Posted By: Career Enrichment Network
Drew Banker, English Major, spent last summer in Ireland on the Faculty Led program “Representing the Irish Landscape, Literature and Visual Arts.” Read more about his experience below!
Content contributed by Drew Banker.
Ireland was the perfect location for this program because its beauty and literary history inspired our visual and written art, respectively. Ireland itself is worthy of study, and it is necessary to physically be there to understand the nuances of its history and culture. Also, we met a number of artists, writers, and poets in person due to the program’s wonderful connections–an experience that would be impossible had we not been abroad.
I chose to go to Ireland because my family has Irish roots and because a number of students, over the years, have urged me to take advantage of such opportunities, and I’m glad I have. I went the summer going into my fifth semester. I enjoy spending my time on Penn State’s campus but also wanted to explore. I realized I could study abroad without forfeiting a semester on campus by joining a summer program.
My goal is to become a professional writer and teacher, an ambition which studying abroad I suspect has furthered greatly. It is crucial to interact with a variety of texts and people, and exploring the world is a perfect way to do that. I received important career guidance from the College of the Liberal Arts, whose recommendation that I apply for the program directly led me to the experience. Although studying abroad is a great deal of fun it requires hard work and tenacity. I would advise prospective study-abroaders to be aware of this. If it is within the realm of possibility, do it. I’ve yet to meet someone who wishes they hadn’t and I’ve met many who wish they were still abroad. The experience pushed me to my academic limits, as the excursion tested not only classroom intelligence but the situational, day-to-day wisdom that is needed to thrive in a foreign setting. I am more confident both at home and abroad. My host father was an avid visual artist, a talented painter of landscapes, who had recently experienced a stroke and, upon my arrival, was still in the process of recovery. Although he was physically limited I was motivated to witness his continued drive to produce works of art. He was of the mind that not only is art always possible, but always necessary.
All Liberal Arts students studying or interning abroad are eligible forEnrichment Funding. To learn more, please schedule an appointment via Network Symplicity or email Jackie Smith, Global Experiences Coordinator (jds54@psu.edu)