Bridget McManamon
Creighton University’s Global Scholars Program is a four-year educational and professional development program designed to immerse select students in a variety of cultures for a rich academic, social and service experience. Bridget McManamon is among the program’s first graduating class this May.
Study abroad widened Creighton student’s horizons
Bridget McManamon is a child of the American Midwest, but she long ago noticed that the world is a much larger place.
“I have always been interested in travel abroad,” she says. “Growing up I traveled a bit, but I had never been outside the country, so it sounded exciting and unique to attend college in the Midwest, but then also to have international cultural experiences.”
The answer was Creighton University’s Global Scholars Program, created four years ago by Creighton University President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. During four years of undergraduate education, the program provides four global experiences involving study and service. Since the program’s founding, two of those experiences — Australia and the Dominican Republic — were common to all participants. Going forward, Sydney, Australia has been replaced by Bologna, Italy.
The semester in Australia involved primarily study, McManamon says, whereas the semester in the Dominican Republic was a blend of study and service.
“I think Global Scholars was a very valuable experience, specifically going to the Dominican Republic, because the language and culture are different,” she says.
“I didn't speak much Spanish, so I was humbled by being in this confusing environment where I couldn't communicate well. It really broadened my perspective of travel, not just the difficulties of it, but also the rewards.”
McManamon, a political science major on the pre-law track, said the experience of negotiating the world of bustling Sydney, to the simplicity of rural communities in the Dominican Republic where she worked with children in a daycare center and helped build an aqueduct, boosted her confidence so much that she’s now looking further afield.
“I'm going to South Korea for the year before I pursue grad school,” she says. “I will be working at an all-girls international school there as a boarding residence advisor. Again, the fact that it's not a Western nation will be very challenging, but I do think the Dominican Republic program prepared me for that.”
