On Saturday, August 17, 2019, the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) Study Abroad Program participated in the Northern California Study Abroad Consortium (NCSAC) Pre-Departure Orientation at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. The orientation was in preparation for students’ upcoming semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain. SMCCCD will send 13 students to Barcelona for the Fall 2019 semester as part of a cohort of 88 students from the consortium. Faculty and students depart for Barcelona on September 7, 2019 and return December 6, 2019. Other participating districts include Contra Costa Community College District, Los Rios Community College District and Santa Rosa Junior College. The program is offered in partnership with the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS). San Mateo County Community College District has participated in the consortium since 1986.
This semester, students in the program will have the opportunity to take courses in Spanish, Linguistics, History, Biology, and English. Cañada College Spanish professor, Monica Malamud, will teach four courses in Barcelona: Intro to Linguistics, Spanish Conversation through Film, Spanish for Heritage Speakers, and Spanish Life and Culture. Students enrolled in her courses have expressed excitement to improve their Spanish while being immersed in the language and culture of Spain. Malamud has arranged to hold many of her classes inside the museums of Barcelona.
We want to congratulate Leila Rofii from College of San Mateo, who received the prestigious U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and the AIFS Ambassador scholarship. We also want to congratulate Lucia Moock and Rodrigo Cuellar from Skyline College and Christopher Knoblock from College of San Mateo, who were selected to receive scholarships from AIFS. As part of their scholarships, they will share their experiences in Barcelona with fellow students when they return to campus next semester.
SMCCCD Study Abroad is the district-wide study abroad program housed in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division at Skyline College. For more information about studying or interning abroad, faculty teach abroad opportunities, community travel for lifelong learners, visiting international faculty presenters and student scholarship opportunities, please contact Zaid Ghori at ghoriz@smccd.edu or Stephanie Wells at wellss@smccd.edu. You can also learn more by visiting the SMCCD Study Abroad Facebook page or Instagram page @smcccd_study_abroad.
Article and Photo by Stephanie Wells
