Let's Talk UNLV

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You're listening to locally produced programming created in KUNV Studios on public radio. KUNV 91.5.

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All right, welcome to another segment of Let's Talk UNRV on KUNV. You with co-host Keith and Tanya. Tanya, how was your weekend?

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It was actually pretty nice. You know, I spent a lot of the weekend prepping for a bunch of things that I have coming down the way to include a keynote. So I've been excited to create my very first ever keynote. All right. What's the what's the what's the occasion or the event? It's the National Association of College Advisors is the occasion that I'm doing it for. And their theme is illuminating the light. And I love talking about how to bring light into your life. So right up my alleyway

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Good stuff. You know, my weekend was pretty pretty pretty laid-back. I just sit and watch some championship football. So oh, that's right

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The game was on

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Don't confess that don't say that don't say that as football lovers would be like no

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She said she didn't even realize the game for I feel like I watched it My husband watched it. So I was in the room. So technically, I watched it, too.

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We'll give you credit. Well, you know, I'm excited for our guest today. We have a Kara Marinch, who's the senior education abroad advisor for interim national student exchange coordinator within the study abroad student program. Kara, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Why don't we start our guests off by just asking them to share, you know, what's your origin story in terms of, you know, how you came to UNLV, in particular in the position that you're currently in? Okay.

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Well, it actually started when I was an undergraduate student here at UNLV. I studied English literature and film, and I was also really interested in going abroad. So I had the chance, after talking to the office here at UNLV to go abroad. I went to London for the summer and I took a theater class and a film class, so it worked really great with my degree. When I came back, I wanted to do more international things, so I was trying to figure that out. It was a bit tough, because I took on a little too much with my undergraduate degree, and so I just focused on finishing. But when I graduated, I applied for a program called the JET Program, and I lived and worked in Japan for about two years teaching middle school and elementary school students English. And when I came back, there was an opening at this office for an AA and so I started working here as the administrative assistant for two years and when the advising position opened up I thought well this would be a great fit for me. I'm familiar with the programs that we have. I went on one of the programs so that's why I'm now the advisor here.

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Wow, that's like as I'm listening to you talk about all the places you went, I'm like, I have seriously misspent my college time. You mean I could have been in London or Japan? Like, that is amazing to me that I could just call that studying and still get to visit these awesome and wonderful places.

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Yeah, we have over 50 different programs in 27 different countries. So there are a lot of options out there for students. Do you need chaperones? No, because you know, we're adults at this point. But there are safety things, so like USAC, the organization we use to send students abroad, they do ask the students when they leave the program areas to just let them know, you know, to make sure that everyone comes back safely. You don't need someone to go and check on them?

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I will volunteer. Same here.

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Just to make sure they're okay. You did.

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I will pass on your name.

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So I have a question. So one of the things that I wasn't really familiar with was study abroad when I was actually in college doing my undergraduate. I mean I sort of heard about it on the occasional TV show where someone was wandering the streets of Europe but I wasn't as familiar with the program. So how does one get information and get involved if they want to study abroad?

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The first step is to always contact our office. What we do is we set up an information session and that's going to cover how programs work, how courses are, and how to find programs that have the kinds of courses you need for your degree. We also cover how cost works and how financial aid can apply. A lot of students aren't aware of this, but if you have UNLV financial aid, a lot of the times that financial aid can be applied to the study abroad program, and there are also a bunch of different scholarships just for studying abroad, and our office helps students with that as well. But that first step is that info session with the general info, and after that we have individualized advising appointments where we go over a student's priorities, what they're looking for in a location, and we try to find a place that works for them.

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And how does a student locate you?

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So our office is in actually the CBC building on the third floor where all the psychology professors are located. We are CBC B325 exactly. I know that you mentioned financial aid. I know cost is often prohibitive for some students who want

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to travel abroad. In terms of financial aid and scholarships, how would they, is there work that they can do on their own to start looking for these sort of things? Does it come primarily through your office? Are there other things that they should be considering in terms of having financial readiness to make a trip abroad? Are there some places that might require less financial investment than others for trips abroad? A bunch of questions related to money, really.

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Yeah. So with funding, there are different program types and program lengths. Each program may cost differently. So if it's a semester-long program, that may cost more than the summer, summer session, or January session programs that we offer. And the location of the program will also impact cost. So one of our lower, like, at or below the cost of attendance for UNLV would be like Chiang Mai in Thailand. So there are programs out there that are at or below the cost of attendance of UNLV.

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And then what are some common misconceptions that students share with you when you do have a chance to speak with them about study abroad opportunities that you like to sort of set the record straight on?

