By: Hannah Wiley, Assistant Features Editor
This semester, the Center for International Education welcomed a new director – Kera Bush-Turner! She is in charge of overseeing degree-seeking international students looking to come to the United Stated for a four-year or master’s degree, exchange students and Canisius students looking to study abroad.
Kera Bush-Turner herself studied abroad twice during her undergraduate years. She was a Spanish and adolescent education double major with a French minor, which brought her to her first study abroad location, Salamanca, Spain. Salamanca is home to the oldest university in Spain as well as the third oldest university in Europe.
After returning to the United States, Bush-Turner turned her French minor into her major which gave her the opportunity to study abroad again in Rennes, which is in the Brittany region of northwestern France. “What really helps with when I’m working with study abroad students is understanding all the different levels of it,” Bush-Turner said. Beyond studying abroad she’s been to other countries in South America, as well as Portugal and Romania! She is also fluent in Spanish and intermediate in French.
This world-traveler cares deeply about preparing students for traveling abroad, both prior to and during their time out of the country. Her biggest piece of advice for those getting ready to study abroad is to take a class in that language before you leave and to take one while there. “You are learning and then immediately applying what you’re learning,” Bush-Turner said.
She has also been to almost every country that Canisius offers in their study abroad program, so she is familiar with the cultures and can better prepare the students for the country they are going to live in. Her main goal is to have students as prepared as they can be, which also means being upfront about the reality of studying abroad. She knows not everyday is sunshine and rainbows; you're going to miss home and your family and friends, but the experience you get is unlike any other.
Beyond helping students prepare, she also wants to promote studying abroad to the students who probably haven’t considered it. This especially means the students who think their major prohibits them from going abroad. For example, Canisius’ program in Australia is perfect for ABEC majors, but she makes the location work for the person regardless of the major. For another example, if a business major wants to go to Florence, Italy, where the study is more liberal arts-based, she’ll figure out how to make it work for that student.
Studying abroad can be daunting and it is scary to commit yourself to an entire semester away from everything familiar. The memories you make and the people you meet make all of that worry seem little in the end. So, let this be your sign – take the leap and talk to Kera Bush-Turner about how studying abroad can give you memories that will last a lifetime.
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