COVID-19 Cancels Plans Abroad for Students Across the U.S.
Shortly after I returned from my trip abroad one of my best friends told me she would be heading to Rome in the spring of 2021. Immediately I began listing off my favorite weekend getaways, best pasta spots and most authentic coffee shops.
I didn’t know that a year later she would have to cancel her plans to study in Italy due to a pandemic that swept through the entire globe.
Bridget Barnebey is a junior at Purdue on track to become a physician's assistant. Weeks before her set departure date I spoke to her about losing the chance to go abroad due to the pandemic.
It was in late September, just about a month after starting her junior year, that Barnebey heard from Purdue that her program had been called off. COVID-19 is still raging on in the U.S. with a daily average of about 150,000 new positive cases, according to John Hopkins.
“I do think that Purdue and the study abroad partners made the right call in suspending all programs for the spring 2021 semester because of the rise in the cases of COVID,” Barnebey said.
Although she was saddened by the news, Barney said going abroad wouldn’t have been the same if she went during the pandemic. The thing she was most looking forward to was traveling.
“I was looking forward to traveling to other cities and countries besides Rome,” Barnebey said. “Traveling is a major part of what a study abroad trip is about and with COVID this would have been very difficult.”
Her trip would have coincided with St. Patrick’s day, and she had plans to visit Ireland for the holiday — there haven’t been any final decisions made about the holiday yet, but the possibility for celebrating in the streets of Dublin is looking grim due to rising cases in the country.
Barnebey said Purdue is opening up it’s abroad programs during the 2021–2022 school year, but she’s not likely to participate.
“As of right now Purdue says we will be able to study abroad in the 2021–2022 school year but because this school year is my senior year I will most likely not participate in the program,” Barnebey said.
For now, Barnebey has shifted her travel plans to COVID-19 safe excursions. I joined her on a trip to Nashville, Tenn. before the second wave of the pandemic hit, where we visited the city with masks on and in socially-distanced settings. She said she’s hoping she will be able to visit countries with friends after a vaccine is distributed and it’s safe to experience all the world has to offer.
