When Julius Mayo first went abroad to the United Kingdom as a graduate student at Ohio State, he knew that it was an experience he had to share with others, especially undergraduates.
Since 1999, Mayo has participated in and led nearly 20 study abroad programs and continues to be a champion for these life-changing journeys for all Buckeyes.
“Watching the sense of awe in experiencing a new culture or environment in students’ faces never gets old,” said Mayo. “Getting to dialogue about these places once we’re there is incredible.”
Through his position in the Office of Student Life as the assistant director of Academic Initiatives, Mayo founded the MUNDO Involved Living Initiative in 1997, which aims to give Ohio State students a hands-on way to explore real-world issues related to social change. By 2003, the program expanded to a course on the Columbus campus that offers annual study abroad experiences, starting with the United Kingdom and eventually including France, Italy, Ireland and Spain.
"The idea was to move beyond the classroom and create immersive learning experiences that connect students with diverse communities, perspectives, and experiences,” said Mayo. “These experiences are designed to deepen students’ understanding of global cultures and histories through direct engagement.”
In addition to leading the study abroad program, Mayo also teaches the Multicultural Histories and Legacies course in the College of Education and Human Ecology. The course serves as a capstone experience for MUNDO students, who are also involved on campus with meetings and events during the school year.
“These experiences help students grow personally and academically, while building a more inclusive and socially aware campus community,” noted Mayo. “Everyone benefits when more voices are part of the conversation.”
Through his numerous experiences abroad, Mayo notes how the field has changed since he began leading programs, and the evolving reasons why students are pursuing education abroad.
"When we started, I feel like it was seen in higher education as more of a luxury, or something that not everyone would do,” recalled Mayo. “Now students are increasingly seeing it as a way to realize different industries and locations for after graduation, and something they can use socially and professionally."
Despite higher education’s evolved view of education abroad, Mayo contends that the importance for students to go remains the same. Studying abroad at Ohio State means fostering an unbeatable learning environment and making new intercultural connections.
"I don't think it's changed since I went abroad; it is the definitive best learning experience. I believed that as a graduate student and now as an educator. I've seen how it is one of the most powerful ways that people can understand themselves and others."
Mayo, MUNDO students and the Multicultural Histories and Legacies course will return abroad next semester, where the group will venture to Spain to visit Madrid, Segovia, Barcelona and Toledo over spring break.