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So with continuing a bit with cost and study abroad and financial preparedness, it's much more affordable than people think. It does take planning on the front end, which is why I encourage people to reach out to our office when they are interested, but it's definitely possible, and we have had students who go abroad and apply for enough scholarships and receive them along with their financial aid so that they don't pay out-of-pocket costs. It has happened before. And also with language, that's another misconception. For a majority of our programs, you don't need to have prior language experience to go to a non-English speaking location. I would say those are the two biggest ones.

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That's really good to know. Are there any places in particular that students tend to gravitate towards, or popular destinations, if you will?

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Yeah, so pre-pandemic it was primarily more European locations. So there's Torino, Italy is a location that has business courses. Valencia, Spain has like engineering coursework. There's Bilbao in Spain. Those two program countries, Spain and Italy, were pretty popular, but now it's actually, there's been a focus change, so we have more students interested in going to Japan or Korea in the last couple of months, I would say.

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Man, as you describe the places to go, when you said Italy, my soul was like, do I need to 21 Jump Street and go back to college and start this process over. So I can go to some of these exciting places as part of my educational journey. Like those are some wonderful destinations to go to. Yeah. And I don't think I've been to most of them. Oh, you know, that's not true. I've been to Korea and China, but, you know, I have had to go on my own. But that's a whole nother story. That sounds like amazing destinations. Are there any that you particularly like?

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So, I am fond of, you know, the London Summer Program because I have a lot of really good memories from it. But I am actually going to go on a site visit where I experience what students are experiencing in different programs. In March, I'm going to see what the Czech program in Prague is like, and I will report back and let students know what that program is like, how it's structured, what kinds of coursework is available. And academics is also a big thing. There are a lot of really great classes. program in London. I took the theater class and that was really impactful. I went to different theaters across London as part of my class and then we came back into the classroom and kind of analyzed how the stages were set up, why they were set up in a certain way, and also the content of the shows that we were watching.

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Now for students who are interested in a study abroad opportunities, when they come to you, how do you sort of guide the conversation with the student and sort of your first interactions

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with them?

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So I want to get to know what the student is prioritizing and interested in. And I like to help chunk them out because there is a lot of front-end planning when it comes to study abroad, but the first phase is kind of like the program selection. So navigating what programs have the courses that students need, the price points that students need, and the scholarships that students are eligible for are like the key things I focus on in a student's first and second interactions with our office. And students can set up as many advising appointments as they'd like, where we can cover more detailed things like housing, preparing to go abroad, any kinds of questions that come up.

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And what are some of the conversations around housing?

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Yeah, so USAC provides housing options on their various programs, but the primary options typically are a homestay where students are able to stay with the local family. There are dormitories where they're usually on campus and like a normal university kind of experience. And then there are usually also off-campus apartments, and those are usually near the enough where students can either walk to school or access some form of public transportation to get to their classes.

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You know, as I listened to you talk about this, checking it out before, I really like that. I like that you go and have the experience and investigate and see what it's like for students so that you can have sort of a hands-on experience with the program as well. So one of the things that I was wondering is how many students go at a time? Is it typically the solo traveler? Do they grow in mass? Are there particular ones where they're encouraged to wait for a larger cohort? How does

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that work? So the programs that we offer, they run by USAC and it stands for University Studies Abroad Consortium. It actually helps serve other universities across the United States as well. So students may be going with other students and other American universities in a specific location.

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So it's sort of, so they get to interact not only with the international community, but the broader campus community as well?

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Yes.

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Yeah, they interact with other UNLV students who may be going to the same location, but also students from Iowa and Hawaii and from all over the United States.

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That's actually pretty cool. Do you have a particular memory of your experiences abroad that sort of, like when you think about it, encapsulates what that experience might be like on the grade end for students?

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Let me dig back a little bit. I would say one of the most wild experiences was walking down the Thames River and just seeing the cityscape and being like, ìWow, Iím here. Iím doing this.î I thought it was really awesome that I had the opportunity to do that. And it wasn't because I had to really plan for it. I had saved some money in my earlier undergraduate degree. And then I got some scholarships that this office helped me get. So that's why I really encourage students, even if you don't think it's possible, to come talk to us because we will give you the tools you need to be able to make this happen. And what

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are some of the stories that you've heard back from students who were reluctant to go or just didn't have the confidence and so they've had that experience and then returned back to share that experience? What are some memories you have?

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Well, I do know that we've had students who go abroad. I know someone who met their significant other abroad. I know people who still talk to their host families after going there and interacting with their host family. They still visit them like 10 years later. I do hear of students who just want to talk more about study abroad to other students. So we've had some people volunteer to go to events for us because they just really loved the experience they had. I do feel it's like a life-changing experience, especially if you haven't been abroad before or you haven't gone outside the U.S. It really changes your perspective on things.

