Students interested in studying abroad were able to explore their options at the ninth annual Study Abroad Fair on Tuesday.

Students met with members of the NIU study abroad office, members of the financial aid office and representatives from several outside study abroad program participants.

“Students who come here to the fair can expect to interact with NIU staff, study abroad office staff, financial aid staff as well as the consulate representatives and the other academic programs that focus on studying abroad. Talk with those representatives who are here and who took the time to come to campus,” said Kathy Lyn Binkowski, publicity promotions specialist for the study abroad office.

Master Patrick Betaudier, a visiting NIU professor, leads a semester-long art program in France. He said that studying abroad can bring abstract items to life.

“All the books and the pictures, the little transparencies they are looking at projected on to the wall, come to life — it’s like magic,” Betaudier said.

Cindy Portilla, a senior Spanish business translation major who has studied in Spain, said that studying abroad offers new experiences about different cultures.

“You can live and experience the culture as opposed to here where you just read it in books or watch it on TV,” Portilla said.

At the fair, students were able to see the various options and countries that would fit into their academic career here at NIU.

“It gives [the students] an opportunity to look at different countries that they could get academic credit for and different cultures,” said Sara Clayton, administrative secretary for the

division of International Programs. “They should be able to find out for their major what countries, what programs, are offered by Northern that they can do study abroad programs with. As we can see today, the world is shrinking and the more experience you have internationally, the better you’re going to be.”

Students who attended the fair now have a better grasp as to how the study abroad process works and what options are available.

Matt Enright, a freshman Spanish language and literature major, said that studying Spanish in Spain will not only help his academic career, but also allow him to experience new things.

“I feel that going to Spain is the best way for me to learn Spanish,” Enright said. “I see going to Spain as a great opportunity for me to see the world.”

Students who did not attend the fair are encouraged to come to the Study Abroad Office, located in Williston Hall, for more information. “I can think of no better experience than to show the young Americans that their language and their culture comes from a source that is about the most magnificent that human experience has to offer in terms of years and years and years of research to all kinds of ideas,” Betaudier said.