By Debra Bradley Ruder

Danielle Sherrod learned a lot about Australian aborigines through Harvard's libraries, but traveling to the distant continent to meet the native people firsthand was a remarkable experience.

"Being able to see how theory is articulated in people's lives is very enriching," Sherrod said. "People were very excited to have someone come thousands of miles to study their culture."

Sherrod, an anthropology concentrator from Adams House and Chicago, spent the fall term of her junior year at the University of Western Australia, doing an independent study on the land claims movement. She collected oral histories from aboriginal people and compared them to oral histories taken earlier.

Sherrod was one of roughly 150 undergraduates who studied abroad for credit last year, according to Jane Pavese, associate director of the FAS Office of Career Services. Students visited 30 countries around the world, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, enrolling directly in foreign universities or in programs run by other U.S. institutions. (Harvard has no study abroad programs of its own.)

Other Harvard students get international experience without academic credit. They might, for example, take a leave of absence during the academic year and travel or work overseas. Still others spend their summers learning languages or probing topics they're interested in on foreign soil.

Harvard offers a range of internships, fellowships, and grants for overseas adventures, such as the Japanese Language Summer Internship Program, which places students in Japanese businesses for summer work, and the new Piedrahita Fellowship, which supports study or travel in Colombia and honors Gabriel Piedrahita '96, who died in a plane crash in 1995.

Another option is an internship with an outside organization, such as the Peace Corps.

As far as academic credit goes, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences only grants credit for study "out of residence" that represents a special educational opportunity not ordinarily available at Harvard. A faculty committee reviews petitions for degree credits.

Even if a student doesn't earn academic credit, "Are they learning? Absolutely," contends Pavese, who counsels students and recent graduates considering study, travel, or work abroad. "I encourage people to think broadly about what students can do. All of these experiences broaden students' perspectives and complement their liberal arts education."

Spending time in another country, she notes, allows students to sharpen their language skills, deepen their understanding of another place or culture, and develop self-confidence and independence that will serve them well in their personal and professional lives ahead.

"Many students tell me they learned a lot about themselves," Pavese says. "They rise to the challenge of being in a new environment, meeting new people all the time, and negotiating new relationships and experiences. Even though it is not always easy, students show remarkable resilience to culture shock and to the challenges they meet."

Sherrod decided to go to Australia at the urging of Rhys Jones, a visiting professor in Australian studies here in 1996 who helped her develop the independent research project. She spent most of her time in Australia but during the last month grabbed an opportunity to visit some Fijian islands, where she studied music and dance among indigenous people.

The trip was valuable on many levels. Sherrod honed her information-gathering skills and learned a lot about the lifestyle of a professor, which she hopes to become some day. "It made me a much more careful scholar," she says.

Leafing through the evaluation sheets in the Career Services Office on Dunster Street, one notices that most students have positive experiences abroad, and that most overcome any disappointments and drawbacks, like dormitory curfews or occasional dull lectures.

Jeremy Hirsh '91-92, for example, spent six months studying Arabic and Egyptian at the American University in Cairo in 1990-91.

"It met and exceeded all of my expectations," he wrote. "My term in Cairo was without question my best term as an undergraduate. Every day was a new discovery, every detail of Egyptian life a learning experience. The only disappointment was Egyptian cuisine."

Jenny Jones '97 of Cincinnati went to St. Petersburg, Russia, for six months in the fall of 1995, where she studied Russian language and literature. "Personally and intellectually, I feel like I took off," she wrote.

Jeff Graham '95 of Elmira, N.Y., took 10 months off from Harvard, traveling to Egypt to study Islam and Arabic, and then to India, Nepal, and Tibet to explore Tibetan language and culture.

"The benefits of my time abroad are incalculable, as it provided the chance for experiences I'd never imagined," he reflected. "Finding oneself, however, is not as simple as going abroad, and the changes you expect in yourself don't come as quickly as hoped for."

Wrote one student, "The experience exceeded every one of my expectations and disappointed me only to the extent that I found out how little I knew in the first place."