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August 30, 2022
as if
Faith Judkins made the most of her opportunities this summer when she traveled to Rennes, France as a study abroad program at Tennessee Tech University resumed.
Judkins, a finance major with a minor in international business and business administration and a recent DeKalb County native, will take what she learned abroad and at Tech into her new role.
“After I graduate this December, I’m interested in getting into consumer banking with a community bank,” Judkins said.
This was Judkins’ first time participating in a study abroad program and while in France she studied three programs, each lasting two weeks. Her programs include cultural management, sustainable business and business in Europe.
“My favorite part of my program was my community, faculty and staff,” Judkins said. “I met some very caring people who had a lasting impact on my education.”
Judkins said her study abroad experience provided her with many opportunities to learn and grow, whether in the classroom, visiting many historical attractions or simply traveling from the airport to her home in France.
She enjoys trying new local restaurants and says her favorite dish is galette saucisse, which is a type of French street food. The French are famous for their crepes and galette saucisse is a hot sausage wrapped in a buckwheat crepe.
“My experience abroad was in Paris because it’s a very dense place for tourists and it’s very reflective of capitalism, and I mean, they’re pushy businessmen, and the priority in restaurants is good food as quickly as possible,” Judkins said. “The priority in every other part of France is Quality is at a leisurely pace. I prefer the latter.”
The difference Judkins found abroad was that at first people were very closed off. They prefer more social distancing to strangers, but she said they’ll open up after a week or so.
“Americans open up very quickly at first, but it takes months or years to get to the heart of someone,” Judkins said. “This is summed up in the concept that in America we have a peach culture and in France they have a coconut culture.”
Amy Miller, assistant director of study abroad, said she has generally received positive feedback from students who say they would definitely do it again if they could.
“Most students tell me that studying abroad was the best experience they had in college, and the students who have just returned are telling me the same,” Miller said.
Judkins had traveled from his home country to Haiti before, so this experience was not entirely unfamiliar. When she came back to France to visit, there were other places she wanted to visit first, like Italy and Greece.
This summer is the first time in two years that students have participated in a study abroad program due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Most students are ready to get out and travel because of the feeling of isolation from Covid-19,” Miller said. “From what I have heard from this summer, they have not had any problems abroad related to Covid.
According to Judkins, the COVID-19 restrictions in France are similar to those currently in the United States and “it was very rare to see anyone wearing a mask.”
Fifteen students will be studying abroad this semester, and Tech will have the largest number of students studying abroad this year, Miller said. Tech students go to Spain, Sweden, France, Peru and the Netherlands, but most will go to South Korea this semester.
“We have a partner school that offers a lot of classes taught in English, and they also offer students a simple part-time job practicing spoken English with Korean students, and the money they provide pays for their dorms,” Miller said. “Most of our study abroad options are extremely affordable.”
The next opportunity to go abroad is in spring 2023, and the application deadline is October 15. If students want to go for spring 2023, they should make an appointment to discuss options at TechConnector as soon as possible, Miller said. .
“I encourage all students to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad, especially because Tech offers a $1,000 travel stipend to all students who meet the most reasonable criteria,” Miller said.
Miller said the foreign students’ feedback from her study was positive, as Judkins had a good experience abroad.
“They said the schools they went to and the experiences they had were great,” Miller said.
Tech’s annual Outdoor Study Fair will be held on Tuesday, August 30 from 10am – 2pm in the Tech Pride Room. For more information on study abroad, visit https://www.tntech.edu/studyabroad/contact.php.
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