{"id":4750,"date":"2025-09-19T16:04:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T16:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4750"},"modified":"2025-09-19T16:07:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T16:07:39","slug":"scholarship-helps-siu-student-study-abroad-in-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4750","title":{"rendered":"Scholarship Helps SIU Student Study Abroad in Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xEtvBH5_KgA?si=WrZI1htwveXl8UNq\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>By Ava Steffens<\/p>\n<p>Ema Dutcher, a junior studying biomedical sciences at SIU, recently returned from an unforgettable 11-day study abroad trip to Costa Rica. Supported by a scholarship from the SIU Foundation, she described the journey as one she will always remember.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLearning about the culture was such a wonderful gift, and I feel like I\u2019m a better, more well-rounded person after the trip,\u201d Dutcher said. \u201cJust being at SIU is awesome, but getting to travel and experience new cultures makes it even better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The trip was offered as a three-credit option through the World Crop Production course through SIU\u2019s horticulture program. During spring break, students and faculty explored San Jos\u00e9, visited farms, and toured nature preserves, all while immersing themselves in a new culture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have always wanted to study abroad, and I love traveling with my family,\u201d Dutcher said. \u201cAfter learning more about it, I applied and decided to go. It was a little last minute, but it ended up working out in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dutcher said she valued the educational aspect of the trip. In addition to cultural immersion, she and her classmates studied the harvesting of native tropical crops such as pineapple, heart of palm, and dragon fruit. She also stayed with a local family during part of her trip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy host family was excited to have us live with them,\u201d she said. \u201cDespite the language gap, we really bonded, and I was sad when it was time to leave. Everyone we met seemed happy that we were visiting and were very accommodating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One unexpected highlight was meeting a fellow Saluki abroad. A former SIU student recognized Dutcher\u2019s SIU shirt, sparking a conversation about the group\u2019s study abroad experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m surprised when I meet Salukis in different states, but meeting somebody who went to SIU in a different country was even more special,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Dutcher received a scholarship that helped cover the trip\u2019s cost, allowing her to focus on exploration, learning, and earning class credit. She was ecstatic when she learned about the scholarship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe study abroad program is an excellent program to invest in,\u201d she said. \u201cThat money helped me partially cover the cost of the trip, which was not a small one. Helping other students have the same experience is worth the price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program is ideal for Salukis eager to explore new cultures, gain valuable experiences, and earn class credit while traveling globally. Financial aid is available through need-based and academic-based scholarships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not an experience that everyone gets to have, and I feel so fortunate that I got to,\u201d Dutcher added.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/siuf.org\/give\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">siuf.org\/give<\/a> and search \u201cStudy Abroad\u201d in the designations field to support scholarships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff By Ava Steffens Ema Dutcher, a junior studying biomedical sciences at SIU, recently returned from an unforgettable 11-day study abroad trip to Costa Rica. Supported by a scholarship from the SIU Foundation, she described the journey as one she will always remember. \u201cLearning about the culture was such a wonderful gift, and I feel &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4750\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Scholarship Helps SIU Student Study Abroad in Costa Rica<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-scholarship-recipient","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4750"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4753,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions\/4753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}