Brian To ' 18 has a tried-and-true method for ordering food in a foreign country. “Just point at the menu and see what happens. Sometimes it’s really good,” he says, “and sometimes you congratulate yourself for trying.” Either way, “it’s about being okay with the unknown. Go with it, and eventually you figure it out.”
That adventurous philosophy has served To well throughout the two years he spent in Beppu, 日本, as part of a dual-degree partnership between St. 爱德华的 and Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. To spent his freshman and senior years on the hilltop working on a bachelor’s degree in 全球研究 and his sophomore and junior years in Beppu earning a bachelor’s degree in Asia Pacific Studies. 今年5月，他成为了美国首位圣何塞. 爱德华的 student to complete the dual-degree program.
To, who is Vietnamese American and grew up in Houston, had traveled to southeast Asia on family trips throughout his childhood. He also participated in the 全球合作 Living Learning 社区 his freshman year at St. 爱德华的, connecting with like-minded students about everything from international furniture styles to how people date in other cultures. In retrospect, his time in the LLC “was a microcosm of what I experienced in 日本. I thought ‘globalism’ was an overused word, but the world really is a melting pot.”
仍然, total immersion in a foreign culture isn’t easy, he says: “You have to be able to pack up your home in a suitcase and make a new home somewhere else.“虽然这可能令人生畏, it was also a common denominator for To and his classmates at APU, where half the students come from outside 日本. “Nothing brings you together like not understanding anything,To说。, who forged fast friendships with his classmates from 73 countries. Together they took six hours of daily 日本ese lessons coupled with business, political science and international relations classes taught in English.
Fulfilling the requirements for two degrees from two universities on opposite sides of the world was sometimes challenging. 政治学教授登场了 威廉·尼克尔斯, academic coordinator of the dual-degree program, chair of the 全球研究 department and “my handler,To说。 (who also fulfilled the requirements of the St. 爱德华荣誉课程). “Dr. 尼科尔斯帮我搞定了一切.”
Fulfilling the requirements for two degrees from two universities on opposite sides of the world was sometimes challenging. 政治学教授登场了 威廉·尼克尔斯, academic coordinator of the dual-degree program, chair of the 全球研究 department and “my handler,To说。 (who also fulfilled the requirements of the St. 爱德华荣誉课程). “Dr. 尼科尔斯帮我搞定了一切.”
Since the dual-degree program started in 2013, Nichols has shepherded eight APU students and seven students from St. 爱德华正在办理手续. (Four have completed both degrees, while others are in the midst of the program.) He relies on email and Skype to stay in touch with the Hilltoppers in Beppu, and he meets regularly with the 日本ese students in Austin, even hosting Thanksgiving dinner and giving a primer on opening bank accounts.
The opportunities the dual-degree program offers students are unique on an undergraduate level, 尼科尔斯说, who is mapping out a possible dual-degree 环境科学与政策 program and is working to initiate a faculty exchange between APU and St. 爱德华的. “It’s very unusual to be able to sync up core classes, majors and languages among universities. I’ve presented at several conferences, and I can’t find anything like our program.” Not to mention its life-changing impact on his students: “From the language acquisition to the cultural understanding, they really are different people when they come home.”
Just ask To, who is spending a year teaching English in Vietnam while he applies to graduate schools. 他希望最终能拿下美国.S. 外事考试. “If you want to level up in life, go abroad,” he says. “一旦你尝到了旅行癖的滋味, once you make friends from all over the world, 你停不下来.
作者:Stacia M. 米勒硕士学位05