Kennett native studies abroad

Former KHS graduate Zach Treadway recently spent time in Geneva, Switzerland, studying International Relations and International Human Rights. Photos provided

A Kennett High School class of 2007 graduate recently spent a few months studying overseas as part of his college's Study Abroad program.

Zach Treadway, 20, son of Vickie and Robert Treadway of Kennett, left for Geneva, Switzerland in January, traveling overseas through a program at his school -- Webster University of St. Louis, Mo.

Treadway, center, along with classmates Jeff Browning, left, of Omaha, Neb., and Tyler Holman, right, of Jackson, Mo., stand in front of the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Treadway, who is studying International Relations and International Human Rights, said a major contributor to his decision to choose Webster University was its Study Abroad program.

"Before I even went to school two years ago, I was thinking, 'That is something that I've always wanted to do,'" Treadway said. "I've always wanted to travel and see the world and see a lot of interesting things. It is something that has always been an interest of mine. That is why I looked into it.

"Webster has a program where they pay for the plane ticket if you sign up to go and you meet certain criteria. The tuition and housing and all that is the same as if I were going to be in St. Louis. I just go hop on a plane and take classes towards my degree in a different country."

Holman, Treadway, and Browning stand in the main commercial/business district of Geneva, Switzerland.

Treadway, who took two eight-week courses in Geneva, said while he was away, he went to class two days a week. The rest of the time he was there he got to travel and do various other activities.

"It was a completely different experience," Treadway said. "It was incredible. I loved every minute of it."

Treadway noted that a lot of things are different in Geneva.

"It was really cool, especially coming from somewhere like Kennett or Southeast Missouri, to be able to go and see all these things that you learn about in school when you are younger," Treadway said. "I got to see them and go walk around and meet people from all over the world. It was incredible. It was a great experience."

When asked what his favorite part of the trip was, Treadway had a difficult time pin-pointing a single topic, but said, "I thought it was really great to be able to live in a completely different culture than what I was used to. It was a very humbling and maturing time to be able to be completely away from anyone and everyone that I knew here at home and just be there and be able to meet new people and see how other people live and how people in a different part of the world view things."

When asked why he chose Geneva, Treadway said it was because Switzerland is a "big center for human rights," adding that it is also home to the second largest United Nations' building in the world and is where the League of Nations was started.

"There is a lot of historical relevance to Geneva, Switzerland," Treadway said. "So I guess that is why I chose it."

Treadway said while overseas, he faced a language barrier as Geneva was predominantly a French-speaking country.

"I've taken many years of Spanish and that doesn't come in handy at all there," Treadway joked. "It was definitely a very humbling experience to get to a country and not know how to say anything to pretty much anyone.

"One of the guys I went with, he was my roommate in St. Louis, he had taken several years of French but he got to Switzerland like a day or two after I got there. So the first couple of days, me and a couple of other people who were all living in the same little complex, none of us knew French so we couldn't really do anything. We would kind of fumble through it, flip through a book and try to find key words to talk to people. Once he got there, he was able to have a conversation and we could order food and that sort of thing.

"After being there for only two months, I was fine. I could carry on minor conversations with people, order food from restaurants, talk to the cashier at a grocery store; the minimal kind of things to get by. That alone was a great experience because I learned enough of another language that I could get by. If I would have stayed there another few months, I'm sure I would be able to do even more."

Treadway said Webster has several other campuses around the world, along with the one in Switzerland.

"They have actual campuses in several other countries," Treadway said. "Many schools have Study Abroad programs, but it's not the exact same schools. With Webster, they have a campus in St. Louis, they have a campus in London, [England]; Lieden in the Netherlands; Geneva, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria, two in Thailand, and one in China.

"It was a great experience," Treadway said. "One of the great things about Webster in general is that a lot of the teachers are professionals, where they have other jobs where they work. In Geneva, Switzerland, most of the teachers had second jobs at the UN or they worked for this world organization or this organization, and that sort of thing. So through the classes that I had, a couple of my teachers were very prominent in their field, so they had a lot more experience knowledge to pass along, as well as book knowledge."

Treadway, who recently finished his second year of college, said he hopes to take part in the Study Abroad program again next year, possibly with international legal studies at Lieden.