I often felt spending more time in the classroom or seeking high culture should be my focus. My mother probably thought observing the formal and stylish Austrians would lead to better dressing habits and more polished manners! My father probably hoped I would absorb the ideas of Wittgenstein, the most famous philosopher of the 20th century, or learn about the Viennese psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Or about Gustav Klimt, whose sensual gold leaf paintings helped define fin de siècle — turn of the century — Vienna.

That cultural golden age was also a time of massive social and political upheaval culminating with the start of World War I. The war’s legacy, including the dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the ensuing decades of political instability, seemed to live on in front of me. Inexpensive student train fares enabled visits to former parts of the empire, then under communist rule. You could tell the end was near in places such as Hungary or Yugoslavia: somber people, crumbling infrastructure, severe environmental degradation, ancient, smoke-belching vehicles, empty store shelves.

Looking back, the chance to place a lived moment in time within a broader historical framework was remarkable. Yet I always felt relief returning to the western side of the Iron Curtain — that ideological and political barrier physically manifested in the walls, fences and guard towers that separated democratic western Europe from communist Eastern and Central Europe. There, people could be arrested or imprisoned for opposing the Soviet-backed dictatorships. As a young American I’d never seen what life looked like without a free press or without the ability to criticize the government.

After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 along with the rest of the Iron Curtain, I wanted to further my study abroad experience. Post-graduation I returned to East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia, where people were now willing to speak more freely. I met a dying Czech man who had been a political prisoner after 1918, then imprisoned by the Nazis, then by the Communists. The Communists had stolen his life from him, he bitterly said, from his home in an elegant yet badly decayed Prague neighborhood. I have often reflected on what losing one’s life while still alive might feel like, and on the great fortune to have been born in a democracy.

What does my story have to do with the arts and humanities at WSU, my usual focus in these columns? The answer lies in participating in a study abroad program and learning a language: German. The language provided access to completely different ways of thinking and worlds where, back then, few spoke English.

Study abroad programs help students “develop life skills like adaptability and flexibility by going out of their comfort zone and the usual cultural boundaries,” says Japanese instructor Kaori Takimura. Programs also provide global perspectives sought by employers, especially in Utah, with its internationally focused tourism and technology industries. Recognizing this, WSU offers multiple half- and full-year international exchanges in Europe, Central America and Asia. These are structured programs. Language professor Yoon Soo Goldstein notes that “it can be a little scary or intimidating to be traveling and living abroad alone for the first time, but there are support systems and networks built into place, from our end at WSU as well as from our partner universities in Korea.”

There also are many short-term programs. In 2025, the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities offers credit-bearing courses in Costa Rica, France, Japan, Spain, Korea and the United Kingdom. Taught by faculty in Performing Arts and in World Languages and Cultures, students study languages, music, theatre and culture for a week or more.

Concerned about cost? The A&H College Student Experience Fund can help with $1,000 individual scholarships. Often private donors will provide support. Students participating in the Orchestra in Spain program, taught by WSU Director of Orchestral Studies Francisco de Gálvez, will benefit from an $8,000 donation that will offset costs. The WSU Study Abroad website lists many other funding opportunities, including on average $500-$600 study abroad scholarships, according to Myranda Knudson, WSU Global Connections Coordinator.

Students who study abroad will be able to consider our current time within a broader historical international context, considering what is a better way of life and what is not. Developing this skill and the ability to decipher broader forces at play requires an investment of time. But the return on investment is great. The trajectories of people’s lives are enriched by the perspectives gained.

If your family member or friend can participate in a WSU study abroad program, encourage them. If you can go, go! The experience may well be the most meaningful part of your WSU education.

Hal Crimmel is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of English who served for nine years as chair of the English department at Weber State University. He currently serves as the academic director of Concurrent Enrollment. This commentary is provided through a partnership with Weber State. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent the institutional values or positions of the university.