At Rhode Island College, there are currently two ways to study abroad. You can go through a private company that specializes in study abroad programs or you can apply directly to the university where you want to study. In both cases, students are able to use their RIC financial aid to help finance their trip as well as study abroad scholarships, of which there are many.
A third option that Chanfrau is working on are international student exchange programs, where students attend a university abroad while Rhode Island College reciprocates by receiving students from that university. Unlike the first two options, exchange students pay RIC tuition using RIC financial aid.
Chanfrau found that once students leave the United States, they tend to want to do it again. Abreu is now making plans to study abroad in Spain next year, to support his minor in Spanish.
“I want to remind students that you don’t have to speak or even learn a foreign language to be able to study abroad,” Chanfrau added. “Abreu happens to be a language major. For a language major, there’s no better experience than living in another country and being completely immersed in the language. Fluency increases exponentially.”
Abreu’s long-term plan is to continue traveling and to carve out a career in foreign language, such as translating Portuguese or Spanish, teaching English as a second language, or linguistics. When asked if he plans to live abroad, he answered, “Home is here. I’m very family oriented, like most Portuguese. I can’t see myself living too far away from home.” Rather, Abreu intends to launch from there, and these days he no longer has any qualms about takeoff.
To learn more about study abroad, the annual Study Abroad Fair will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.