Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The study abroad program of Mississippi State's Bagley College of Engineering continues to grow after a decade of introducing students to other parts of the world.
In addition to the study of engineering, the program is designed to expose them to architecture, people and cultures many people will only see through books or television. Opportunities to learn more about the world continue through the college's international programs that range in length from a few weeks to a yearlong agreement with other universities.
Participating students often feel the trip to a foreign country leads them to a life-altering experience. One of those is Lee Hathcock, a computer science graduate student who was enrolled in the summer study-abroad program in Bristol, England.
The native of Stewart--a Montgomery County community about 40 miles west of Starkville with about 250 people and two gas stations--said the experience in visiting eight countries in Europe and meeting interesting people there helped him see more of what the world has to offer.
It also helped him feel less shy around others.
"I got to know a lot of people and opened up more," Hathcock said recently at the Bagley College program's 10-year anniversary dinner.
Associate college dean Roger King said Hathcock's experience isn't unique among the students who have participated. Many students beginning with the program's first year in 1997 appeared to appreciate seeing things from a more global perspective, he added.
"I think that's a common theme that has run through all 10 years," King said.
Allen G. Greenwood, international programs coordinator for the college, said students can expect to see more options in length of time that they can study abroad, including plans to expand the intersession program and a Maymester, the university's shorter academic semester taking place for the first time in May.
"It was a very broadening experience for me," said Fred P. Burke, the Greenwood native who, with his wife Sara, endowed the study abroad program when it started. Now living in Georgia, he is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Central Pharmacy Services.
As someone who has started several companies and lived abroad after graduating from college, Burke said he knows how going abroad can expand a person's horizons like few other experiences.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information on Bagley's study abroad program, contact Dr. King at 662-325-2189 or rking@engr.msstate.edu. Dr. Greenwood can be reached at 325-7216 or greenwood@ise.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.