Traveling with confidence in hard times

A message from the CU Boulder Study Abroad office

The 2015-16 academic year was a challenging time for international education.

We’ve had multiple sobering reminders that we live in a period of tremendous upheaval around the world, most notably during the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. This was followed by more recent attacks in Belgium, Germany and Turkey, locations that Americans don’t generally associate with international terrorism. As such, going overseas can seem intimidating—especially as globalization brings events from across the world seemingly into our living rooms. 

"Coffee" by Hillary Jensen.

However, the intimate ties created through studying abroad across oceans, cultures, languages and political boundaries are a foundation for open, honest dialogue and a more understanding, peaceful world. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the hashtag “Je suis en terrasse” (I am on the terrace) celebrated French café culture. It became a rallying cry, a foundation upon which life could continue, despite tragedy. 

Conor Ryan, a CU Boulder student studying in Paris at the time of the attacks, described the mindset, saying: “You can’t let fear control you. You can’t let these kinds of things hold you back.”

CU Boulder Study Abroad hopes to bring this attitude to international education: Simultaneously recognizing the dangers that exist in our world today, and the importance of intercultural connections in alleviating them.

So how does Study Abroad help students travel with confidence in times like these?

Pre-Departure

The process starts long before students set foot on a plane. Study Abroad staff review daily security assessments from the Overseas Security Advisory Council (a partnership with the U.S. Department of State), the International SOS Travel Security team, and security alerts from its international insurance provider as well as from partners overseas. 

"August evening in Copenhagen" by Chris Mattews. (Courtesy CU Boulder Study Abroad)

Before departure from Boulder, students attend a health and safety orientation. Students learn how to be aware of and mitigate risks when traveling abroad. In-person health and safety orientations complement online preparation, and allow students to engage with our staff and air concerns in a group context. Study Abroad works with students to bolster their cultural understanding of the area where they will be studying, connecting them with American alumni from their programs and international students from local universities when possible.

Students enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which connects Americans abroad with their nearest consulate or embassy. STEP also provides U.S. citizens with updates on everything from avoiding an area where a political demonstration is occurring to tips on what to watch for when using public transportation.

While Abroad

“Not only are we constantly watching what goes on around the world, but our partners do the same,” said Sylvie Burnet-Jones, associate director of CU Boulder Study Abroad and health & safety coordinator. “Our providers have on-site staff that live in-country, allowing them to keep tabs on a specific environment, and they are equipped with emergency protocols of their own.” 

If the U.S. government issues a travel warning for countries or regions where the dependents of U.S. government personnel are asked to leave, Study Abroad will suspend programs there and will move students to safe haven locations. In the event of an emergency, Study Abroad has a 24/7 emergency phone number that students can use to reach staff at any time.

“By working closely with our partners overseas and in the U.S., we ensure that there are multiple organizations looking out for our students and many layers of emergency responses should they be needed,” said Mary Dando, director of CU Boulder Study Abroad.

While a program in Copenhagen, Denmark, may present different risks from one in Cairo, Egypt, for example, CU Boulder’s goal is to empower students to respond appropriately. In the end, this goal is bigger than health and safety. Study Abroad wants to facilitate intercultural communication in a way that shapes both CU Boulder students and those they meet abroad.

In the words of Maya Angelou, “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”

“We hope that CU Boulder students will continue to enrich our global community, and, simultaneously, be enriched themselves,” Dando said.