Posted on Dec 13, 2005

Meghan Lewis' experience as an exchange student in Florence, Italy, last year not only exposed her to different cultures and enabled her to make friends in other countries, it also may have advanced her academic career.

Now back at CSUMB for her senior year, Lewis is preparing for graduate school and talking about the benefits of international study.

"It changed my life - that's why I'm planning to go back. And it makes you view the United States very differently," she said in a recent interview.

Lewis is majoring in Human Communications with an emphasis in pre-law. In graduate school she plans to study international law and international relations.

That interest motivated her to investigate opportunities for overseas study. "There are tons of programs available. Anywhere you want to go, you can go. But you've got to find it yourself. No one is going to knock on your door."

The California State University International Programs allow students to study at campuses in 19 countries and pay the same tuition they would pay in California. "It ended up being more expensive for me because, while tuition is the same, rent and food are more expensive due to the exchange rate," she said.

The school she attended was housed in a villa - "old, run-down and definitely not glamorous." It was a CSU campus, not an Italian university. "I studied European Union politics, Italian literature - Dante and Machiavelli - and Italian politics." Her professors were mostly English-speaking Italians.

Meghan Lewis in St. Mark's Square, Venice.

She prepared for her year in Florence by taking Italian language classes and a course in the history of Western Europe at Monterey Peninsula College during her sophomore year and a class in comparative government at CSUMB.

Lewis, a native of Grass Valley who had lived in California her whole life, was attracted to CSUMB because of its small classes, its diversity, the Human Communications major and the proximity to the ocean.

"The university was very helpful and accommodating in working out the transfer of my credits. I got half my major requirements out of the way," she said.

And what was the biggest lesson she learned?

"I learned how to be respectful of other cultures. We traveled a lot -- we took weekend trips to Germany, France, Ireland, England, Switzerland, the Netherlands. And we saw lots of Italy. We took the train, backpacked, stayed in hostels - we didn't have a lot of money. I learned some Spanish, French and German. And I learned that if I made a little effort with their language, it really pleased people.

"And I also learned that I should explore my backyard - California."

Lewis cautioned that overseas study "is not for everyone - you have to be self-sufficient in order to get out of it what you should.

"But I loved it. I can't wait to get back to Italy - and I hope to go back this summer."

To learn more, visit CSUMB's Office of International Programs in Building 58, or visit the web at international.csumb.edu.

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