Study Abroad Expands Horizons
While some people only dream of traveling the world, one student at Fresno State made his dream a reality. Caleb Bermudez, a senior at Fresno State, spent last summer in Japan as part of a study abroad program.
Bermudez became interested in traveling to Japan after taking some Japanese language courses. He says that his experience was eye-opening and helped change how he sees the world.
“It’s just cool,” Bermudez said. “You get to see things you know you think you see in pictures or you think you see in movies, but when you’re actually there it’s a lot more relaxing, and you’re there and you’re making friends.”
The impact his journey to Japan had on him resonates even now in his life.
Bermudez’s dream was only made a reality with the help of Marcela Magdaleno, an adviser with the Fresno State Study Abroad office. Magdaleno says she believes every student should experience another culture because of how diverse our world has become and will continue to become.
“I feel that students should be able to be functional in a diverse society and I think that’s what our employers are looking out for nowadays,” Magdaleno says. “If students are able to emerge into different communities and are able to understand different values, point of views, from different cultures.”
Magdaleno was inspired to help students expand their horizons from her own experiences studying in Oaxaca, Mexico as a college senior.
Many students who travel for education say their lives are better for it. Alumna Sierra Downey traveled to Italy during her time at Fresno State. She said she wouldn’t be the woman she is today if not for her studies in another country.
Courtesy: Study Abroad and International Exchange
“I cannot thank my experiences enough for changing me, for what I feel is the better,” Downey says.
Bermudez emphasized how much of an opportunity it was to travel for some of his education. He says that the program offered scholarships to help fund part of his trip to Japan.
Magdaleno says the program will work to ensure funding is made available for those who qualify and that the chance to be immersed in another culture should never be passed up.