Illinois Valley Community College student Drew Knipper may be a seasoned international traveller, but this spring he’s embarking on a new adventure: a four-month study abroad program in Seville, Spain.
He’ll be staying with a host family near the International College, where he’ll study Spanish language and culture. Seville will continue to be his home base between trips around the country and to Morocco, just across the Strait of Gibraltar in North Africa.
It’s a trip he’s looking forward to.
“I’ll be able to say I’ve been to Africa,” says Knipper. “I’m fascinated by the culture, which is different from where I’ve been. I loved Europe and I just want to travel everywhere.”
Since taking his first international flight at the age of two, Knipper has been to 11 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Mexico. His family enjoyed spending weeks immersed in a city or village, “going to the shops, going to festivals – the traditional stuff, getting to know the places we went. You can experience more that way.
Knipper said his father is flying with him to get him settled in Spain, and they’ll enjoy a stopover in Rome together.
Knipper, a Princeton native, will be back in Illinois in time to graduate with his IVCC class.
“[Travelling] has given me a better appreciation for different cultures and has fostered a love of culture, history and geography,” Knipper said. “It has helped me to be grateful for the things I have and the things I don’t have. I’m grateful for what I’ve experienced [on my travels] and grateful for things at home that you might not notice, like a nice bed or a soft pillow.
He said he enjoys learning new languages, but Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world, appealed to him enough to make it his major.
Although Knipper plans to study law and use his language skills in practice, he said he’ll be able to use Spanish in any field, even if he strays from that career path.
“There are so many different possibilities because I have a second language,” he said.
Seville, Spain’s fourth largest city, has a rich Moorish heritage and is full of architecture, history and a palace.
“A ‘Star Wars’ movie was filmed there,” Knipper said. “It looks pretty cool.”
He said his previous travel experience had made him calm and confident.
“I know enough Spanish to get around and have a conversation – not a deep one, but I can ask for directions,” he said.
Knipper is active on campus as vice president of student government, a 21st Century Scholar, a member of the Student Success Committee, a student ambassador and a guest on the IVCC podcast. He’s also active in his church and community in his hometown of Princeton.
The trip is being organised by the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs. IVCC’s study abroad program is open to students 18 and older who earn college credit for their trip.
Illinois Valley students have recently studied in Austria, France, Costa Rica and Spain. Study abroad programmes are also offered in England, Ireland and now Ghana, West Africa and Canada.
