2-year-old yellow labrador retriever, Charlie. Picture provided by J. Atwater, Towson University.

Like many dog owners, Julia Watrous swears by the new BARF diet for her yellow labrador retriever. Listen to the audio story here.

Take the advice of many and be sure to at least know what you’re getting yourself into. What school are you going to attend? Where you are going to live? How are you going to finance this? Where are you going to eat? Choosing to participate in an exchange program—whether nationally or abroad—is no easy decision.

Planning ahead is essential to a smooth transition into your host school. It will be important to ask questions concerning exchange programs and research all participating school in order to find that caters to your educational goals.

Students who participate in various exchange programs often encounter differences in communication styles across cultures and general language barriers, especially if they are studying internationally. An exchange student must be open to new and different things, like cultural values and perceptions. Often times exchange students are exposed to entirely different perspectives and ways of thinking, which may be difficult to fathom for some.

However, regardless of language and cultural differences, it is important to get involved in various campus activities. In order to make the most of the exchange, students should try joining a sorority or fraternity, playing sports like rugby, or exploring the various attractions outside of the university. By getting involved, exchange students gain a more wholesome experience as they sojourn away from home.

Good luck to all the lost little fish out there!

Kathy Staats, exchange student from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag, Towson University.

“Most college students don’t have experiences like this where they can learn and really stretch their comfort zones and learn how to react to things and how they really see the world,” Staats says.

Exchange programs—both nationally and internationally—give students the opportunity to experience receiving an education in an alternate college or university. They also allow students to explore unfamiliar places, meet new people, learn from a different perspective and just try something new and possibly out of the ordinary.

Other exchange students at Towson University agree that their exchange experiences here have taught them a lot, not only about their location, the east coast, but also many things about themselves. Exchange student from the University of Guam, Janna Fernandez describes how her exchange experience at Towson University has helped her become a more confident individual.

“With this being my first time away from home, having to make new friends definitely helped me grow as a person… I’ve also learned a lot from my classes as they expose me to different teaching styles than I am used too and reaffirmed that if I worked hard, I can succeed anywhere.”

Janna Fernandez, exchange student from the University of Guam in Mangilao, Guam. Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag, Towson University.

As their time at Towson University comes to an end, Staats, Fernandez and other exchange students alike are torn between their new found friends and the comfort of returning to their old lifestyles.

Many of the exchange students are excited to return home and share their new knowledge, experiences and memories with friends and family. Their experiences and the lessons learned while at Towson will always be a part of them. These countless experiences have helped them become better students and more independent individuals, something for which they will always be thankful.

Rosales smiles before her last rugby game of the season. Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag, Towson University.

National exchange student and Deaf Studies major, Guadalupe “Pita” Rosales makes the most of her attendance at Towson University by accomplishing something she’s wanted to do for years: play rugby. Although her stay in Maryland is temporary, the memories of an unforgettable semester and season stay with her forever.

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As far as my FAQs page, I’ll need to come up with questions about my beat, but that should be fairly easy. I think the hardest part for me will be setting up the navigation on my page correctly. Also, I plan on doing some extra credit. I am thinking about doing a Google Map or extra article, possibly with video footage.

I think the Google Map would be interesting to make and it would also be very useful to readers and people or exchange students that are new to Towson University. There’s actually a lot of things I could do.

I’ve chosen Rosales for the slideshow profile because although she is only at Towson for the semester, she is very involved with the university. She is a deaf studies major although she, herself, is hearing. She also plays women’s rugby on the University team as a back.

I’d like another shot at this story. I think it could be really interesting, and her major as well as her activities outside the classroom are very visual and will lend itself nicely to photos and the profile slide show as a whole.

So far, I’ve attended two of her rugby games, capturing video, pictures, natural sound and audio clips. I also joined her during one of her regular gym sessions. And, right now, I’m in the process of coordinating a day with her professors when I can sit in on her to some of her classes– specifically American Sign Language 5 and Linguistics.

Overall, the story has great potential. I think Rosales is a prime example of an exchange making the most of her temporary stay at Towson University.

Segment from the National Geographic Channel. Retrieved from YouTube.com.

In a video segment of National Geographic Channel’s, “Looking for the Afghan Girl,” several key video editing strategies are used to create a compelling news story about a reporter’s journey to find an unnamed Afghan girl photographed for the cover of a National Geographic magazine thirty years later.

The clip uses supplemental footage, known as B-roll, to add meaning to the sequence. Lots of different shots of generally similar things like Afghan women in veils are shown repeatedly. However, interest lies in capturing those images from different angles—wide shots, close-ups, etc.

Additionally, the story is further supported with natural sound which sets the stage of the story. Another important key to the cohesiveness of a news clip is the match of visual elements of the story to the supporting audio—natural sound or voice actualities, for example. These elements not only create the story, but also help the story flow and give credibility to the reporter and report.

Cutting out unnecessary footage is an essential aspect to creating a compelling news story. Using various editing techniques like different angle shots, B-roll and natural sound help create an effective and dynamic news story.

Exchange students Elise Euphrat (left) and Janna Fernandez (right) talk about their differences in communication. / Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag. Towson University.

Exchange students at Towson University discover the importance of accommodating different communication styles in order to lessen language barriers that can hinder exchange experiences.

Listen!

Hi, guys! Hello! Hafa Adai! What’s up, Brah? What’s good?

Think about the last time you greeted another person. What did you say? How did it sound? Did the person you were greeting understand you? How did you know?

Although communication is an integral part of most people’s lives, its importance often goes on unnoticed. For the exchange students at Towson University, overcoming language and communication differences is a daily struggle. Even just common greetings in English can vary from place to place, person to person, and culture to culture.

