Students and faculty alike encouraged students to look beyond Missouri Southern Nov. 15 during the Study Abroad Fair.

“We are one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Brenda Kilby, assistant professor of communication. “If more people knew what we offered our full-time students we would be beating them off with a stick.”

The University’s mission statement emphasizes the University’s belief in international studies and travel. This year, Southern has already sent students to China, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Sweden.

If students are interested in living in a different environment, they can spend a semester in Chile, China, England, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands or Scotland.

“What we have here at Missouri Southern I have not seen duplicated anywhere else,” Kilby said. “There are other universities that have study abroad programs that are older, more entrenched and maybe more involved than ours.

“But I don’t know of any other university that lets you pick where you can go. It’s almost like a travel agency.”

Not only does Southern offer a variety of places to visit, it provides students financial assistance. The University provides basic grants of $1,000 and possible additional assistance up to $500.

“I don’t know of any other places that have the amount of grants we offer,” Kilby said. “Take advantage of what you’ve got because you’re not going to find it anywhere else.”

Wilma Prifti, director of international business internship exchange at Webster University, said not only does the study abroad program provide traveling experience, but also looks great on a résumé. She said her students have been asked about their international internships during interviews.

“This sets them apart from anyone else who’s applying for a job at a respected employer,” she said.

The program Prifti was offering at the study abroad fair sends approximately 25 students per summer to six different countries for eight weeklong internships. These include China, Japan, Mexico, England, Germany and Ghana.

Some students who participated in the past said the traveling experience was more than educational.

“I thought it was amazing,” said Gwynavere Roberts, junior German, psychology and business major. “It really opens your eyes up to how large the world is and how small your comfort zone is.”