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You know, as you mentioned that, my first, when you were talking about it, it sounds like a really wonderful, life-changing experience to go from, you know, being a college student to going to all these wonderful and unique spots. And I'm wondering, I know I'm focusing on you, it'll be okay. I'm wondering, how is, how do you feel like doing study abroad has shaped your life and shaped your perspective around all of it?

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I definitely feel it's really shaped, and it's really why I am here today. If I hadn't gone abroad, and that was the first time I also lived alone away from my family, so that also helped me develop as an individual. From there, I wanted to do more of it. I wanted to experience more of that and that took me to Japan. And from there, also something I haven't mentioned is that I'm actually also in the law school at night and I wouldn't be at Boyd if I hadn't gone to Japan and experienced the healthcare system there and then experience the health care system here, that made me interested in things like public policy and it brought me a lot of things. So I feel like I have two very deep interests. I want other students to go abroad and find things that interest them, find things that open up their minds to different points of view. But I also think there's a like a place to learn more about who we are, where we come from, how things work. And that's kind of how study abroad has helped inform my interests, I would say.

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So since you've been in this position now, like what's the what's the average number of students each semester or each year who sort of take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to study abroad?

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So it's definitely changed since the pandemic. I would say the last semester we had about 45-ish students go abroad. But it used to be more, and we're hoping to help students be more informed of our office's existence.

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We are ever so thrilled to be able to promote those opportunities because I think you're right. As we are a global, we operate within the global sphere, having information around those different places can be a game changer in terms of how you view yourself, how you view the world, what opportunities and experiences are available. And as you mentioned, it really was a touchstone touchstone to so many other areas in your life. So if you were to have a 30 second pitch to students around study abroad, like you're making your study abroad commercial here. What would you say to students who are like, it sounds kind of interesting. So sell it

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to me.

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But well, study abroad is more possible than you think it is. It takes some time, and we are here to support students. The first-in planning is definitely worth the experience overall, and you don't know where it's going to take you. It could take you to future friendships. It could take you to future academic interests. It could take you to a new place to be. You just never know and you don't want to regret not trying to go abroad. So please go abroad. Please contact our office. It can

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be life-changing. Love it. And then Kara, what, since you've been in the role, like what's, what are some new initiatives or new things that you're doing in the role?

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Yeah, I'm trying to provide more mixed kind of advising and services for students. So I want to do like a blend of in-person, online, over the phone stuff to basically help students and give them options of different workshops that we have. We have scholarship workshops and the advising itself. We want it to be open to as many students as possible. So we really are student focused in this office, so we work with students in where they're at, how they want to be communicated, all of that stuff. So that's some of the stuff we've been transitioning into in providing kind of broad services and to develop more workshops, more essay feedback type of services as well, because we can also review your essays and give you feedback on how to make them stronger for receiving those awards for study abroad.

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And if you could share, how do you promote this opportunity?

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Sure, we currently have a social media that posts different events, different things that students may want to be aware of regarding international, you know, holidays and experiences possible and we are at UNLV Abroad. So if you follow us on Instagram, we post things on a regular basis about what's going on in our office.

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And are there any ways in which we can support, the university can support, or students can support this mission of helping students to go do study abroad?

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Yes, if anyone is listening who knows someone who's interested in going abroad, please have them call our office. 895-3896 and you can also visit our website which is on the UNLV page at International Programs. So please contact us so that we can help students. And I

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also hear you saying that students who have had that study abroad experience add their testimonials. Oh, yes. Would be a great resource as well. Yes, if people could contact our office, let us know their

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stories. Let us know what their experience have been. We would love to hear it and we would love to forward that message to other students who have gone abroad. Is there a study abroad student

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organization? Not at this time. Are you just curious? Are you have you are you cataloging those stories anywhere?

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We do have some student testimonials. I'm hoping to, in the next probably cycle, institute a re-entry interview where I collect some of that.

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Yeah, so we'll get you out of here. We'll give you the last word. Is there anything that you would like to share? Is there any, are there any questions you wish we had asked that we didn't ask and we'll give you the last word with our listeners. Thank

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you very much for having me. Studying abroad can change your life and it's possible and we're here to support you so please don't hesitate to reach out.

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And if you could just restate one more time your office location, email, phone number, social media handles for our listeners.

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Okay, so our social media handle is at UNLV Abroad. You can call our office at 702-895-3896. And our office is located at CBC B325. It's behind the stairs and in the black elevator thing in front of the OIT office.

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And if you receive an inquiry from a Dr. Tanya Crabb, you can just, you know, refer her back to me.

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I'm a student of life.

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There are no age caps on studying abroad, by the way.

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Well, if you need someone to help you check out those locations, I can do that, too. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for coming through and sharing this wonderful information. I think our students are fortunate to have these opportunities and I hope they take advantage of them. Thank you very much

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for having me. I was a little nervous but you guys are really great. I appreciate it. Have a lovely day. You too.

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Transcribed with Cockatoo