A student’s educational experience at Southern Maine Community College extends well beyond the boundaries of our Brunswick and South Portland campuses. In fact, it stretches beyond the boundaries of Maine and the U.S.

Every year, dozens of students take part in study abroad opportunities that take them overseas, far from the comfort zone of SMCC.

Madeline Dumont, a first-year student on our Midcoast Campus in Brunswick, was among 35 SMCC students who spent nine days in Ireland last month, learning about the country’s history, culture and criminal justice system while also earning college credit.

It was Madeline’s first time out of the United States, and it opened her eyes to new people, new places, new customs and new food (although, she admits, she wouldn’t try the traditional Irish dish with sheep’s stomach). She’ll be writing a paper about her experience.

“It was the best experience of my life,” she says. “I’m not exaggerating.”

Through the years, SMCC Professor Bill McClaran has led more than 20 trips to Ireland with more than 500 students in all. But the international experiences available to SMCC students aren’t limited to Ireland.

Our Fine Arts program has taken SMCC students (along with some from St. Joseph’s College) to Barcelona, Spain, where students earned credit while studying art and architecture and immersing themselves in the local culture.

The Culinary Arts Department has hosted two-week trips to the Austrian town of Bad Gleichenberg, where students spend seven days cooking and seven days traveling the countryside.

Five Nursing students and a Nursing professor last month visited Zanzibar, off the east coast of Africa, where they worked with local health care providers while also providing health care and medical supplies. Three years ago, a group of Nursing students made a similar trip to rural Peru.

Nine SMCC students have been awarded prestigious George J. Mitchell Peace Scholarships since 1999 to study in Cork, Ireland, for a full semester. The latest SMCC recipient, Christopher Hunt, spent last fall in Cork and was so taken by the experience that he stayed for a second semester on his own.

“I have learned so much from this experience not only in school and about the Irish culture, but especially about myself, being able to overcome many obstacles, changing habits and conforming to a different lifestyle,” Christopher wrote in his blog.

These and other international opportunities offer many life-changing and enduring academic, personal, career and intercultural benefits for students. They can be defining moments in young people’s lives, impacting them for a lifetime.

Studies show that students who study abroad have better grades and graduate at higher rates than students who do not study abroad. These days, employers are increasingly looking for employees who have international experience.

SMCC is now developing a Global Studies Center that, among other things, would expand study abroad opportunities for SMCC students. That’s a good thing. Just ask Madeline Dumont.

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Ron Cantor is the president of Southern Maine Community College.