It never fails that as soon as the semester begins to take some semblance of a schedule, at least one professor announces to a class what it means to become a “global citizen.”

A global citizen,” that professor will say, is someone who is aware of international events. It’s a person who takes an active, and often dedicated, interest in international affairs. It’s someone who is willing to make the world, not just a country or a city, his or her home.

Then the professor will add, It’s not enough to just study at one school. Employers want to see that you have studied abroad at some point—they want to know that you have taken a vested interest.

What starts out as an interesting and enticing speech becomes a make it or break it decision for a future job position in a matter of seconds.

Talk about some serious pressure.

But, really, is that what defines a global citizen?

I think in some ways it is a very good definition, but professors forget one crucial objective: A global citizen is someone who leaves a mark on the world and isn’t afraid to call another city or country his or her “home away from home.”

As I enter my fourth year at UNA, I have had the opportunity to do volunteer work in the Dominican Republic, visit and study in China twice in the same year and spend a month conducting research in London, England.

I thought that as I traveled, I would feel a sense of satisfaction. I thought I would be content with settling down in Florence to focus on my studies, but what I thought was completely wrong. Instead of feeling content, I have found that my interest in global news has only intensified, and that interest has, in turn, spurred my desire see and experience the world.

In short, each foreign country and city I visited, every person I met helped to mold me into a global citizen.

As I got the opportunity to travel, though, I noticed that many students at UNA seemed to lack any interest in global affairs, heck, even other countries. The complete lack of interest is both alarming and unsettling, to me at least.

It’s one of the reasons why the editors and I decided to devote articles in the paper toward international affairs this year. It’s also why Pace Holdbrooks, the news editor, and I decided to begin running a series called “Why should students care about (fill in the blank)?”

In the series, we would like to break down some complex issues that are happening around the world. It is our hope that the series could spur an interest in the topic, whether it be China, Syria or the economy, and encourage further research.

My love for travel grew from books and articles that I read. While some of us may not have the opportunity to travel to the places we’ve read about, we will have the opportunity to feel transported to that area by what we read. I know it sounds strange, and it sounds a little silly, but hear me out.

You don’t need to purchase a plane ticket to prove you’re interested in global affairs —reading a newspaper, sharing a tweet by some news organization or conducting a simple Google search is proof enough.

While our professors are encouraging us to study abroad, what they really want is for us to become interested in affairs outside of the campus, state and national communities. They want us to see feel a connection with someone or some event that is completely foreign, at least for a little while. And that connection is the spark into creating a global citizen out of us. It’s really kind of clever.

So, this year let The Flor-Ala help you start a journey across the world, from the safety of your own couch or GUC chair. Get involved and be active. I think you, and your professors, will be glad you did.