14SPRING/SUMMER INTERNATIONAL Abbreviated summer international programs give students more opportunities to travel abroad. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS WERE AN IMPORTANT PART of Harding culture. When COVID-19 canceled all study abroad programs for 18 months, new opportunities were introduced in the summer of 2021. On two-week programs in Italy or Peru, students were able to complete a Bible credit that would count for their following fall semester. “We offered three different opportunities to study abroad in August this year, primarily for the students who signed up for a study abroad program over the last 18 months that was canceled because of the pandemic,” Executive Director of International Programs Audra Pleasant said. “We eventually opened up enrollment for the few spots that were left.” Although there had been summer abroad programs before, these shorter trips had a different pace. During semesterlong programs, students formed friendships over the course of three months. For these shorter periods, connections were made immediately. “The most beneficial part of my trip was forming very meaningful relationships with each and every one on the trip,” junior Abby Hinckley, who studied at Harding University Latin America, said. “We all bonded very quickly, and that made traveling all over Peru 10 times better. I now get overly excited every time I see someone I went abroad with on campus. It feels like home when I’m with them.” The University used the summer 2021 abroad trips as trial runs to see if these abbreviated programs could become a more accessible option for students in the future. “Whenever the University thinks outside of the box, I think it is always a good thing,” Jason Darden instructor of Bible and ministry, who taught in the Harding University in Florence summer trip said. “We get so used to doing things the way we have always done them and fail to realize that our culture is constantly changing. When people look outside of the box and try something new, I am always for that.” With the decision to have additional chances to study abroad, leadership adapted to changes that students needed. There were positive results for not only the students, but International Programs as a whole. “For the University, this is something really important to our culture and identity — the concept of international education,” Pleasant said. “As an institution, it is important for us to offer these to as many students as we can, and so it benefited everyone involved.” WRITTEN BY KAYLEIGH TRITSCHLER Stops SHORT
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