The Los Rios Community College District offers a study abroad program, where students can knock out some credits while experiencing a different culture across the Atlantic Ocean.

“Whatever makes you an interesting person, and there is plenty that does, being a study abroad student will make you even more interesting and even more awesome,” said Gregory Beyrer, the Los Rios faculty representative in London for the 2024 fall semester.

Each fall semester, the study abroad program visits either London, United Kingdom or Barcelona, Spain, with the spring semesters taking place in Florence, Italy.

“The intent is to give students the opportunity to spend some time in another country,” Beyrer said. “The classes are the same classes in terms of what is on the transcript and they are UC and CSU transferable.”

Although the transition to living in a whole different continent can be a lot for students, the program is designed to make that transition as easy as possible.

“They don’t want to give you too much of an educational burden because the truth about study abroad is that the educational experience that you take from it comes more from the experiences that you have rather than the textbook learning you’re doing in the classroom,” said Ellie Hokerson-Brun, an ambassador for the program who studied in Barcelona in 2023.

It is a full semester’s worth of credits, but the program is designed to give time to students to get out and experience the city that they’re living in.

“During the weeks there was a pretty good amount of spare time for us to go do stuff around Barcelona,” Hokerson-Brun said. “Sometimes we’d find ourselves at a museum or going to a park during the week.”

The course is designed with the focus on educating the students on what life is really like in the country that they are temporarily calling home.

“The program has built in subsidized cultural activities so that we get to participate in British life,” Beyrer said. “There is actually a class that everyone takes called ‘British Life and Culture.’”

Studying abroad is a big commitment, but it is an option that is open to all students at American River College if they want a unique and memorable experience while getting their education.

“It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I don’t think there is any other experience you’ll have in college or beyond that will teach you more about yourself and more about the world than living in a foreign country in your early 20’s and late teens,” Hokerson-Brun said. 

The deadline to sign up for this upcoming semester in London is June 5, with the semester taking place from Sept. 5 to Dec. 6.