Opinion: Why So Many Reedies Are Going Abroad

Graph courtesy of Alberto del Río Malo, IPO Director

The pandemic halted study abroad programs internationally, and once things began opening back up, Reed students went back to studying abroad in record numbers. A graph provided to the Questby the International Program’s Office (IPO) Director (pictured above) shows that in the current 2023-2024 school year, the number of students abroad has jumped to 139, a 109.7% increase from the mean of 66 from the seven most recent years before COVID-19. This article looks at this recent increase by taking a human perspective, interviewing three students who have recently studied abroad or are currently studying abroad, on their own experiences. I am interested in this topic as someone who studied abroad as well, something I’ve discussed in prior articles for the Quest, and as I am currently a student worker in the IPO.

Aakash Mishra ‘25, an Anthropology major, studied abroad just this past semester in the fall of ‘23 at the American University of Paris (AUP) in France. Of his decision to go abroad, Mishra said that, “A year ago, there was nothing in my academic or personal life that remotely pointed to studying abroad, much less than in Paris, because I didn't speak French. But what had happened was, so my friends live in the French house. And so I was spending a lot of time with them.” Going to French house events, Mishra says he “kind of got roped into it, I clicked ‘Download Duolingo,’ I started learning French. And this is around the same time that a very close friend of mine spoke to Alberto del Río Malo, the IPO Director, and she said, ‘Hey, I'm going to Madrid. Alberto seems really, really enthusiastic and supportive. Why don't you just talk to him, see if there’s a chance.’ And I did, I spoke to him and he was very, very nice. And he showed me a bunch of programs that might work. And step by step that got narrowed down to a program in Copenhagen, a couple in Spain that speak Spanish. And then just the American University of Paris, which has its classes in English, but I was concerned because I didn't speak any French. And so Alberto kind of was very supportive. And eventually it just got to ‘okay, you can study abroad, it works in the requirements. Do you want to?’ And the answer became ‘Yes.’”

The fact that Mishra could study abroad in France without prior French experience is a new opportunity, as recently Reed Study Abroad has opened new programs where students can study in a non-English speaking country with their schoolwork in English. Of this Mishra says, “Having an Anglophone university that we have a partnership with was really helpful for accessibility. I would have found a program that I think would have worked, but AUP’s anthropology program was great. And it really became the one, I mean, I sat down with Charlene Makley, the department chair at the time. And she looked at the different syllabi for these different courses in Copenhagen, in Paris. And she looked at the AUP syllabus and was like, ‘this is fantastic. This is a course that I would want to teach. You would love this.’”

While Mishra’s program in Paris was taught in English, Reed offers another program in the city, fully in French. Milo Wetherall ‘24, a History and Literature major, studied abroad in the fall of 2022 at the Center for University Programs Abroad Paris (CUPA), where he was able to take classes at various universities in Paris, all in the French language. Wetherall also studied abroad at the Middlebury Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England in the spring of 2023, as well as being a part of the Reed in Rome program this past winter break – more on that later. Wetherall knew he wanted to study abroad before coming to Reed, but did not know where specifically to go. He said “When I was a freshman, I remember before even enrolling in French classes, I remember looking through the catalog and I just kind of assumed, ‘Oh, well I don't speak a foreign language.’ So I was looking at the programs in England mostly,” pointing to the issue with languages that Mishra was able to surmount with the new AUP program. Wetherall does admit that while he wanted to study abroad before Reed, “in comparison to other schools, I didn't choose Reed because of study abroad options.” As, “the perception of Reed’s study abroad program was that it was like, okay, in contrast to say Lewis and Clark, where study abroad, I don't know, it’s maybe even a requirement. I'm not sure. But, this study abroad program has changed immensely since my time. I think I've seen three different directors of study abroad while I've been here. So I'm very happy with the direction it's coming.” The current Director of the International Programs Office, which houses study abroad programming, is Alberto del Río Malo who started in the spring of 2022. 

