By Erin McElwee Staff writer
Nov. 15 is the deadline for summer 2017 Global Opportunities short programs and the fall 2017 and spring 2018 GO long programs applications.
With the deadline approaching quickly, Susquehanna students are busy applying for the program that they are most interested in.
All Susquehanna students must complete a GO trip before the time of their graduation as part of the central curriculum at Susquehanna.
Susquehanna offers a wide variety of programs to fulfill this requirement.
There are short summer and winter trips—GO short—and full semester trips—GO long— offered every year.
GO short trips each offer a unique itinerary to fit the desires of any student.
GO long trips offer students the opportunity to earn transferable course credits while studying abroad for a full semester.
Junior biochemistry major Joann Butkus travelled on the GO short trip to Spain and Morocco this past summer. She said she was looking to get out of her comfort zone when on her GO trip.
“An important factor for my decision of where to go was the opportunity to travel somewhere that I would probably not go on my own, and that was the attraction I had to the Morocco part of this trip,” she said.
“It gave me the sense of adventure I was looking for,” Butkus added.
Butkus said it was mainly her busy schedule that made her decide to choose a GO short trip rather than a full semester.
“I chose to GO short because of my major. I decided I didn’t want the extra stress of rearranging my science classes in order to do GO long,” Butkus said.
“The program I chose was one of the longest GO shorts offered—it was one month—so it was the perfect opportunity for me to get away for a significant amount of time while still staying on track with my classes,” she added.
Butkus said research is key when applying to GO trips, and she wished she had looked more into the itineraries of each trip before applying.
“Looking into a more detailed plan of what each trip offered may have influenced my trip decision,” she said.
Senior marketing and finance major Lizzie Richart travelled on the Sigmund Weis School of Business GO long trip to London during the fall of 2015.
Aside from getting to attend directly through the school’s program, Richart’s decision was driven by the fact that she always wanted to go to London.
“I found that the country itself was very important, in terms of travel access and things to do,” Richart said. “My love for London really drove my decision.”
Richart found that doing a GO long program suited her better than a GO short.
Richart said: “I had always wanted to travel a lot and get a feel for actually living in a different country rather than just visiting it. This is why doing a GO long was best for me.”
Richart said her only regret from the application and preparation process was not talking to people who had taken her trip before.
“I think talking to people that went there could have really helped me prepare not only throughout the application process, but also for both the good and harder parts of traveling in London and just in Europe as well,” Richart said.
For guidance on GO trips, the GO office is located in the lower level of Hassinger Hall.
Students can get more information about all the options they have for GO trips in Susquehanna’s website. There is a short description for each trip that is offered.
Students can take the next step and apply for a GO trip online at MySU.
