To the Editors:
In his column entitled "Studying abroad hinders a student's personal growth," Judah Isseroff makes some good points with which I agree.
That said, as someone who took the opportunity to go abroad as a Bowdoin student, I want to offer another perspective.
I came to Bowdoin knowing what I wanted to major in and what I wanted to do after graduation, and those plans did not change. They were, however, finalized during my full academic year at the London School of Economics.
I was able to take classes which Bowdoin does not offer. Living in a city larger than Brunswick (which, consequently, many Bowdoin students will do after graduating) broadened my horizons rather than narrow them as Isseroff seems to claim.
I was the president of a college house and stayed active in many other organizations during my time at Bowdoin.
While some students are not mature enough to go abroad and some majors cannot feasibly take classes away from Bowdoin, off-campus study is an unbelievably positive experience for most who participate. I am certainly a better student and a better person for going abroad.
I hope to remind any prospective study abroad students that Isseroff, as a sophomore, offers an incredibly narrow perspective of an experience in which he has never taken part.
No student should take the exaggerated statements Isseroff makes in his column as a reason not to consider the remarkable possibilities available to Bowdoin students who choose to study abroad.
Sincerely,
Jessica Ziehler '11