Professor Molly Rapert and Hanna Strombom at the formal dinner for the CIMBA study abroad program in Paderno del Grappa, Italy.

Author: Hanna Strombom | Major: Finance | Semester: Fall 2022

My name is Hanna Strombom. I am a senior in the Walton College of Business honors program. I am majoring in Finance, with minors in Accounting and Biology. My future plan is to attend medical school after graduation. My thesis research has taken place in the fall 2022 semester under the direction of Molly Rapert, an associate professor in the Marketing department.

I started my thesis research project this past summer while studying abroad. I studied abroad through the CIMBA program in Paderno del Grappa, Italy. Molly Rapert was one of my professors during study abroad, so I was in touch with her prior to leaving for the program. For my thesis, I wanted to connect my study abroad experience with my interests in the medical field. My research focuses on answering the question: Does Cultural Immersion Around the World Create Stronger Students? A Study of the Benefits of Studying Abroad on a Students’ Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Mental health has become a topic of concern for health care professionals around the United States. The pandemic has exacerbated mental health concerns for everyone. I wanted to focus on college-aged students because in my research I found that this age group is being negatively affected by mental illnesses at alarming rates. This is due to the numerous pressures students face in their academics, social lives, and career goals. I have felt first-hand and watched my peers suffer from these stresses. Suicide rates have become the second leading cause of death for people within this age group. Through my research, I found there are many short-term and long-term benefits for students who study abroad. Students are able to immerse themselves in a foreign culture and learn a different language, values, and cultural norms. There can be challenges faced during study abroad, such as culture shock, but students gain beneficial skills that can be used in their future personal and professional lives. Through my research and data collection, I recommend students to consider studying abroad to gain a valuable experience outside of the classroom.

I worked with Professor Rapert to create a survey that would be administered to students studying abroad through CIMBA. The survey included questions to evaluate the current state of their mental health. I used the Psychological Wellbeing Scale, which is an 18-item survey that measures six aspects of wellbeing and happiness. It measures the person’s autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. I also used the Hero Wellness Scale, which is a sliding scale of positive moods felt in the past week. Another aspect of the survey was asking about the impact of varying components of the study abroad program on the person’s personal or professional growth. Professor Rapert helped me distribute the surveys to other professors in the CIMBA program to administer to their students. Students took a pre-survey prior to their departure for study abroad and completed the survey again at the end of the program. We matched each students pre-survey to their post-survey and analyzed the difference in responses over the course of the study abroad program.

My research topic has allowed me to dive deeper into mental health. The research allowed me really to see how mental illness affects people. I have learned a lot about the stigma placed upon people with mental illnesses. This allows me to approach mental health with an open mind and be more understanding of the different struggles people go through. This will make me a better physician in the future by allowing my patients to have full trust in me.

I am so grateful to be able to conduct my research about the impacts of studying abroad while being able to experience it myself. My study abroad experience allowed me to first-hand feel the impact of cultural immersion and learn from others with different ways of life than I am used to. There were some stressful situations navigating foreign transportation and unable to read the signs in different languages, but I credit study abroad for building my patience and flexibility skills. I learned so much during my time abroad and now see life through a different lens. It was different from the fast-paced life in America that I was used to, as I was able to see how Italians are more relaxed and value their relationships with others.

I am going to continue to analyze my data from the surveys. To complete my thesis, I will be furthering my research, making visuals of the data, and drawing conclusions from what I discovered.