WKU Student Expands His International Reach Through KIIS

February 01, 2010


Bowling Green, Ky. - Kyle Young, a Western Kentucky University sophomore from Madisonville, will not be joining his classmates on campus for the spring 2010 semester. Instead, he has chosen to study in Caen, France, with the Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS). 

Thanks to a KIIS $750 scholarship as well as scholarships from the WKU Honors College and Department of Modern Languages, Young’s lifelong dream of going to France has become a reality. 

Young’s advice to other students: “Apply for all scholarships. It never hurts to apply. The Honors College regularly sends out notices about applications and deadlines and KIIS deadlines are found on their website.”
Many university study abroad offices also offer scholarships. Other study abroad participants receive assistance from various community groups or use student loans to help offset the cost of their study abroad program.        

When asked why he chose to study abroad through KIIS, Young talked about a friend who had highly recommended KIIS after studying with the consortium during the summer. Young began making plans to study in France by comparing programs. He felt that the KIIS program had the best course options, price and timeline. 

Despite some initial hesitations about stepping outside his comfort zone, Young is looking forward to “increasing my spoken French and French composition, the opportunity to travel and see all the sites, and being immersed in the culture that I have always held in high regard.”

When asked why go abroad now, Young replied, “The sooner the better…the sooner you go abroad, the more opportunities you have to do it again.” 

He added that some benefits of studying abroad are “cultural enhancement, the opportunity to grow as a person, to test yourself, to test your independence, and to adapt to another culture.”
 
While studying in France, Young plans to visit Berlin, Britain and other places in Europe.

Young will not be the only Kentucky student spending the spring semester abroad.  Five other Kentucky students departed for France on Jan. 25 to participate on the KIIS Caen program located at the site of William the Conqueror’s castle and by the beaches of Normandy. Similarly, 16 Kentucky students traveled on Jan. 23 to study in the KIIS Segovia, Spain Semester program.

For the upcoming fall semester, KIIS offers programs in Morelia, Mexico and Viborg, Denmark. These programs are open to non-language majors. In Morelia, students can take English-language honors courses in the humanities as well as beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level Spanish courses. The Viborg program is geared toward students focused on physical education, recreation, and health management; all courses are taught in English.  The KIIS Morelia and Viborg application deadline is March 15.

In Summer 2010, more than 500 students will participate in KIIS’s 22 study abroad programs in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Students do not need to speak a foreign language to participate on a KIIS program; only four of KIIS’s 22 summer programs have a language requirement. This summer students can choose courses from 30 academic disciplines. The KIIS summer program application deadline is Feb. 15.  KIIS also offers faculty members from all disciplines the opportunity to teach abroad; the faculty application deadline for Summer 2011 programs is March 1.  

KIIS consortium schools include Ball State University, Bellarmine University, Berea College, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Bryan College, Campbellsville University, Carson-Newman College, Centre College, Eastern Kentucky University, Georgetown College, Kentucky State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Pikeville College, Transylvania University, Union College, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville and WKU.  Students from non-consortium schools also are welcome to apply to a KIIS program.

For information, visit www.kiis.org, call (270) 745-4416 or email kiis@wku.edu.  At WKU, the KIIS office is located at Tate Page Hall, room 129.
               
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Rebekah Golla at (270) 745-4416.