large increase of interest compared to the past couple years.

“I have more students signed up for the summer program in Japan,” modern languages instructor Kayoko Tazawa said. “Three students participated in the summer program in Japan for the last three years, but nine students are going this year. I did not have anyone going to Japan for the fall term abroad program in Japan this year, but one student is going next year.”

Because of this sudden increase of interest, both programs will run, and unlike last year, Japan will be among the fourteen other locations at which Exonians will study in the upcoming school year. In addition to the Washington Intern program and the Japan programs, the 2014 fall term Russia abroad program was not able to run this year. However, for next year, due to increase of interest, the Russia program will once again run in the fall. Modern languages instructor Inna Sysevich, who assists in organizing the program, commented on the increase of interest. After a small pool of applicants last year, she credited the work the school has done to increase the interest.

“As far as I know, the interest grew this year,” she said. “I believe we are already doing the right thing—teaching 10 languages, organizing and running awesome abroad programs, having assemblies dedicated to the programs so kids can learn about them.”

With the drastic change of interest between last year and this year, questions arise as to why some years have greater interest and some years less. Page understands that each class brings a different attitude to abroad programs and often, it is an impossible task to predict which year will bring more interest.

“It’s difficult to pinpoint or predict the change in student interest year to year,” she said. “Some years, groups seem to gather momentum in terms of interest in study off campus, and that seems to be happening among the uppers this year.”

Another impacting force is that often times the seniors who attend the trips encourage the uppers to apply and attend. However, certain years, the seniors do not inform the class below them, hence lower interest levels.

“I think everyone should be interested, but it might be because each year is different,” senior Eli Feliciano, who attended the Stratford, England fall term abroad program said. “You never know which seniors will encourage which uppers.”

Instructor of modern languages and director of the Cuenca, Ecuador abroad program Viviana Santos explained that each year brings a different class with students who have a variety of different conflicts. This can in turn affect the interest levels in a given year. “That said, interest changes from year to year and students may have other commitments that keep them from leaving campus at a particular time,” she said.

Senior Stephan Geneus, who attended the Grenoble, France Fall term abroad program, shared similar views with Santos, mentioning AP courses as one of the “commitments” Exonians could have that would interfere with the abroad programs. “Each year, there’s a different group of kids with different interests and different experiences with their respective language program,” he said. “Some may want to take AP courses their senior years, and going abroad would prohibit you from doing that.”

However, whether planning to take AP courses or scheduling other commitments  during their senior years, Santos believes that all Exonians should appreciate the fact that students have the opportunity to attend such abroad programs and experience the world outside of Exeter, NH. “I am grateful that the school is able to offer those experiences to all of our students regardless of financial need and I hope that Exonians all take a leap of faith and decide to join a program during their time here,” she said. “I know leaving the familiar can be scary, but I guarantee you that it will be a tremendous opportunity for growth.”

Contributions from Chris Agard