Portland State Magazine Spring 2014

SPRING 2014 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 23 will be partially flooded by the construction of a controversial dam planned by the Turkish government. O’Malley attended a town meeting there, and was surprised to find that nearly as many residents supported the dam as opposed it. “It reminded me of how hard it is to judge things from a distance,” he says. “Things may look really clear-cut, but when you’re actually there on the scene, when you talk to people, it’s always more complicated.” O’MALLEY’S EXPERIENCE abroad would not have been possible without financial support from the Bill and Theresa Farrens Endowed Scholarship for Overseas Study. He was the first recipient of the scholarship. Theresa ’67 and Bill Farrens both consider their experiences studying abroad as students to have been life changing, and have encouraged each of their five children to include it as part of a well-rounded liberal arts education. The new award, ranging from $3,000 to $5,000, is available yearly through the World Languages Department. Travel has continued to be a lifelong passion for the Farrens, who among their many trips have visited Turkey three times. Theresa Farrens, who majored in French at PSU, fondly remembers her first stay in France, even though it was as challenging as it was rewarding. “It was probably one of the most difficult years of my young adulthood,” she says. “But having a good experience does not mean having fun all the time. It changed my life.” Jennifer Hamlow, PSU Education Abroad director, says that studying abroad is one of the best investments students can make for their education. Not only does the experience expand a student’s worldview, it also gives a new perspective on the role the U.S. plays in the global community. Travel also teaches coping skills that are useful in day-to-day life. “You develop patience for managing people, for dealing with ambiguity and for navigating life,” she says. “The skills you learn when you go abroad are invaluable, and you can apply them to any experience that you’re going to have for the rest of your life.” For O’Malley, traveling taught him confidence in his own resiliency, but more than that, it made him reevaluate his ideas about where he comes from. Through interacting with locals throughout Turkey and Europe, he learned that while place does matter, there is more in common between people than there are differences. “It’s hard to talk about the world in absolute terms,” he says. “I guess one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is it’s just people, no matter where you are. We all struggle with all the same problems. It’s the same arguments and ideology, just with different names. It made the world a smaller place.”  Heather Quinn-Bork is a PSU creative writing student. While studying in Istanbul and traveling through Europe, Seth O’Malley (above) marveled at the sights and the diverse cultures but was surprised by the underlying commonality he found among the people he met. HASANKEYF, TURKEY HASANKEYF, TURKEY CAPPADOCIA REGION, TURKEY