WKU study abroad planning to restart in summer or fall 2021

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Due to COVID-19, this year’s looked very different for students, especially those who counted on going abroad.

Due to COVID, this year students have missed out on that right of passage. This is something president Tim Caboni says he wants to rectify in the coming year with a vaccine in sight.

He says likely there won’t be travel this spring semester, but he’s hopeful for summer or fall of 2021 to bring WKU back to its roots.

“In the meantime, we’re working hard through our office of international education to create global experiences for our students, even though they might be here on campus and so we’re looking forward to that,” explains WKU President Timothy Caboni.

Many study abroad trips were interrupted mid-spring semester. One WKU senior, Elizabeth Medley, was on Semester at Sea when the pandemic began. She says it was disappointing to have to go back before her trip was over, but she says that time abroad completed her college experience.

“It’s just so fascinating that Western puts so much emphasis on their study abroad program and is really good at their study abroad program... their advisors know what they’re doing. So it’s kind of cool to hear about that and then actually experience and be like yeah they’re not lying,” Elizabeth says.

The WKU senior says she hopes students will still consider going abroad when it’s available.

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