Despite the Obstacles, Students Who Leave Highly Recommend Their Time Away

The best part of your Harvard education could be the part you spend thousands of miles from the ivy-covered walls of the Yard.

That's the view of hundreds of undergraduates who take time off to study or work away from Harvard.

But taking time off is not easy, and coming back can be even tougher. Students cite difficulties readjusting to the hustle and bustle of life at Harvard, conveying to others the signficance of their time away from school and obtaining academic credit for the work they have done.

Despite the obstacles, a significant number of students from each class choose to spend some portion of their college career away from Harvard. Three hundred and seventeen members of the Class of 1990 took time off during their time at the College, says Martha P. Leape, director of the Office of Career Services.

Students who have taken leaves-of-absence say their experiences provided them with an invaluable perspective that clarified their educational objectives.

`The Best Thing'

"It was probably the best thing I've ever done with myself," says Tom F. Shebar '90-91. Last fall, he studied at City University in London and then spent January travelling "for a change of pace and a new college experience."

The range of options open for students taking time off is as varied as the individuals involved. Chloe A. Breyer '90-91 spent half of her year abroad in Nepal, Tibet and India. She spent part of her time teaching English to monks.

Many students cite the extensive foreign language experience they can only obtain abroad as reason enough to take time off.

Elizabeth C. Bynum '91 spent last year in China at Nanjing University on a Harvard-Yenching scholarship from the department of East Asian Languages and Civilization. "A lot of people in the department go abroad to get the language," she says.

Jean-Jacques Barrow '92, who spent the spring term in Salamanca, Spain, to master the language, says, "obviously, you learn more Spanish in Spain than at Harvard University."

Apart from specific skills many students pick up abroad, students say they most value the opportunity to examine their values through the lens of another culture.

"In general, I would say that it is just a great great thing to take a step away from Harvard just to get a focus on it," says Bradford D. Woloson '91-92, who spent last spring in London interning as a high-yield bond analyst.

"My goals going there were to pay my own way, to travel, and to get a meaningful business experience," he says. "I would say all my goals were met and then some."

And Shebar says that going away gave him "time to rethink how you want to spend your time."

"It gives you a clue about what you want to get out of your education," he says. "What I brought back was really more of a personal thing--it was my perspective."

Administrative Problems

Although Harvard encourages its students to take time off to go abroad during their undergraduate careers, students say that substantial administrative roadblocks have to be overcome.

Harvard is presently expanding its international intership program, which it enthusiastically promotes to its undergraduates. But the University does not recommend study abroad and is notoriously stingy in awarding academic credit for foreign course work.

"Everything needs to be pre-approved and it's still not guaranteed that you'll get credit," says Shebar.

The question of credit is often cited as one of the reasons more students do not explore another culture during their college years.

"Harvard is not supportive of people who take time off insofar as you don't get credit," says Barrow. "It is a certain insularity on the part of Harvard. It's almost as if they are saying `how could you want to?'"

But University officials say that the best way to experience a foreign culture is to work in it, not to study in a protective environment.

"We have reservations about many study abroad programs because what they are doing is bringing together a large number of Americans," says Nancy S. Pyle, assistant to President Derek C. Bok for internationalization.

"We would like you to go out on your own rather than have someone hold your hand," she adds.

The experience of some students who have participated in official study-abroad programs supports Pyle's contention.

George Polsky '92, who spent last fall term in Florence, Italy and the spring in Salamanca, Spain, says that most of the people he encountered in the program were Americans. "The day I got back I felt like I had never left, the reason being that there were a lot of Americans there," he says.

When he wanted to practice the native language, Polsky "would just go to bars and speak with old drunk men," he says.

But other students say that the handling of foreign coursework varies from department to department. Some concentrations take special measures to ensure that returning students have tutors while others leave it to the student to find one.

"In my case there was no problem," says D. Cressler Heasley '90-91 who worked for an architecture firm in New York and then trained to become a leader of outdoor programs in New Hampshire.

"Harvard didn't notice when I left and it certainly didn't notice when I came back," he says.

Support Network

There are other problems, besides getting credit, which returning students often face. They say they often do not have opportunities to express what they have learned and feel left out of student life.

"I was out of sync with my class. I didn't have any tutors or support," says Leslie R. Crutchfield '90-91, who spent a year doing public service work in Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

In response to such concerns, Crutchfield, Breyer and Heather R. McCloud '90-91 are organizing a support network for students returning from time away. They are planning a journal, an art exhibit and a support group.

"It is really important when people return from time off that they have a forum to express what they did," says Crutchfield.

"Taking time off shouldn't be the sort of thing that puts you in the fringe at this University," says Breyer.

Initially, the journal would feature student writings about experiences abroad. Later the organizers hope to include articles from leaves-of-absence spent in the U.S. as well.

The Triptych Gallery exhibit, titled "Our Planet," will be broader in focus, including the paintings, photographs and drawings of students who have done work while away from Harvard.

"I would really like to see people thinking about other people and other places, and art is a good way to do that," says John T. Goldstone '91, who organizes the student-run Triptych.

The planned show "is targetted towards people who have spent time abroad, people who have travelled maybe just for two days maybe in the U.S.--basically for anyone," he says.

Organizers say the last of the group's plans is a support group. The organizers want to ascertain that there is sufficient interest in the community the "informal" group to be meaningful says Breyer.

"It's very hard to get into the Harvard scene and it's helpful to have people to speak to," says Crutchfield.