Md. Students Gain a Global Perspective

Most community colleges in Maryland are expanding their study abroad programs. At Anne Arundel Community College, culinary arts students work in the kitchens of northern Italian resorts for six to eight weeks. Marine biology students at the College of Southern Maryland dive the coral reefs off the coast of Belize, and at Frederick Community College, students live and work in London for a semester.

"This is an eye-opening, maturing process," said Peg Mauzy, an assistant professor at Frederick Community College. "Students come back very changed. They're more focused on what they want to do with their lives."

Yet, devising study abroad programs at community colleges takes special effort. Affordability "is paramount, it's central," said David Tengwall, professor and chairman of the department of history and political science at Anne Arundel Community College. "The economic situation often demands we try to do things as inexpensively as possible." While college officials seek bargains on airfare and lodging, they also raise sizable scholarship funds.

That was crucial for Susan Linden, a Howard Community College nursing student. At 53, Linden has had a 22-year career as a contract negotiator in the corporate world, but as a single parent with two college-age daughters, she relied on a partial scholarship and her ongoing financial aid from the college to finance a three-week study trip to China.

"I didn't know when I'd have the chance to go again and spend three weeks in a really exotic country," said Linden, who hopes to combine travel and nursing through work with private agencies after graduation.

Now, officials hope a new cooperative effort among Maryland community colleges will bring more students overseas. A recently organized international education consortium intends to launch a Web site in the fall, listing the Maryland schools' study-abroad offerings, with links to individual programs.

The consortium will encourage students to shop for study abroad programs among the community colleges.

"There are so many options out there our students don't know about," said Mauzy, who helped lead the consortium's development.