Students Discover a Wealth of Cultural Connections Through Study Abroad

DUBUQUE, Iowa - An international connection allowed the University of Dubuque to go from hosting a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence and his family from Hungary to bringing 11 students abroad to explore the visiting professor's home country and gain a deeper understanding of his culture.

"When we are present somewhere, we share real time with other people who have different languages, stories, and histories. We talk, smile, or cry together; we shape and rely on each other, which eventually shows how similar we all are and how much we need each other," said Csongor Gedeon, PhD, the first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence at UD. "I hope that this opportunity showed students all those things and more. That there are good, interesting people everywhere. That it is worth meeting strangers. That we, humans, share so many common things and similar values independently from our religion, history, or culture because first we are all people and everything else comes next."

UD offers affordable short-term, summer, and semester-long study abroad opportunities through over 110 programs in more than 25 countries. During summer sessions this year, students will travel with faculty and staff to France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Paraguay, the Netherlands, and Tanzania. For now, some of those who participated in a unique study abroad opportunity to Hungary over spring break reflect on their experiences.

Gedeon taught as a visiting professor in UD's Department of Natural and Applied Sciences during the 2023-2024 academic year. Little did anyone know when the decision was made to apply for a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence host opportunity that students would one day travel to Hungary.

"UD was blessed to host a Fulbright scholar from Hungary along with his family for an entire academic year in 2023-2024, and that connection created momentum and interest in our UD students to visit our international scholar's home country and create a true local experience within the study abroad program," said Maggie Appel-Schumacher, MA, director of the Office of International Student Services and Study Abroad at UD.

Eleven students traveled to Hungary from February 28, 2025, to March 9, 2025, with Appel-Schumacher and Adam Hoffman, PhD, interim chair of the faculty and professor of environmental chemistry who will transition to the role of vice president for academic affairs at UD this summer.

"It was incredibly surreal to go from hosting Csongor and his family in our home for meals and conversation last year to being welcomed by his family half a world away as they hosted us and our students," Hoffman said. "Because of the strong connection we built with Csongor and his family, our students experienced authentic, off-the-beaten-path moments such as eating wild boar soup cooked over an open fire, canoeing down the Danube River, visiting English classes at Hungary's largest middle school, and having tea and snacks with Csongor's mother in her cozy home in the hills of Budapest."

Gedeon's daughter Rozi Gedeon, a junior biology, environmental science, and chemistry triple major at UD, was essential in helping with the logistics of the spring break trip. She enjoyed not only connecting with her dad on a regular basis to plan the trip but also sharing her home with others.

"I got to see a country I know so well through the eyes of others," she said. "We all learned not only about the importance of opening up to new people and to new places, but also about the value of embracing discomfort, the unpredictable, and the unfamiliarity of a new adventure. I met amazing people and got to show a side of my culture to my friends, which made connections even more tight."

Rozi Gedeon also served as a key translator while abroad.

"Sharing my culture through my language was very special," she said. "It was awesome to experience how invested the group was to learn and engage with the language and try to utilize it even for simple conversations. Teaching new words and local phrases was probably the funnest part of the translating. It was definitely a challenge and a brain exercise to constantly switch between languages, but both my sisters and dad were a huge help in the translating process. It requires a lot of attention and energy to have a conversation in multiple languages, but it was a challenge for everyone to be in an environment where you only hear a language you can't understand. Despite all of that, I felt like everyone was very independent and open to these obstacles with excitement and an open mind."

Braydin Preston (C'25), a computer information technology and environmental science double major who participated in UD's Spring Commencement on April 26, 2025, has enjoyed the opportunities to expand his worldview during his time as a Spartan. He traveled to Iceland and Sri Lanka before Hungary - a trip he described as unlike anything else offered at UD because of the connections to the Gedeon family and Rozi Gedeon's role in helping to plan the trip.

"She knew what we needed to see, and she knew the unique places that were going to make the experience more special for the whole class," Preston said.

Csongor Gedeon's presence and expertise was also appreciated. Preston will never forget the group's visit to the House of Terror, a museum that commemorates the time in Hungarian history from 1944 to 1990 when - as the museum's website states - it was robbed of its independence and freedom by the Arrow Cross supported by German Nazis and then by communists backed by the Soviet Union.

"I tried to ask Csongor as many questions as possible. Because he lived through the communism that used to be in Hungary, he could speak from experience," Preston said. "What made his perspectives so special was that he knew what Hungary was like before and after communism, so to get a first-hand perspective on that was awesome to hear about. Not to mention, I thought Csongor was hilarious and such a lively person to be around. He made the trip very enjoyable, and I'm grateful he was there to take us around."

Dylan Arndt, a senior flight operations major, shared how Csongor Gedeon brought "an incredible light to the whole trip" and was a kind, helpful person.

The ability to envelop himself in different cultures is critical for Arndt. Before he went to Hungary, he traveled to Iceland while in college and New Zealand and Australia while in high school. Like the other Spartans in Hungary, Arndt had numerous highlights from the study abroad experience from being able to interact with Hungarian schoolkids, to kayaking the underground water caves of Tapolca, to walking through Budapest and other towns.

"The educational and developmental value was incredible," Arndt said. "My overall highlight was when we got to spend time with Csongor's family for a couple hours. During this time, we were completely enveloped in Hungarian culture. The language. The interactions. The food. The architecture. The list goes on. With my previous trips abroad, I have never had such a strong interaction with the people within the country. Getting to experience that in such depth added so much more value. I really felt like I was a part of their family in the short amount of time I was there."

UD's study abroad program aims to create opportunities like those in which students can dive into the local culture and witness how people of that country create the world they live in.

"Through the relationships with Csongor's family, our student had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with the Hungarian culture in an unmasked way, stepping foot into the home of Csongor's mother and enjoying homemade Hungarian sweets to visiting one of the largest middle schools in Hungary and jumping into their English classes filled with 13- and 14-year-old Hungarian students who may never meet someone from the US," Appel-Schumacher said. "These moments allowed for cross-cultural exchange to manifest in an organic and real way that provided a lasting impression on both the communities we stepped into as well as our UD students. People-to-people exchange fuels compassion, kindness, and understanding for cultures that are different than yours, and our students came home with a newfound appreciation for how unique Hungarian culture is yet also how similar the human experience is for people in all walks of life."

Hoffman said his international experience as an undergraduate student was a truly transformative experience in his life, and he appreciates the opportunity to pay that forward.

"The benefits of cultural exchanges are numerous," he said. "Having led multiple international travel courses at UD, it is clear that these opportunities are invaluable for developing intercultural awareness and cultural competence. A person often cannot grasp both how similar and how different other countries and cultures can be. This isn't something that can be fully understood through explanation alone - it requires direct experience. I always tell prospective students that I want them to become thoughtful, engaged global citizens, and participating in these programs is one way I can help them work toward that goal. In addition, I've seen firsthand the positive impacts that international travel experiences have on a student's confidence, problem-solving skills, and resilience. I've also realized that students gain invaluable insights about themselves and their surroundings by going abroad."