The David A. Duffield College of Engineering sent 21 first-year students to study abroad this fall at the University of Cantabria in Santander, Spain. These students were selected as the inaugural cohort of Global Start Cantabria, a first-semester study abroad program for engineering undergraduates.
Similar to the established DC Start program within the Brooks School of Public Policy, Global Start Cantabria is designed for undergraduate students to participate in a residential academic experience outside of Ithaca during their first semester at Cornell.
While the Office of Global Learning has many study-abroad opportunities for students in Duffield Engineering, these programs are typically geared for upperclassmen. The Global Start Cantabria program offers a unique international opportunity for first-year students, according to Cindy Tarter, director of education abroad at the Office of Global Learning.
“Beginning a Cornell undergraduate experience in Spain offers students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture while starting their education,” Tarter wrote in an email statement to The Sun.
A Long Standing Partnership
Cornell has supported study abroad programs at the University of Cantabria since 2007. The University of Cantabria — home to one of the oldest engineering programs in Spain — has hosted hundreds of Cornell students during their junior year.
The new program for first-years built upon a “well-established collaboration and professional connection” with the University of Cantabria, according to Liane Fitzgerald, director of engineering advising at the College of Engineering.
According to Fitzgerald, the College of Engineering has been working on the program for over two years after hearing about the benefits of offering opportunities for first-year students to study abroad. Due to the long-standing connection, the department decided to partner with the University of Cantabria.
“We thought, ‘Why not already a well-established … university with colleagues that we're familiar with and used to working with closely?’” Fitzgerald told The Sun. “It just really fit for us.”
Preparing to Study Abroad
To be considered for the program, students indicated an interest when applying to Cornell on the Common App, filled out questions related to their Spanish proficiency and international travel, submitted an essay about how their experiences have “prepared them to live and study abroad” and gathered an additional letter of recommendation, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Amanda Augustyn, assistant director of admissions for College of Engineering, stated that the supplemental application allows the admissions committee to learn more about why students are interested in studying abroad in Spain.
“We’re particularly interested in students who are genuinely excited … about what Global Start Cantabria can add to their engineering education and that are prepared to spend a semester abroad,” Augustyn told The Sun. “We’re really looking for students who have a global mindset.”
Fred Muler ’30 first learned about the Global Start Cantabria program while researching schools during college application season.
“[Global Start Cantabria] just completely spoke to me because I always wanted to be an engineer,” Muler said. “It was love at first sight.”
Studying in Cantabria
Since the program is geared toward students in their first semester of college, the department wanted to ensure that the students were prepared for living abroad and still felt connected to Cornell, Fitzgerald said.
The first piece was ensuring that all students had the language skills needed to successfully live abroad. Even though all students came in with prior Spanish knowledge, students were required to take a language placement exam over the summer and attend a two-week language immersion course in Santander before classes began.
For the Global Start Cantabria students, classes started on Sept. 7. The program structures their course load to be similar to what College of Engineering students in Ithaca take during their first semester: mathematics, chemistry and an introductory engineering course. In addition to those core engineering courses, all students are also enrolled in a Spanish language class.
For Mara Duque Ruiz ’30, the Global Start program offers a way for students to ease into the college experience.
“I think it's a really good way to slowly merge into [university],” Duque Ruiz said. “It’s a really good opportunity for people to have the college experience, but also not feel like … ‘Oh my God. I’m in Ithaca, I’m at Cornell, everything feels really intense.’”
Even though the students are abroad, the College of Engineering worked to ensure that the cohort has a support system rooted in Ithaca, too. In August, engineering advisors Fitzgerald and Ryan DeLany visited the students in Spain to provide orientation information. In addition, Prof. Todd Cowen, civil and environmental engineering, is currently serving as an in-person faculty advisor and professor for introductory engineering classes in the program.
“[Studying abroad] is more than doable,” Muler said. “The support system is more than adequate.”
Finding Community
From the start of the onboarding process, the students were in contact with each other through text groups and Zoom meetings. However, according to the students, the real bond grew once they arrived in Spain.
“It was the first day of class really, where we all were sitting in a room and we saw each other in person, where the real relationship started to form,” Muler said.
After classes and on weekends, the students spend their time exploring Cantabria, from the coastal beaches to the nearby mountain ranges. Students in the cohort even started an Instagram account where they document their excursions.
For Duque Ruiz, the program strikes the right balance of exploration and academics. To her, it feels like “a mix of school and vacation.”
During the academic semester, the Cornell students live on the University of Cantabria campus alongside full-time students and other study abroad students.
“You feel like you're a part of this worldwide learning community, which is very very unique,” Muler said. “Obviously, we're a very close-knit cohort that's here from the United States, but also, I have friends that I met … from Germany, from France, from Romania.”
For Muler, having the opportunity to travel and connect with so many people has made the program worth it.
“We all came back from these [weekend] trips at around six and none of us really wanted to say goodbye yet, so … we’d go to the beach and just hang out until the sun went down,” Muler said. “This desire to connect that exists around the world and [the way] everyone has been so welcoming [are] thing[s] I wouldn’t trade for the world.”
‘Guinea Pig’ Cohort
As the pilot cohort of the Global Start Cantabria program, the students’ personal experiences will be used to inform future changes and improvements.
“We’re looking forward to being able to use the student voices … to tell those stories to future applicants to the program,” Augustyn said. “We have started connecting with the group, and I'm really excited about what they're starting to share with us.”
For both Duque Ruiz and Muler, the main challenge was with getting information through the University of Cantabria's system regarding class registration and housing initially. As these challenges have come up, Duque Ruiz still felt that she was well supported by her Cornell advisors.
“Yes, there's confusion, but … we’re all in the same boat,” Duque Ruiz said. “[The advisors are] very approachable, so it hasn't been at all difficult.”
Both Duque Ruiz and Muler take pride in being the first cohort of the Global Start Cantabria program and having a role in how the program develops.
“You have so many stories to tell when you come back, and we really are the first,” Duque Ruiz said. “We’re the guinea pigs.”
For students on the fence about studying abroad, Muler boils it down to a simple message: “Go out, have fun, try new things. You’re only young once.”
Teju Vijay is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the news department and can be reached at tv95@cornell.edu.
