To the Editor:
Re: “SUSSER | Is Going Abroad the Answer?,” Opinion, Sept. 17.
My response to Philip Susser’s ’16 question — “Is going abroad the answer?” — is a resounding YES!
In part, this is no doubt because I have been closely involved with the Cornell-Nepal Study Program for all of the 20-plus years it has been offering training to students from all of Cornell’s colleges to do independent field research all over Nepal on topics ranging from reproductive health to religion, agriculture to engineering. My YES, GO ABROAD! enthusiasm stems not only from all the mind-opening reasons in Susser’s column, but as well from clear evidence that global experience, including the ability to speak another language and function in another culture, contributes significantly to career and job prospects.
So YES, GO ABROAD! Both because it is important to do “something you’re passionate about . . . even . . . unsure of” and because it almost certainly will also enhance your “tangible satisfaction of job offers and grades.”
Prof. Kathryn March, anthropology, feminist, gender and sexuality studies, public affairs