Climbing the 110 stone stairs of the Church of Agios Ioannis Kastri, Caitlin Weber, a senior in kinesiology and health, looked out into the beautiful turquoise water and rolling hills of the Greek island Skopelos. A long-time fan of the film “Mamma Mia,” Weber said the church featured in the film was the most picturesque place she visited during her time abroad.

After her five-week summer program in Greece at the American College of Thessaloniki, Weber returned to campus with an understanding of international travel and experience in Greek culture due to the resources offered by the Study Abroad Center.

Students can find the Study Abroad Center office on the second floor of Parks Library, next to the periodicals section. Students and study abroad advisers to come together and discuss plans for students to take off on the trip of a lifetime.

“The Study Abroad Center was extremely helpful in ensuring I was prepared for all aspects of my trip, from safety tips to information about how to combat homesickness,” Weber said.

In 2000, Frank Peters, director of the Study Abroad Center, began his involvement in the study abroad field as a faculty member promoting study abroad. Peters has been at Iowa State since 1996. Peters said he advocated for his department and served on a college engineering study abroad committee. He has also managed the semester program at the University of Limerick since 2003. 

“I was doing it because I didn’t study abroad as an undergraduate and I didn’t want other students to make the same mistake I did,” Peters said.

Peters said studying abroad can benefit students personally and professionally. He explained the experience will help students look at things from a broader perspective and be critically important to their careers.

Peters said he originally became the director of the Study Abroad Center in January 2018 after the spot opened up.

“We do a lot of promotion of study abroad [with] prospective students, and … developing new initiatives of how we improve study abroad,” Peters said.

Nicole Humphrey, a study abroad adviser, labeled the Study Abroad Center as a collaborative space and said the most rewarding part of her job is working with students. Humphrey described Peters’ management style as supportive and experienced. 

“[I love] talking to … students that have returned from studying abroad and have had hopefully positive experiences and hearing about how it went and maybe what they learned from it,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey said Peters brings a lot of experience with curriculum committees, and connections on campus have gone a long way with more of the upper management on campus to support study abroad. 

“I think in some ways [Peters] has made study abroad fresh again in the eyes of faculty members,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey has worked professionally in study abroad since 2015 and began at Iowa State in 2019, where she worked in study abroad for two years and worked in engineering international programs as a graduate student. 

“I studied abroad myself when I was in college in Japan. I was also a Japanese major, so I was interested in other countries and cultures, and I love talking with people about other countries and traveling, so [the profession] was the perfect fit,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey has had the opportunity to visit Japan on three occasions. She expressed her deep appreciation for the city she lived in, its culture and the fact that it was relatively free from the presence of other foreigners. When she studied abroad in Japan, she was located on Hokkaido, a northern island, and was also able to visit the city of Hakodate. 

“I didn’t know anyone else in my program, it was not through my university and it was a language-intensive program,” Humphrey said. 

Humphrey elaborated on the extensive behind-the-scenes tasks involved in the field of study abroad advising. As an adviser, she emphasized the importance of maintaining various aspects, including the content on the website, to ensure a seamless experience for students. Humphrey and other advisers take on tasks such as meeting with students to keep things up to date and promoting the multitude of study abroad programs.

According to Humphrey, each faculty member in the study abroad office is responsible for other projects, such as managing scholarships.

“I work with incoming exchange students – they come here for one or two semesters – especially before they’re here, I help them with their applications to Iowa State. I answer some questions about visas and they help with questions about housing and things like that,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey begins helping students choose the right trip by determining what area of the world they would like to visit and their ideal timeframe. It is important the academics in the program work for the student. Some students need classes extremely specific to their major. So, Humphrey has to take in a multitude of factors in order to find the right trip fit for her students. She tries to be efficient and respectful when it comes to working with students’ budgets as well.

Study abroad adviser Ben McKelfresh said along with the benefits of the study abroad experience, some challenges can arise for students.

“The classes [in the program] have to line up perfectly and it doesn’t always happen. There’s sad situations that come up where, for example, [I am] working with a student who is an engineering major,” McKelfresh said. “He was all set to study abroad next semester and he just emailed me … saying that he needs to withdraw [from the program] so that he doesn’t fall behind [in classes].”

