Tag Archives: Champlain College

February 9, 2011 · 11:40 pm

Study Abroad Locations

I always find it interesting where people go abroad and for what reasons. Working in the Champlain Abroad office has definitely allowed me to speak with students to discover their motivations. I’ve heard countless people want to go to Argentina or Spain for the language, Montréal for the gaming programs, Ireland for their heritage, and New Zealand “just because I want to.” I would then be led to believe that the three most popular destinations for Champlain students would be Dublin and Montréal (because we have campuses there) and New Zealand.

I’ve recently read some data from the Institute of International Education about the leading destinations for all American study abroad students. The top 10 places are:

  1. United Kingdom
  2. Italy
  3. Spain
  4. France
  5. China
  6. Australia
  7. Germany
  8. Mexico
  9. Ireland
  10. Costa Rica

These top ten locations account for 58.9% of all American study abroad students in 2008/9. Considering there are “195” countries in the world, 58.9% of American study abroad students only utilize 5% of the world’s countries. 195 is in quotations because the actual number of countries in the world varies depending on the source. Also, 6 out of the 10 countries are in Europe, 2 in the Americas, 1 in Asia, and 1 is Australia.

Knowing this list leads me to ask more questions about majors and locations and if certain majors are attracted to certain locations based on the current state of that location. I know Montréal is the third largest media convergence city and the second largest gaming city so media majors are attracted to there, but what about other locations? I hope to find out more answers concerning this topic very soon.

As a mini-side-note, at my position with the Champlain Abroad office, I decided to publish a poster for campus displaying an inspirational quote by Mark Twain, encouraging travel. I will leave you with that:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

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January 30, 2011 · 11:09 pm

Allow me to introduce myself…

Hello all, allow me introduce myself. My name is Tricia and I am currently a senior in my last semester at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. As a marketing major, I couldn’t have chosen a better school than Champlain, and this blog is another untraditional portion to the curriculum. Throughout my four years here, I’ve had access to amazing opportunities, and the most amazing of all was the semester I spent abroad in Dublin, Ireland, in spring 2010. Our school has two international campuses, one in Montréal and one in Dublin, and I was fortunate enough to experience Champlain College in Dublin. It truly was a life changing experience and upon arriving back to the Burlington campus, I was offered a work-study position in the Office of International Education as a Champlain Abroad Student Recruiter. I was essentially asked to help out in the office and getting students psyched about studying abroad. Through this work and experience I have realized that I have a strong passion for studying abroad and wish every college student could have the experience. You can never really know yourself until you experience yourself in another culture. There honestly is nothing like being completely out of your element, in a different country, living abroad.

This blog is going to feature my thoughts, opinions, and passion for studying abroad and international education.

Throughout the blog I will be featuring pictures from my friend and fellow study abroader, Chris Harris. Such as this one:

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