For Wetherall’s decision to study abroad in Paris, he credits the French department, saying they “definitely influenced my ability, but also the English department. Which is ironic, because when I made the decision to do study abroad, I was just a History major. But studying abroad definitely influenced me to move in the direction of History and Lit, for the French department. I remember in French [that] Professors Catherine Witt and Hugh Hochman talked a lot about this program, CUPA, and how they got students to go. And so in the spring of my sophomore year, both Hugh and Catherine were like, ‘Oh, you should really do this program. It's great.’ Like, after two years of French at Reed, they're confident anyone can go. And so they got us all to sign on.” Wetherall emphasized the importance of immersion in language learning, and how actually living in the country where the language was spoken helped him in his learning of French. 

Wetherall’s decision to study abroad in multiple places was also done by Hannah Xie ‘25, a Political Science major, who studied abroad in the spring of 2023 in Australia, and is currently halfway through a year abroad in London. Xie, like Wetherall, knew she wanted to study abroad before Reed, but “didn't know how to start at the very beginning.” She said, “When I was looking at the website for Reed, it didn't seem very clear at first. So I guess it kind of only made sense after I scheduled a meeting with Alberto…he kind of showed me how to actually start the process…where the instructions were on the website, because I kind of only saw the programs. But then, also, I didn't know what I was going to major in. So I think it helps a little knowing, like, which classes I want to take in which university I should focus on abroad.” 

Both Xie and Wetherall applied to study abroad within del Río Malo’s first year at Reed, during which time the Reed IPO website, as well as the process overall, underwent significant changes, and is still being updated. Since del Río Malo joined the IPO the process to study abroad has been streamlined, the website changed from having eight steps to three. In addition, forms that used to be paper have now been digitized, making it easier for students to coordinate with necessary parties on campus about credit approvals. All three students interviewed mentioned del Río Malo as an incredibly helpful source in their study abroad process. 

While most study abroad programs are either a semester or year of study at another university, the IPO and the GLAM department have recently tried a new pilot program of a much shorter duration, called a ‘Faculty-Led Program.’ During this past winter break, the Reed in Rome program spent two weeks exploring. Wetherall was on the trip and explained that “Reed in Rome just counts for half a credit. It was more of a study trip. It was kind of a guided tour of Rome, basically… And each student gave a presentation at a different site around Rome or its environs.” The program was led by Reed GLAM Professors Sonia Sabnis and Tom Landvatter. Wetherall said he “had never studied Rome at the collegiate level. And it was a great opportunity to learn from the faculty from the GLAM department, but also the students. The GLAM kids would like, read ancient signs in Latin then translate them for us. And that was pretty incredible because I had never studied Latin at all. So it was a lovely experience,” and encouraged other departments to consider similar programs. Wetherall said that “these like two-week, 10-day kind of excursion programs, I think are an absolutely fascinating way to get people involved, and it's also a great way to meet people from across the college. I mean, the nature of my degree path has been since Hum, I've not really thought about the ancient Mediterranean world and so it was really enjoyable getting to kind of learn about people who kind of stuck with that path and see what their interests are. And I will give a hint to theQuest, Reed in Rome is going to be doing some fun projects at Renn Fayre. So hopefully we've made our mark on Reed.”Studying Abroad at Reed has become easier over the past few years as the application system on the Reed side has been reconfigured by del Río Malo, and after the pandemic, it appears Reedies are ready to get out into the world. Multiple students interviewed, emphasized the fact that financial aid carries over, and how much being able to study at another institution – often places with different focuses and resources – were incredibly helpful for their academic and social development. While the uptick of interested students has been quick, the IPO is prepared, with multiple student workers and del Río Malo ready to assist students in their processes. Any students thinking of studying abroad in the fall should start that process as soon as possible, as most applications will be due in April and these things take time. For more information on studying abroad at Reed, check out the IPO’s section on the Reed website. As the process to study abroad continues to be streamlined and applications roll in throughout this semester, it will be interesting to see if the current trend holds – how many students will Reed manage to send abroad next year?