The CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) is a study abroad program, which takes place during the first month of summer. It allows opportunities for students to improve their language abilities and gain exposure to cultures firsthand. There are more than 20 places that offer activities that involve studies in a foreign language; the final deadline to apply for scholarships is Feb. 14, 2020.

The CIEE study abroad program is an independent organization that has partnered with DGS for two years. This organization opens up opportunities for students with up to $25,000 of scholarship money dedicated to DGS.

World Languages Department Chair, Tara Dellutri, gives insight into the amount of financial support available for students. 

“Being [in] a partnership with CIEE means that we have $25,000 a year marked for our school. Until we know who is receiving that, it is protected for our school. Students can apply for the scholarship… it is based on merit and financial need, so there are two factors involved,” Dellutri said.

Junior Josie Gadzala traveled to Lisbon, Portugal this past summer through CIEE and views the scholarships as a dealbreaker for her journey, as it made her travels more affordable. 

“If I didn’t get scholarships, I wouldn’t have studied abroad. I really just wanted to travel and see a different part of the world because before that I had never been out of the United States,” Gadzala said.

There are two deadlines for achieving scholarships, the first being Dec. 6, 2019, and the second being Feb. 14, 2020.

“I would always encourage students to apply to that first deadline because most of the money is available then, and also you are more likely to get your first choice of where you want to go. The second deadline is Feb. 14, and students can still get money, but it just depends on how many students have already applied and how much money is available,” Dellutri said.

The daily routine changes from where you travel to and what you travel for. Gadzala had traveled to Portugal to learn basic Portuguese and her trip lasted three weeks long.

“Everyday we would have breakfast and an energizer with our full group, then we’d head out for whatever we did that day. Every day the activity was different, which made it fun; we would usually have classes during the day as well. We would eat lunch at a restaurant altogether, or we’d eat at wherever we were staying. We would typically have free time from about 4 to 5 [p.m] or 6 to 7 [p.m], then we would go eat dinner with the whole group,” Gadzala said.

Prior to her travels, Gadzala had originally felt nervous because she had never been away from her family and friends for a long period of time.

“I would have changed the length. It was obviously one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had, but I got really homesick after about halfway through the program,” Gadzala said.

Dellutri understands the fear that goes along with trying new things, but advocates for students to go along with this program as studying abroad had been “life changing” for her.

“It is those types of experiences that are the most challenging, and it is natural to be afraid of that. I would say that if you don’t have a fear of that [studying abroad], then you are unique,” Dellutri said.

Dellutri believes that this program can benefit everyone, from someone who is in the process of learning a language to someone who is shy and wants to become more independent.

“Because you are immersed in the language, you don’t really have a choice of whether or not to use it. You have to overcome that discomfort of being perfectly correct all the time because that really isn’t necessary… If you have the choice of resorting back to English you are going to but if you don’t have that choice then you are forced to use the language and grow,” Dellutri said.

“I would totally recommend others to study abroad if they are interested. It is an amazing experience and it opens your eyes to a whole new perspective of life,” Gadzala said.