News

"Because ethnicity is such a huge part of the European population makeup, people will say "You don't look American." I would advise you to challenge their beliefs and respond with "Yes, I am American, and we are diverse."

"One of the best examples of becoming comfortable with unfamiliarity is living with a host family. Within one week I grew very comfortable with my host family just by conversing with them in my somewhat broken Spanish and diving right into the experience of full immersion."

"As I traveled the world, I began to realize how overwhelmingly little I actually knew about the rest of the world and all of this incoming information was helping to provide me with added perspective and has thusly made me more well-rounded."

"The world may be becoming more interconnected, but it is still a very big place. I met all kinds of people from all walks of life all over the world and now I can say that I have close friends in five continents, including other civil engineers."

"I am happy to say that I have a network of close friends from all over the country! The four months absolutely flew by and now I feel more independent, open-minded, and motivated to make travel and international experiences a lifelong interest."

Leaving the US to go study abroad in Japan was exhilarating because it was the first time I was alone and without any relatives nearby.