For senior Tim Walsh, a chance to study abroad was a chance to experience the world. As he says, “There is more to college than the four years you spend at Valpo. There is a vast world, and I wanted to see it.”

Thanks in part to the scholarship he received, Tim was able to spend a semester (about four months) studying art appreciation, English literature, culture and history, and European geography in Cambridge, England. But he learned a lot outside the classroom as well. “My view of the world has changed quite a bit,” he says. “You are exposed to many different attitudes, especially about the United States. You see that other countries care more about US politics than Americans do.  People are not as obsessed with time in other countries, but are more relationship-oriented. But that’s tough to bring back to the US – we are obsessed with time.”

Tim also discovered an appreciation for theater while abroad, and enjoyed his time in England so much he is anxious to return. He says, “Hopefully someday I will get the opportunity to work overseas, specifically in the UK.”  He also notes that employers have been impressed by the fact he spent the semester overseas. In fact, as the world moves further toward a global economy, more employers are taking note of study abroad experiences as a definite “plus” for job applicants.

For his classmates considering studying abroad, Tim has some advice. “Do it! Even if you have to take out extra loans, it’s well worth it. It is a time of your life that you will never forget. You will meet so many different people and experience so much.”

Tim received a scholarship to study abroad, and gifts to endowed scholarship funds can allow even more Valpo students to have the same type of life-changing experience he did.