{"id":1197,"date":"2025-07-08T21:23:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T01:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2025-07-09T00:27:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T04:27:24","slug":"extending-student-wellbeing-across-the-globe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/2025\/07\/08\/extending-student-wellbeing-across-the-globe\/","title":{"rendered":"Extending Student Wellbeing Across the Globe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Numerous BU Study Abroad Locations and Student Wellbeing Collaborate in Many Ways to Support Students\u2019 Holistic Wellbeing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

From Dublin to London to Madrid, Boston University Study Abroad students have learned about the incredible power of trees \u2013 up close and in a hands-on way. In grant-funded programs run with Student Wellbeing, the teams at BU Dublin, BU London, and BU Madrid took their study abroad students to mountainous County Wicklow, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and the Casa de Campo park, respectively, where they planted trees, learned about carbon offsetting, and worked with local NGOs.<\/p>\n

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The program is one of many offerings that Student Wellbeing has helped facilitate at different BU run Study Abroad locations. And this is just one of the ways that BU Study Abroad and Student Wellbeing have been collaborating to help support all dimensions of students\u2019 wellbeing \u2013 no matter where they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe absolutely adore working with Study Abroad, and we are grateful that they have been such a tremendous partner,\u201d says Pedro Falci, Managing Director of Student Wellbeing. \u201cWorking with the various Study Abroad sites and in different ways \u2013 whether it\u2019s on programs through grants, workshops, or even as thought partners \u2013 has been meaningful for us and has allowed us to provide students some degree of continuity between the Charles River Campus experience and when they go abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

By encouraging study abroad students to participate in workshops or a program like tree planting, students continue to be exposed to resources and habits of mind that can benefit their wellbeing.<\/p>\n

BU Study Abroad Executive Director Gareth McFeely notes that these programs emphasize the importance of thinking about the student experience holistically: \u201cstudying abroad is not just about what students learn in the classroom, even if that\u2019s important, but also about students reflecting on their place in the world, and on how to be in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falci and his colleagues in Student Wellbeing encourage students to study abroad and know that doing so benefits students in myriad ways.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHaving that fish out of water experience teaches them about their wellbeing, and they can incorporate those lessons into their life well beyond BU,\u201d Falci says. \u201cAnd we know that going abroad can sometimes provoke feelings of homesickness or basic stress response in the body, so having some of these offerings \u2013 whether it\u2019s workshops that impart skills or programs that help students meet each other \u2013 teach them something they can take with them to make the most of their experience abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falci also notes that it\u2019s interesting for Student Wellbeing to learn about the differing priorities that students have when they are abroad vs. in Boston. When hosting Student Wellbeing\u2019s Life Management workshop \u2013 one that focuses on identifying priorities \u2013 Falci has noticed students\u2019 desire to prioritize travel to other countries while they are abroad. \u201cOf course, they are also doing their coursework and sometimes interning while abroad, so they are busy, and it\u2019s interesting for us to see the differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another virtual workshop that Falci has hosted with study abroad students is titled Exploring Personal and Social Identities. He led this workshop for past students in Padua and Venice, Italy a few times.<\/p>\n

When he hosts it, Falci invites students, who are by and large Americans studying in Italy (in this case), to reflect on how we tackle identity in the U.S. in comparison to what they\u2019re seeing in Italy or on the European continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about how in the States we have to check boxes around race and ethnicity, sex and gender, religion, class, all those things,\u201d he says. \u201cStudents are then prompted to think about how another culture tackles the same topics, and we engage in a conversation around those differences. It\u2019s a really rich conversation when we get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Director of Padua and Venice Programs, Elisabetta Convento, appreciates how enthusiastic and adept Falci has been in hosting valuable and interesting workshops for her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is always extremely enthusiastic and very available to discuss any topics,\u201d Convento says. \u201cI think our \u2018formula\u2019 in Padua and Venice of prioritizing wellbeing from the very beginning \u2013 the day after students arrive \u2013 and then continuing with small activities throughout the semester that [reinforce] the importance of wellbeing has been working well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Convento and her team first started partnering with Student Wellbeing thanks to former Padua student Ariel Crawford (CAS \u201924), who studied abroad in spring 2023 and also worked for Student Wellbeing as a Program Assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAriel was going through the orientation that we give, where I would show the Student Wellbeing website,\u201d says Convento. \u201cShe was collaborating with Pedro and helping work on the website and said why don\u2019t we do a session with Wellbeing?\u201d<\/p>\n

