Ron Clark

Ron Clark III, 20, is a junior English major at Texas State University from San Marcos, Texas

Q: Have you participated in a study-abroad program?

A:"Yes. I went to Oxford, England for a communication studies program. The class was about C.S. Lewis."

Q: When did you go?

A: "Last summer, pretty much the whole month of July."

Q: How much did it cost?

A: "Geez, I don't even want to think about that. It was $5,000 for the tuition. That didn't even include the plane ticket but it did include room and board. And the meals over there, oh my gosh. It was like 11 pounds for a meal and that's like $14. It was cool though, I want to study abroad more."

Q: Why did you participate?

A: "I really like C.S. Lewis. I told myself that I was going to study abroad and that I wasn't going to do it my first year of college and I wasn't going to do it in an English-speaking country, but I broke both those rules because I really like C.S. Lewis. I figured I wanted to do it early because I would rather be in debt and get all my traveling out of the way now than be in my middle-age and be like, "Wow, I should have traveled."

Q: What do you think should be done to make these programs more accessible to students?

A: "Encouraging people to study-abroad earlier would be best. I feel like a lot of people want to do it their senior year and they just never do it. It's something people put off a lot, and it may be because of the cost as well.

Q: What do students benefit from these programs?

A: "For me, it was my first time leaving the country so it was about getting that experience being abroad. Thankfully, I had a friend traveling with me because we had a bunch of stuff going on with losing our luggage. It was good to have that experience and to be prepared for the future. I did have a few times where I got to travel alone. Afterwards, I went around. I went to Essex and did stuff there. It was a feeling of independence - to be alone and traveling.

Q: What are the downsides of these programs?

A: "The cost. And you know, Americans aren't quite as well respected around the world as they may have once been. You'll get a few hecklers that yell, "Make America Great Again" when you're in the street. Somehow they know. You think that being in Britain that you'd blend in but no. It was a culturally similar country but they instantly recognized me."