BSC Student Daniel Hawks’ “Study Abroad” Experience in Japan Impacts His Career Goals

(Bluefield)— BSC Humanities student Daniel Hawks was immersed in the Japanese language and culture institute this summer at Tenri University with which the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission has partnered to offer West Virginia students a well-tailored education abroad opportunity.  

Daniel earned credit toward his degree program by formally enrolling in the courses “Study Abroad—Japan” and “ Applied Studies in Language Arts,” which required him to prepare PowerPoint Presentations about his experiences in Japan and also write a guide on how to prepare for study abroad based on lessons learned.  Daniel will present these to campus and area audiences henceforth as a BSC Study Abroad Ambassador.

“Daniel’s love of Japanese culture and the Japanese language were the primary reasons for his participation in this study abroad opportunity,” stated BSC’s International Initiatives Coordinator Dr. Sudhakar R Jamkhandi. “Because his passion for these subjects was evident in the scholarship application, three area foundations readily provided study abroad scholarships to help Daniel realize his dream of learning more about Japan. The Bowen Foundation awarded $2500 with $250 apiece from the Robinson Study Abroad Scholarship and the Tom Colley Memorial Fund of the Center for International Understanding, Inc. With Daniel’s testimonials, more of our students might want to study abroad.”

In Daniel’s own words, “Studying abroad is an incredible experience. It’s more than just education in a particular subject, but an education in life experience. You learn a lot about the ins and outs of trip planning, how to navigate airports, getting to know other people who are from different parts of the world, and all the while being immersed in a culture that’s new to everybody. A lot of the intangible things in life you never knew you needed to learn can be learned by studying abroad. I’m incredibly grateful for the experience and would like to thank everybody involved in helping me along my way, especially Dr. Connolly and Dr. Jamkhandi.”

Interest in study abroad is increasing steadily at Bluefield State College. Earlier this summer, BSC’s Jessica Dillow and Kristen Miller studied for a month in London, also with financial support from the foundations named above. Jessica and Kristen, too, will share presentations with campus and community audiences about their experiences abroad and how this has impacted their lives and their perspectives.

 Faculty-led study abroad programs are being planned for summer 2020 and information about them will be shared in the near future. Students who wish to participate in study abroad are requested to contact GlobalWV Study Abroad Intern Abraham Ezeagabu at Ezeagabu_ao@live.bluefieldstate.edu.

 The free passport give away to BSC’s  freshmen, sophomores, and juniors only—Passport to the World—will be held on February 21, 2020, thanks to support from Bluefield Rotary International. To sign up for a free passport and to request the Criteria for Free Passports, email oii@bluefieldstate.edu.