McKelfresh said these types of situations do not occur often. However, he expressed empathy for any student in a tough situation. As an adviser, he aims to make studying abroad a positive experience by encouraging students to choose a program that suits them for success.

Weber, who worked with the Study Abroad Center, said the office assisted in booking her flight and adding the cost to her University Bill. She said the trip brought out her love for exploring, as she had never been outside the U.S. on her own, and she was constantly entranced by the experiences she had and the places she visited while in Greece.

Weber said one of her most memorable encounters was with a local, her snorkeling instructor, George, whom she and her friends met while on a weekend trip to the island of Skiathos. 

“He was super friendly and gave us several recommendations of places to see in Crete. He even offered me a free scuba lesson if I’d happen to go back to Skiathos,” Weber said.

After speaking with him, she learned that he had grown up in the same neighborhood as the university she was studying and lived for several years in Crete, an island she planned to visit the following weekend. 

“We have programs that can be very affordable, and then there are some that are not as affordable. They’re still really great opportunities, but I never start there – at the most expensive option – that choice has to be made by the student who comes forward,” Humphrey said.

Hayden Zuza, peer adviser and a senior in supply chain management, enjoyed his experience studying abroad and wanted to give back with a role involved in helping other students and working with abroad institutions.

“We try our best to advertise new programs through banners on our website and brochures displayed throughout campus,” Zuza said. “With scholarships, we send out emails for deadlines and lay out all information regarding applications during 1:1 meetings at the Study Abroad Center.”

Study Abroad Center peer advisers present to prospective students through outreach events like Experience Iowa State and classroom presentations. Peer advisers like Zuza and Jenna Yingling, a senior in mathematics, prioritize assisting students interested in studying abroad and finding the program that fits their needs. Yingling said she also assists with emails, maintaining the office space and operating the Study Abroad Center social media.

After studying abroad, some students like Yingling want to share their knowledge with other students and promote the study abroad experience. For this reason, Yingling became a peer adviser for the Study Abroad Center. 

“After studying in Italy last semester, I was excited to share everything I had learned throughout my experience… the role of a study abroad peer adviser seemed like the perfect fit,” Yingling said.

When students first step into the Study Abroad Center office and express interest in studying abroad, Yingling said she and other student advisers typically direct them to the ISUAbroad website. Once they have narrowed their options, student advisers help them schedule an appointment with their respective advisers in the appropriate office. All of the colleges have their own study abroad office, so some programs (especially more of the short-term programs) are organized through a specific college.

After hosting an exchange student during high school, becoming an exchange student in Germany and then studying abroad during his junior year, McKelfresh, a current Iowa State study abroad adviser, decided to work in DePauw University’s study abroad office as a student employee.

McKelfresh completed two different semester programs. His fall semester was located in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he studied Danish language and international business. McKelfresh’s next semester was spent, again, in Germany, studying mostly German language, in a different location from where he had been during high school.

As an adviser, McKelfresh said the most rewarding part of his job is speaking with students after their trip and seeing how the experience impacted them.

“Many of my favorite memories as a study abroad peer adviser so far includes students asking for advice before moving abroad,” Yingling said. “I love to share about my personal experience when studying in Italy and assist students in determining what will work best for them.”

Zuza believes working in the Study Abroad Center helps expand his interest and knowledge in different cultures in a way that allows him to cater his appreciation for internationalization to students looking into studying abroad. 

“Fostering international relations in general with administrative offices overseas and students, I believe, is a skill that is quite useful in developing one’s communication abilities to be globally conscious,” Zuza said.

One of Weber’s favorite aspects of experiencing Greek culture was the schedule of native people who take time during the day, specifically for rest and moments with friends and family. In modern Greece, it is recommended to respect quiet hours from 3 to 5 p.m. each day. This time is referred to as “Siesta,” which includes the closure of banks, shops, offices, stores and restaurants.

“I really appreciated how the Greeks took their time to savor moments during the day compared to the hustle and bustle that’s expected in the U.S.,” Weber said. “Now that I’m back home, I try to more consciously take that approach whenever I’m able to.”

The Study Abroad Center at Iowa State plays a role in enriching students’ lives by providing them with valuable international experiences, fostering cultural understanding and helping them embark on transformative journeys that leave lasting impressions and broaden their perspectives, just as Weber’s adventure in Greece did for her.