There are a good chunk of students who dream of studying abroad as they arrive to campus. The only problem is, they do not seem to know where to go or how to get there. 

Luckily, on Tuesday, Sonoma State University hosted its Go Global! Study and Work Abroad Fair, in front of the Student Center between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. One will be handed a passport to the world, which one can fill with 12 stickers in order to receive a free tote bag and be entered in a raffle to win one of three free ISIC cards, which is an international student ID card worth $25. 

Students took a look at the multitude of options for going abroad and enjoyed some free candy and key chains that were offered. Some students appeared to beam with excitement and eagerness to go abroad.

The fair featured about 34 tables, all with information about studying, working or interning abroad.

“I thought that it was great that the fair was not only geared toward studying abroad,” said senior Montserrat Camacho. “There are many great intern and work abroad options, which is what I am looking for.”

One of the interesting work abroad programs is JET, which is a Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, where a student can work in Japan as an English language-teaching assistant. This program assists graduate students with the majority of their needs such as airfare and housing and a student can start earning $36,000 in their first year. 

If one is not looking to work abroad and is nearing toward graduation, there are also a variety of intern abroad programs. The Intern Group is one of the many intern abroad programs featured at the fair, which offered five destinations: Colombia, London, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Madrid. After choosing a location, the Intern Group works hard to find an internship in the foreign country in the student’s field of study. These internships can range anywhere from finance, real estate, fashion and law, just to name a few.

If one is simply looking to study abroad, there are a variety of great options. There is the California State University International Program, which is yearlong where students can choose to study abroad in one of 18 different countries. 

“What makes this program great is that a student can still be enrolled at SSU and earn credit and also take their financial aid with them,” said Elsa Sanchez, a representative for the CSU International Program.

There are even programs for those who enjoy traveling to other countries and going off the beaten path, to non-tourist places. One of those programs is University Studies Abroad Consortium, which is a study abroad program in which one can study in a more non-traditional city and get more of a feel of the local’s experience.

 Some of the other programs worthy of mentioning for studying, working, interning or volunteering abroad are: Kaya, panrimo, British Uiversities North America Club, Peace Corps, Education First: language courses abroad, Semester at Sea and World Endeavors, just to name a few.

Aside from these non-SSU affiliated programs, WIVA, the Work, Intern, Volunteer Abroad program, is located on campus and offers a multitude of programs for students to be a part of. 

“Our role is to help students find the best work, intern or volunteer programs that meet their needs,” said Ihssan Osman, a WIVA representative.

There are many options for students of all years, so now is the time to take a chance and experience something new.