With COVID-19 cases on the rise, a UTRGV student said the Study Abroad programs’ cancelation has affected his hard work to travel to China during the summer.
Computer engineering junior Isidro Zapata said he has been learning Chinese for a year and received a scholarship to travel, but the virus has ruined his plans to study abroad for his minor in Asian Studies.
“I’m actually still exploring other options because this scholarship has informed me that I can’t travel since the scholarship is from the government and the government has said that China is a do not travel [zone] and nor is South Korea,” Zapata said. “So, I currently have to either find another program or just forfeit my scholarship, which I would rather not do. … Which kind of makes it very difficult for me and gives me not that many opportunities.”
As reported by The Rider on Feb. 10, Zapata is the first UTRGV student to be awarded the Gilman Critical Need Language Award.
The Gilman Scholarship is a program of the U.S. State Department and awards $5,000, while the Gilman Critical Need Language Award is a maximum of $8,000 if the program is language-based.
Asked if Zapata has a message to anyone who is in the same position, he replied, “Continue to, you know, go through with plans. Although it may not be the best time to travel, there’s always other options, especially for me. A lot of people have told me, kind of, the same thing, that everything happens for a reason, but … it leaves me really upset that something like this could … ruin a year of work. But I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I still have to keep planning and the world keeps turning and everything else keeps going.”
As reported by The Rider on Feb. 3, COVID-19 was first detected on Dec. 31, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
The World Health Organization’s website reported 80,000 confirmed cases in China, as of Thursday.
UTRGV urges the university community to reconsider trips to any areas with travel restrictions during Spring Break and recommends continued use of basic germ prevention techniques, according to an email from University Marketing and Communication sent on Monday.
“As an update to our January 31st Travel Notice, we continue to monitor the progression of the COVID-19 outbreak and take proactive measures to mitigate an impact to our campus community,” the email states. “Although there are currently no cases in our area and the risk to our campus community remains low, we continue to coordinate with our local and state health authorities for a potential impact to our campus community.”
Alan Earhart, director of International Programs and Partnership at UTRGV, said six travel abroad programs going to China, South Korea and Italy were canceled.
“It’s really student safety,” Earhart said. “That’s our number one concern, you know, study abroad is amazing because you can go and experience another culture, but I’m not going support it if we’re sending students to a country that has, you know, an outbreak of the coronavirus. That just seems counterintuitive to the mission of the university, too.”
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Pablo Mendez said COVID-19 is a situation that everyone locally is taking seriously, as well as other medical institutions.
Mendez said the suspension will not be lifted until further notice.
For more information on how UTRGV’s travel restrictions work, visit www.utrgv.edu/oge/explore-the-world/i-o-c/index.htm.