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In addition to workshops with Wellbeing, Convento and her team runs initiatives and events with students where they get involved in the local community, collecting trash, planting trees, touring the area on bikes, removing graffiti, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis past summer I took students to a beautiful villa in the middle of the countryside where they could enjoy the landscape, draw if they wanted to, and just wander around and be immersed in nature,\u201d Convento says. \u201cThey loved it and appreciated spending time in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students in Madrid, Spain have also enjoyed outdoor excursions and outdoor clean-up activities that connect them to nature and help them appreciate their environment. In addition to the tree planting event, they participated in a marine biology excursion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was great because we cleaned the beach and collected all the trash there,\u201d says Amalia Perez-Juez, Director of Madrid Programs. \u201cIt was a great; everyone seemed to love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to nature-focused activities that promote environmental wellbeing, the BU Madrid team regularly hosts a cultural wellbeing event where they ask students to share a photograph of what Spain has meant for them and to speak about that. The traditional Spanish dish paella is shared and enjoyed at this event as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cLately we have also been doing talent shows because we\u2019ve seen that students love to show what they do, and they want to sing and dance,\u201d adds Perez-Juez. \u201cIt\u2019s getting everyone together and knowing each other in a different way that is not in a classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cara Kennedy, Student Life Manager for BU London, adds that BU London runs wellness afternoons a few times per semesters where they host sessions designed to help students relax and reduce stress in a healthy way. \u201cStudents are invited to join in activities that promote creativity, community, and relaxation, Kennedy says. \u201cPositive wellbeing is key for academic success, so they can discover new ways to stay energised, focused, and feeling good during busy times!\u201d<\/p>\n

One of their more popular wellness activities is hosting a therapy dogs visit, working with a UK charity called Pets As Therapy. In addition, they include wellbeing events (free to participate) in their social programming, and these events vary each semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn summer, we took students on a trip to Kentish Town City Farm where they spent some time with the animals,\u201d Kennedy says. \u201cA group of students also took part in the Battersea Park: Chase the Sun run event where they ran 5K or 10K. We have also organised walks before to local parks such as Richmond Park and Hampstead Heath.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Director of Dublin Programs, Mary McCloskey, agrees and emphasizes the benefits of getting students together outside of the classroom, especially in the spirit of making new friends and improving social wellbeing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSome students come with their friends, but we always work under the premise that you have come alone, seeking your independence, stepping out of your comfort zone, and seeking new adventures and opportunities,\u201d says McCloskey. \u201cSo, I set the tone during orientation and during our treasure hunt event by setting up the teams alphabetical by last name so [already established] friends aren\u2019t joined at the hip and going around. It\u2019s bonding with new peers, and that\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds that in addition to the various activities, excursions, and events that they run in Dublin, she often shares resources and events with her students, even if they are taking place on the Charles River Campus. A silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the strong connection to the Charles River Campus that zoom meetings, events, and workshops enable.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a global village, because it doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re on the Charles River Campus, in Shanghai, in Dublin or wherever BU has programs, you can register, you can join, you can partake in the workshops and events virtually,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a stronger feeling of inclusiveness and feeling part of the mother campus in Boston, so to speak. We feel the benefit of that, and the students feel the benefit of that the same because they can get involved if they want.\u201d\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Numerous BU Study Abroad Locations and Student Wellbeing Collaborate in Many Ways to Support Students\u2019 Holistic Wellbeing From Dublin to London to Madrid, Boston University Study Abroad students have learned about the incredible power of trees \u2013 up close and in a hands-on way. In grant-funded programs run with Student Wellbeing, the teams at BU […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24551,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[291],"tags":[298,299,294,300],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1203,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions\/1203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/abroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}