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By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – This isn’t your grandmother’s European vacation. It’s more of an adventure.
That’s how University of Nebraska at Kearney professor Matt Mims describes a recent study abroad trip to Portugal and Spain.
“I wanted the experience to feel more real,” he said. “I really wanted students to connect with other cultures and see life from new perspectives.”
Mission accomplished.
Mims and his wife Grace, also a professor in the UNK Department of Counseling, School Psychology and Family Science, took five graduate students and two guests on the two-week journey earlier this summer, giving them an opportunity to explore various aspects of the countries.
They stayed in hostels, took public transportation and ate at restaurants that aren’t featured on popular travel sites. The trip included stops in Barcelona, Bilbao, Lisbon, Madrid, Toledo and Valencia, allowing them to see numerous museums and cathedrals, along with other historical and cultural sites.
“It was kind of like go, go, go. We never really sat down and rested, but I liked it that way,” said Emily Christman, who was traveling abroad for the first time.
A Kearney native, Christman graduated from UNK in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in art education. She’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling while working full time as an art teacher at Minden High School.
Obviously, she enjoyed the amazing architecture and art museums, featuring pieces from renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Georgia O’Keeffe. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Museu Picasso in Barcelona and Museo del Prado in Madrid were all on the itinerary.
Other noteworthy stops included the Royal Palace of Madrid and Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, a one-of-a-kind temple that’s been under construction since 1882. The expedition included several guided tours – by foot, bicycle and even riverboat – as well as opportunities to get off the beaten path.
A flamenco show in Spain and fado music in Portugal are among Christman’s favorite parts of the trip.
“One of the most memorable moments was when we were in Portugal listening to their fado music,” she said. “It was something I hadn’t really heard about until I got over there, and it was all sung in Portuguese, so I didn’t understand the lyrics. But the passion behind it was very moving. It was an experience that I’ll never get in the United States or anywhere else in the world, so that was a really special highlight.”
The UNK group also spent a day at IE University in Madrid so they could see how higher education is structured there. Launched in 1973, the private university focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship, with the Madrid campus located in the heart of the city’s financial district. Almost everything is housed within the 180-meter-tall IE Tower, a tech-based facility with enough space for auditoriums, athletic facilities, classrooms and 6,000 students.
“It was really interesting,” Kailey Wilcox said of the skyscraper setup.
An Indianola native, Wilcox is also part of the clinical mental health counseling master’s program and she works as a graduate assistant in UNK Student Engagement. She studied abroad in Florence, Italy, while attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an undergraduate. That “awesome experience” inspired her to sign up for another trip.
“I thought it was a really neat opportunity to learn about other cultures, especially in the context of education and counseling,” she said. “Plus, it was a great way to make connections with my peers and professors.”
As future mental health professionals, Wilcox and Christman both believe it’s important to get outside their comfort zones and broaden their worldviews.
“Counseling is a field where you have to have a level of empathy, and that comes with being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” Wilcox said. “You have to have an understanding of who they are and their experiences – what things have shaped them.
“Studying abroad gives you a better understanding of people, how culture impacts individuals and how important it is to recognize cultural contexts when you’re providing treatment.”
In a foreign country for the first time, Christman often relied on the kindness of locals and their willingness to help her out.
“The experience of being a guest in someone else’s culture really did help shift my perspective and my worldview,” she said. “You can read about it in a book. You can watch it on TV. You can hear other people talk about it. But it’s just not the same as actually experiencing it firsthand.”
Mims, who teaches a multicultural counseling course, is already planning another study abroad trip designed specifically for graduate students in the counseling and higher education student affairs programs. He’s looking at Turkey and Greece for the next adventure.
“This is an opportunity that hopefully more students can take advantage of,” he said.
