Rider students spend J-term studying abroad

While some students relaxed during their winter break, perhaps binge-watching Netflix to avoid the chilly January air, four groups from Rider embarked on adventures overseas with faculty. 

Twelve students from the College of Business Administration traveled to Barcelona, Spain, with Dr. Eugene Kutcher III and Dr. John Donovan, both professors in management. The group had three days of cultural visits including Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Montserrat, and Camp Nou, plus three days of visits to local businesses.

"The CBA short term international study tours give students a chance to explore global business practices while seeing some of the most exciting locations in the world," Kutcher says. "Barcelona was chosen for its cultural richness and its prominence in the Catalonian, Spanish and European economies."

Staying in the western hemisphere, Dr. Jonathan Husch (GEMS) and Dr. Cindy Newman (Department of Marketing, Advertising, and Legal in Studies) escorted 16 students from the College of Business Administration and the College of Liberal Arts and Science to Belize. The group traveled to the Mayan sites of Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, Actun Tunichil and Muknal caves, and the coral reefs of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker. 

"This fall, students in the Nature Business class learned about the Mayan civilization, including its history and culture," says Husch. "Visiting Xunantunich and Cahel Pech allowed them to learn more about Mayan architecture, religion, and science, and to see first hand what they read and heard about in the course. I think it drove home the point of just how advanced and complex the Mayans were."

The group also visited the National Assembly of Belize, the Belize Zoo, attended a lecture from the Forestry Management Department, and zip-lined through the tropical rain forest. 

Approximately 700 miles away from Belize, Dr. Marge O'Reilly-Allen (Accounting) and Dr. Ira Sprotzer (Business Law and Marketing) supervised a study tour of 12 students to Cuba. There, the group visited Havana and Varadero. 

"The focus of the trip was the culture, history, politics and economy of Cuba," Sprotzer says. "We believe that it is important for students to experience different cultures and different economic systems and Cuba did not disappoint."

In Europe, Dr. Jerry Rife (Music) and Dr. Patrick Chmel (Theatre) traveled to Paris and Versailles, France, and London, England, with 22 students as part of the Arts Abroad program. 

In Paris, the group visited The Louvre, went up the Eiffel Tower, took a day trip to Versailles, saw and heard the Orchestre de Paris at the new Philharmonie de Paris, and hit all the sights (from Invalides to Sacre Coure on Montmartre). In London, they toured the Shakespeare Globe and Rose Theaters, took backstage tours of the Royal National Theater, saw the Victoria and Albert Museum and British Museum, and visited the British Library. 

"Students had free time in both cities to explore on their own," says Rife. "Some visited Bath and Stonehenge and a large group went to Harry Potter world. We also had the opportunity to attend three plays in London as well as a concert of the London Symphony Orchestra."

The J-Term 2017 Arts Abroad program has already been announced and includes traveling to Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Vienna, Austria.

If studying abroad for a few weeks during winter break sounds interesting, most study abroad programs offered for J-Term 2017 have a deadline for applications on May 1, 2016. 

To see which study abroad programs are being offered, visit rider.studioabroad.com.