Go Global with Kate Yapp: Studying at St. Kate’s Sister School in LA

Sometimes, “going abroad” can be just getting out of town

*Liz Bolsoni at Mount Saint Mary’s University this semester*

*Anna Franek in front of the Mount Saint Mary’s University Chalon Campus sign on her first day of classes during the exchange spring 2020.*

Covid-19 changed a lot of people’s plans for study abroad, St. Kate’s students included. I interviewed two of my friends at St. Kate’s who both decided to study in Los Angeles through the Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph, an exchange program the university participates in along with eight other schools founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph across the country.

Anna Franek ‘22 (Accounting and Marketing) studied at Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) during the spring term of her sophomore year, right before the world went into lockdown. She is now employed with the overarching organization that runs the exchange program. Liz Bolsoni ‘23 (Communication Studies and Film Studies), a current junior, decided to pivot to the domestic exchange program after New Zealand remained inaccessible for study abroad this spring due to Covid.

Bolsoni told me they actually met with Franek a few times before starting their exchange to learn more about the MSMU experience. I interviewed both of these women about their experiences with the program.

Franek, a dupliKate like myself, said that her mother had actually gone through the exchange program in Los Angeles with Mount St. Mary’s when she attended St. Kate’s in the late 80s. Franek’s mom liked the school so much that she transferred and did two full years in LA in addition to two full years at St. Kate’s. When Franek, a Minnesota native, was still in high school looking at colleges as a prospective student, she actually toured MSMU but decided she was not yet ready to be across the country from her family for four full years. However, she always wanted to check out LA and it was important to her that the college she did pick offered a domestic exchange program opportunity.

*Anna Franek touring MSMU as a senior in high school and catching up her mom’s friends from when her mom did the exchange in the 80s.*

Franek studied at MSMU before the pandemic hit so her experience was a bit different from Bolsoni’s. Franek recalled that there were also ten exchange students from China during her time there and she grew very close with them, even keeping in touch to this day with one of them. Franek recalled that there were a lot of events put on specifically for the exchange students to attend, which is not uncommon for study abroad programs outside of the United States but is unique to MSMU compared to the other eight affiliate schools. Bolsoni is the only exchange student at MSMU this semester but she is confident that the program is probably more similar to Franek’s experience during non-Covid times.

*Anna Franek at Santa Monica Pier with a Chinese exchange student she still keeps in touch with, Rebecca*

Both Bolsoni and Franek have good things to say about LA. Both are fans of the warm weather and Bolsoni enjoys the close proximity to people in the film industry to network with, as she is pursuing a special Film Studies and Communication Studies degree. Bolsoni remarked there is a lot of good food to try and shopping to partake in but that LA is much larger and more spread out than the Twin Cities so people rely more on cars as opposed to cleaner options like biking and walking. Luckily, both Franek and Bolsoni were able to make a friend or two with cars, since so many students at MSMU, like at St. Kate’s are commuters and/or from the local community surrounding the college.

Additionally, a benefit to doing this exchange program compared to other, more traditional “study abroad experiences”, is that both Bolsoni and Franek found the program to be pretty affordable and accessible. Bolsoni said that students just need basically the same information to apply for the program as they did when applying to St. Kate’s, no visa required. When doing this exchange, tuition prices are the same but a student has to pay for plane tickets and room and board at the school they are staying at, which is more expensive in Los Angeles County than the Midwest, but Bolsoni appreciated the variety of options in the MSMU cafeteria which include vegan dishes at every meal and consistent fresh fruit and vegetables.

Franek said that she is glad she went out on her own for her “study abroad” experience. She felt that she was able to push herself more than she was at St. Kate’s. She had to put herself out there and get more involved in order to make friends and a support network and get the most out of the experience. She recalled really enjoying a class she took that required her to get into the city and explore different art museums. Franek told me she didn’t think she would have experienced that aspect of the city as thoroughly had it not been for her class. There were a lot of club events offered both on and off-campus, with Franek being a weekly attendee of “Crafternoons” on the front lawn of MSMU every Thursday and Bolsoni going to see the new Batman movie at an LA theater that MSMU rented out for a showing. Franek also said she was able to easily get to the Santa Monica Pier and UCLA with the shuttle bus provided by MSMU. Both she and Bolsoni mentioned that a similar service would be nice to have for St. Kate’s students back home.

