Study Abroad Affords Most Students Lifetime Of Benefit

To the editors:



I think that Mark Adomanis’ comment today (“Foreign Affairs,” Apr. 3) voices an ignorant viewpoint. His claim that semesters or years spent overseas offer only drinking stories and bragging rights is not reflective of the study abroad experience in general. That many return with such shallow stories is undeniable, and makes one sorry for the “quarter of the college career lost;” but then again, what would those same people have been doing so differently back home that would “maintain America’s position as a world leader in higher education?” Many choose careers in foreign affairs or do worthwhile social or economic research as a result of their experiences studying abroad, and the opportunity for such mind-broadening off-campus study is valuable enough that it should be continued and funded, despite the unfortunate example of people like those Adomanis writes of who treat the opportunity like an “extended vacation.”



M. BROOKE HALSEY ’06

April 3, 2006