Exchange student from the University of Guam, Janna Fernandez explains her understanding of verbal communication:

“Language is important because its how we do make sense of the world and how we give things meaning, like a table wouldn’t be a table unless we kind of said it was a table.”

People, however, express themselves differently depending on their cultural norms and life experiences.

New York native and current exchange student from Binghamton University, Danielle Colantonio, compares the way she speaks with the local Marylanders she encounters in on campus:

“The way I say things is completely different from the way a lot of people say things. And, just like my tone of voice, and other people, I feel like I’m a little more aggressive in the way that I speak as opposed to other people that I’ve met…”

People engaging in the communication process must accommodate their usual language and communication styles to find a common ground and context. Without such compromise, people and exchange students alike may encounter intercultural miscommunications.

Visiting student from Southern Oregon University, Elise Euphrat, describes one such experience:

“I had a really good friend and we—like I thought I was saying something and he thought I was saying something completely different. And, you know, I was trying to express myself in Italian and he did not understand and he thought I was being rude to him.”

Our culture dictates the way in which we communicate. Sometimes accents and pronunciations of words skew the communication process. From her home of Lander, Wyoming, exchange student, Callie New describes an incident when an accent caused ineffective communication.

“I know that someone had an experience with a waitress asking them if they wanted more “waa-ter” instead of water.”

If you’re planning on participating in an exchange program, be sure to learn about the local language and culture of your destination.

I would then relate and have them discuss how their student exchange experience has broadened their cultural and world view, how it has helped them become more aware of other cultures and identities as a global citizen and just how it is beneficial for students today to have these kinds of cultural experiences.

Particularly, I’m thinking of interviewing:

Janna Fernandez, 20, junior, exchange student, Guam
Kathy Staats, 20, junior, exchange student, Wisconsin
Kellie Flynn, 19, sophomore, transfer student, New Jersey
*Guadalupe Rosales, 20, junior, exchange student, California
*Haley Rue, 20, junior, transfer student, Maryland

I have chosen these particular current Towson University students because they are each from different cultural backgrounds and areas. They also have slightly different accents. I think it would be interesting in an audio story to have sounds of particular words that people from different places pronounce different. (For instance, TO-ma-TO/ to-MA-to.) Even they way they talk and converse would depict their culture in a way. It would also make each of their voices more recognizable to listeners.

My main issue would be sound clarity and time. So far, my plan is to use my Flip Ultra HD to record the sound because its pretty good quality in my recent experience, and its easy to use with the built-in USB drive. The only problem using it is that the file is recorded in mp4-format, so I can’t edit it on my Windows-platform PC. But, it could be beneficial because all the classroom labs are equipped with Macs.

* These students are alternatives for the interview session. I think Guadalupe Rosales is interesting because she’s Mexican, but I’ve already profiled her in a previous story. Additionally, Haley Rue would be interesting to include in the interview because she’s a transfer student, unlike most of the other interviewees, but also she could act as a control group for the discussion because she is from Maryland.

Exchange student, Guadalupe "Pita" Rosales. / Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag. Towson University

This is a usual morning for Guadalupe Rosales.
Although her schedule is one to which many students can relate, Pita is not your average college student or your average Towson Tiger.

She is actually an exchange student from California State University at Northridge (CSUN) who is studying at Towson for the semester via the National Student Exchange program (NSE). This program gives participating students the opportunity to study in over 200 different campuses throughout the 48 contiguous states, Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and even Puerto Rico.

Kerica Henlon, academic advisor and assistant coordinator of the NSE program, encourages interested students to take advantage of the NSE program and its many benefits.

“Students who participate in the NSE program see and learn new places, learn a new way of life, make new friends, take new courses, and learn new perspectives. An exchange opportunity may make students more marketable when applying for graduate programs and/or jobs.”

Pita chose Towson University (TU) for her exchange for similar reasons. She wanted to get out of California and away from home, but even more so, she says that it was difficult to find schools that offered a deaf studies program, let alone a good one. Fortunately, TU seemed to be a perfect fit– so much so that fellow CSUN student, Casey Callan, 20, history major, selected TU as his exchange site as well.

“I think she [Pita] will get an invaluable amount of cultural knowledge including aspects both macro and micro in scale. For example she will experience differences regarding the east coast, the state, the city, and finally the Towson community,” he says. “I hope to gain all of the same as Pita, but with a particular emphasis on historical study, of course!”

Once she finds the time, Pita plans to do some major sightseeing, but until then, school remains her first priority.

In class, she works towards her bachelor’s degree in deaf studies with a concentration in pre-deaf education, which focuses towards people who want to become teachers for deaf students. This may seem out of the ordinary to some, but to Pita, deaf education has been her calling since she can remember.

Exchange student, Guadalupe "Pita" Rosales types away on her laptop. Photo by Elizabeth Lubuag, Towson University student

“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher and I felt the deaf community was the right place for me because I have deaf cousins, so I was exposed to sign language at a young age and it stuck with me ever since.”

Between classes, Pita usually grabs something to eat, relaxes a bit, and tries to complete some homework before heading to class again. After her last class, she either tries to do more homework before she sleeps or goes to rugby practice depending on the day.

Although Pita’s home is across the nation, much of her lifestyle remains the same. She stays focused on school and active in sports and recreation.  Not much is different for her.

As the youngest of four children, Pita is used to a full-house, so adjusting to community living with seven roommates is not much of a stretch from what she’s accustomed to. In fact, she feels very fortunate, stating that living with so many roommates has its benefits.

“You get to meet more people as they each venture out with sororities or clubs and have people over. You have more support and you don’t feel so alone like you would if you had only one roommate. And, you get so many different perspectives because we’re from so many different places.”

Her only complaint is that with so many roommates, the small kitchen gets crowded very fast.

But, overall, her experience at TU has been a positive one that has made her more appreciative of her friends and family back home.