*Anna Franek overlooking downtown Los Angeles from the Mount Saint Mary’s campus*

As someone hoping to go abroad this fall, I know I am excited about a class that will include many excursions to sites of historical political speeches. It’s nice to have exploration built into your studies so you have that much more of a rich experience in a place different from your home.

Franek remarked that “the environment [at MSMU] is pretty similar to St. Kate’s but even more close-knit. Class sizes and student body and the campus itself are smaller,” and when Franek was there “it was obvious she was a new face so people introduced themselves and were very welcoming.” Franek made a friend involved in MSMU campus ministry so she started going to mass every week, which was a good way for her to get to know the ministry staff and feel more integrated into the community. She also felt that the administration was very accessible and approachable at MSMU, with the university president eating in the same cafeteria as the students. Since all of the nine colleges are similar in student body size to St. Kate’s, Franek thinks this approach is doable for St. Kate’s to also implement.

While both St. Kate’s and Mount St. Mary’s were founded by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Franek observed seeing the Sisters on campus much more often in California. They were present at many events and came and visited classes pretty frequently. Because there are so many important events in the rich history of the CSJs, Franek hopes the nine affiliated schools can do more in the future to collaborate and celebrate these meaningful accomplishments. Franek did mention that there is a national gathering every two years, hosted by one of the nine schools, most recently by St. Kate’s last year. Didn’t know about it? That’s okay, Franek told me the conference tends to be primarily geared towards administration and faculty but that she hopes there can be more student involvement and collaboration potentially with similar clubs between the schools. Bolsoni has a professor this semester she will miss so she wishes there was more collaboration between faculty at the different schools. Unfortunately, the pilgrimage to Le Puy, the origin place in France of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, that was planned for this summer with two students from each of the nine schools, was canceled due to Covid but hopefully it will resume in the future.

As far as some tips for other students at St. Kate’s considering this exchange program, Franek recommends checking out the Transfer Evaluation System to see which classes have already been approved as equivalents across the nine schools. Bolsoni said she talked with the department chairs for their majors and was able to pin down which classes could substitute for requirements at St. Kate’s. Franek and Bolsoni also suggest leaving some generals and electives to take while “abroad” because MSMU especially offers a lot of unique one credit fitness classes like yoga and ballet. Bolsoni is currently taking yoga while in LA and suggests leaving some room in your schedule for more fun or relaxing classes so you have some time to rest and relax and take everything in during your experience, like an art class Bolsoni is taking, in addition to choir for fun. Bolsoni also got involved in a weekly book club with a favorite professor of hers from the ethnic studies class she is taking. Bolsoni adds that students should get their application in as early as possible, because staff, just like at St. Kate’s, don’t work over winter or spring break, and MSMU ends their semesters sooner, leaving less time for paperwork to be processed and details to be sorted out for your exchange experience.

Overall, Franek and Bolsoni both agreed the exchange program is a genuine “study abroad experience”, even if it is just domestic travel. MSMU has a large population of latinx students so mass often alternates readings and hymns in English and Spanish and Franek said you could order food in the cafeteria in Spanish or English. Being at MSMU at the same time as the Chinese exchange students also meant she learned a lot about Chinese culture. Bolsoni said she enjoys being able to visit Little Tokyo downtown and Little Ethiopia in Fairfax. Franek felt that her time in LA was pretty immersive and exposed her to a lot of new things and people while still giving her a safe and comfortable home base, the campus, to return to and recharge after her many adventures, which helped put her at ease during her time there and made the experience more enjoyable and less overwhelming.

For more information about the Association of Colleges of Sisters of St. Joseph, visit the exchange program’s webpage.