The advisers explained the positive outcomes of the Global Learning Center such as enhancing your resume, enriching your worldview and finding one’s identity.

Anjie Bertramson, senior global learning adviser, aims to give students a step up from peers when applying for jobs.

Studying abroad, joining the Peace Corps or becoming a global leader will make your resume stick out to employers.

“Employers are looking for students that have that experience and can apply that directly into their next step out of college,” Bertramson said.

Christine Oakley, director of global learning said studying abroad or doing an exchange program will enhance the way you see the world around you.

“Even though it’s very cliché to say it’s a transformative experience, it’s what our students say when they come back,” she said, “For most students it really is that experience that enriches their academics, personal lives [and] their future careers.”

Mayra Villegas, a global learning adviser, agreed with Oakley. When Villegas studied abroad as a student, she travelled to Mexican historical landmarks, trying to reconnect with her homeland.

“When I was growing up, I always wanted to go to the historical places in Mexico, but my mom, she wouldn’t let me because she was scared,” she said.

Villegas was born and raised in Mexico but moved to California when she was 16 years old. When she chose to study abroad in Mexico, she wanted to better her Spanish and learn more about her culture.

“Discover the world, discover yourself,” Villegas said.

Bertramson shared that she too, was a heritage seeker.

“We have a lot of heritage seekers,” Bertramson said.

Bertramson chose to go to the places of her heritage when she went on her exchange and study abroad programs. She first chose Norway and Denmark, then later chose Denmark again for her exchange program.

“It was a great opportunity for me to get to go to those locations I’ve never been before and get to see where my ancestors were from,” she said.

For the non-heritage seekers out there, Oakley recommended applying for the Global Case Competition on Sept. 5. This competition allows students to compete with other schools and solve a case study on a problem of a foreign country. If the team wins, all team members get to go to the country in their case study for free.

“There really is no better time in your life to spend an extensive period of time abroad as well,” Bertramson said.

The global learning advisers point out that they have financial resources for study abroad and exchange programs that can get rid of the common stress of financial instability.

“We’re here to be a resource, right? And to debunk those myths that okay, Ireland’s your dream, well let’s look at these different options that are out there,” Bertramson said. “There’s tons of programs out there and there all at different price levels.”

The Global Learning Center offers a wide range of scholarships and internships for student exchange and study abroad programs. All three of them highlight the fact that you do not need to have a 4.0 grade average to receive a scholarship.

“We’ve had scholarship money sit and no one apply for it because people say ‘I’m just not a scholarship person, I don’t have a 4.0 or I’ve never had a scholarship in the past,’” Oakley said, “Our message is: You can’t get money if you don’t apply.”

Bertramson said, only 10 percent of undergraduates take the time to go abroad in their academic career. More information is available at the upcoming Global Learning Fair. The Global Learning Fair is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Aug. 30 on the Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall.