By Soleil Cardenas
The Center for Global Environmental Education’s Study Abroad Program is slowly making its way back to East Los Angeles College.
Over the past two years study abroad programs at ELAC were put to a halt due to COVID-19. With Center for Disease and Control guidelines constantly changing it has been difficult to tell when it would be a good time to leave the country.
Before the Pandemic there were three ongoing study abroad programs at ELAC. These were set to happen every summer and included, destinations like Kyoto, Tokyo, Paris and Salamanca. The Pandemic gave the college time to create new programs once it is safe to travel again.
For example, a new approved program involves studying Architecture abroad in Florence, Italy.
Two programs currently in the works are studying Life Sciences in Costa Rica and Multiple Disciplines in Oaxaca.
During the Pandemic, CGEE conducted virtual exchanges that helped students collaborate with other students all across the globe.
These collaborations were held during Spring and Fall of 2021. One example working is, Gentrification in Amsterdam and the Los Angeles area. Others include non-credit English as a Second Language and Spanish classes which engaged in communicative activities with Colombian and Mexican students, and Social Work in the Philippines and the U.S.
As of right now the study abroad program is set to have students in Paris next June, and in Florence, Italy in January 2024.
Students in Paris, France are set to study all levels of French credit courses for four weeks.
Students traveling to Florence, Italy will be studying Architecture 221 for three weeks.
These two programs have been set in motion since early 2022.The CGEE recently released new information regarding programs that will be happening 2023 and 2024 as COVID-19 travel restrictions loosen.
First, in mid June of 2023 students will travel to Salamanca, Spain for 3-4 weeks. In Spain the program will offer all levels of Spanish credit courses.
Also in June 2023, students will travel to Donegal, Ireland for 12-13 days to study English 185.
For both of these programs, ,information meetings will be held in Fall 2022, some time in October.
For the study abroad program to Paris, France informational meetings will be held in October.
For students wanting to study in Florence, Italy informational meetings will be in the spring 2024.
When planning to study abroad, one of the most important factors is financial preparation.
The CGEE states that students begin start planning one to two years in advance.
Using your financial aid in order to finance your study abroad trip is one way to make the trip more affordable.
For more information on using your financial aid to finance your study abroad trip and the specific guidelines, please visit https://www.elac.edu/Academics/Programs/CGEE/Study-Abroad. Lastly, for financial planning information contact Alouette Cervantes (cervana6@elac.edu).
Contact CGEE directors, Norma Vega (vegan@elac.edu) and Lynn Vogel-Zuiderweg (vogelzlc@elac.edu) for more information about the study abroad program.