Southeastern offers wide range of study abroad courses
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: February 8, 2013
CHINA'S GREAT WALL – Southeastern Louisiana University students toured the Great Wall as part of their study-abroad trip to China last year. The university is offering 13 study abroad trips this summer. Information is available at www.southeastern.edu/studyabroad.
HAMMOND – From the sands of Normandy's Omaha Beach, to the Great Wall of China, to the rain forests of Costa Rica, students at Southeastern Louisiana University are choosing from a wide variety of locales to study abroad this summer.
"This year we are conducting business programs in China, Panama and Costa Rica; biology programs in Costa Rica and France; a new sociology program in Cuba; a D-Day Campaign history course in England and France, as well as traditional language programs in Italy and Spain," said Kent Neuerburg, director of Honors and International Initiatives.
Other programs on the schedule include studies in history and political science in Scotland and Ireland, theater and communications in London, and political science and geography in Austria.
Feb. 21 is the deadline for applying for any of the university's 13 study abroad programs, where students can earn up to six hours of academic credit. Adults who are not currently students at Southeastern can also participate through the university's Special Program for Adults, said Neuerburg.
"We're encouraging anyone interested in these programs to apply as soon as possible," he said.
Information and a complete schedule of programs being offered can be found online at www.southeastern.edu/studyabroad or by calling 985-549-2135.
New offerings this year are the sociology program in Cuba and the biology program in France, he said. The Costa Rica biology program is returning after a brief hiatus, as is the political science and geography program in Salzburg and Vienna.
The D-Day history program was first offered last year by Southeastern military historian Harry Laver. The trip this summer will begin in London with visits to World War II sites, including Churchill's war room and the Imperial War Museum.
"From there we'll follow the path of Allied forces by taking a ferry across the English Channel to the beaches of Normandy," said Laver. "We'll spend two days walking the invasion beaches, including Omaha, Utah and Pegasus Bridge, exploring German bunkers and visiting the American cemetery before concluding the trip in Paris."
"The D-Day trip was the defining moment of my undergraduate studies at Southeastern," said graduate student Bryan Perissutti, who plans to go again this year. "I am doing my student teaching at Ponchatoula High, where I'm preparing to teach a World War II unit to my students. Being able to show them pictures I took and telling them stories you only hear from the guides in Normandy is something I look forward to. I encourage everyone I meet to participate in study abroad, because it is truly a life-changing experience."
Associate Professor of Marketing Mike Jones will lead a group of students in a trip to China, where they will gain insight into the business operations of companies such as Hyundai, computer and steel plants, and distribution centers. The students tour the cities of Shanghai and the capital Beijing, while also seeing sights such as Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and others.
"In addition to a completely different perspective on the course content, students have the opportunity to explore and interact with new cultures, foods, music, art, architecture and so on," Neuerburg said. "Travel opens our eyes in so many ways, and students always comment about how the experience changed their perspectives on themselves and on the world."
