May 5, 2025
Ferris State's Joe Weisenburger Has Transformative Semester Abroad in the Netherlands
Ferris State student Joe Weisenburger is graduating in May of 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with minors in Construction Management and International Business. Last spring he completed a 5-month study abroad experience in the Netherlands at Hogeschool Utrecht (HU).
Weisenburger chose to live in student housing with other international students, so he was around like-minded individuals who wanted to travel the world. Additionally, on their first day, the international students had orientation together, so Weisenburger was able to make friends right off the bat. He met and made friends with people from Spain, Ireland, and France.
In the beginning of his trip, he joined a club called Erasmus Student Network, which is an organization that caters to certain universities and areas. While he was there, they hosted social events every week where students could intermingle. There was also an option to volunteer and help set up events. Weisenburger joined this club to build more connections as he first arrived at HU and eventually volunteered to help.
A cultural difference that Weisenburger noticed was the transportation system. In the United States, cars are the main form of transportation, but he explained that he rarely rode in a car while he was there. He expressed that the Netherlands had busses, trams, and trains that could go anywhere. He explained “It’s like a hub in Europe… you could go anywhere from the Netherlands. Their train system is massive.”
As a result of the very accessible transportation system, Weisenburger was able to travel during his time abroad. He explained that the spring semester in the Netherlands contained many holidays. He says “I think that’s why my semester was 5 minutes long. It’s because there are a lot of breaks. [There are] a lot of festivals that the Netherlands puts on… the spring is the best time to go to HU… hands down.”
In May, during a week and a half of his study abroad trip, he had the opportunity to fly from the Netherlands to London. Then from London, he flew to Prague, Czech Republic, after that he took a train down through Vienna, Austria. Lastly, he took the train again to Budapest and then flew back to the Netherlands just in time for class the next day. Weisenburger explains, “It’s worth it to go over there because… you’re not just going to stay in the Netherlands… you will have time to go travel.”
Studying abroad has opened Weisenburger up to the idea of working in different countries. He explained
how his experience made him feel more comfortable with aiming higher. He says that now he feels more comfortable living somewhere new, traveling to various places, and communicating with those from a different culture. So, he has been thinking about applying to graduate school or jobs abroad.
Weisenburger’s advice for those who may study abroad is to “make the most of it because even though I was there for five months… it still went by very fast.” He explains that in Europe, they encourage travel. So, he encourages people to put just as much into experiencing the culture as they do into their studies.