Virtual exchange leads to trans-Atlantic friendship

Most students head to the beach to soak up some sun for spring break. Senior nursing student Jordan Wellborn from Powhatan, Virginia, had other plans. She found herself traveling the countryside on a train to Groningen, Netherlands, with her parents to meet her nursing pen pal, Mirthe Smit.

Upon meeting, the pair instantly clicked - spending nearly six hours exploring Groningen and bonding over their love of animals, retail grocery experience and desire to work in nursing. "Our friendship is very much like we have known each other forever," Wellborn said.

The duo first connected as part of a virtual exchange program organized by Radford University's College of Nursing Professor Jayme Haynes and Professor Astrid Niersman of Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen. A total of 80 Radford students in the Foundations of Nursing Practice course were paired with Netherlands students to share about their different cultures and nursing training.

"It's really hard to teach a cultural concept with students," Haynes said. "I can talk about my experience, but it's not the same as what they get when they actually are talking to those [Hanze] students."

Students connected through Zoom or Teams, exchanging five photos to share their lives and spark conversations about education and nursing training. As relationships grew, they traded videos and campus tours. Radford students created a PowerPoint, while Hanze students pointed out landmarks from a rooftop. Wellborn and her assigned partner, Smit, hit it off so well that they connected on Instagram for weekly chats. "I believe as much as I was interested in her culture, she was just as interested in mine," said Wellborn.

Wellborn wasn't the only one who enjoyed the virtual exchange. A record-breaking 52 students applied for the Netherlands Study Abroad trip during spring break. Wellborn was one of only 11 students selected for the voyage.

The first week was dedicated to sightseeing and absorbing the culture in Amsterdam; highlights from the second week included touring universities, hospitals and medical museums, which provided valuable industry knowledge, like how the Netherlands deals with catastrophes. Trains, bikes and narrow cobblestone roads took students to a Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank House and a Dutch pancake joint. In addition to pancakes, Wellborn got to taste the Netherlands when Smit gifted her a goody bag of local delicacies.

The travelers didn't just bring back souvenirs; they learned valuable lessons about a new culture. According to Haynes, immersion in a non-primary language environment was students' biggest takeaway. Even a task as simple as riding trains became difficult when the route information and officials used Dutch.

"That's like when you're in a hospital, and you understand the language, and someone else doesn't," Haynes reflected. "It's very hard to understand that. But my students who've been on the study abroad program realize what it's like to not be the person who knows the primary language." Wellborn added that if a patient with a significant language barrier comes for treatment, "it's something serious."

While all students gained a deeper understanding of language barriers, one connection went even further.

Wellborn had a truly unique experience as she was the only student given the opportunity to meet her virtual exchange partner in person. "Meeting [Smit] was something I didn't know would happen when I originally did the virtual exchange project, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Wellborn. "I truly believe that she will be an amazing nurse … I hope one day she will be able to come to the U.S.!"