"Go somewhere. Go anywhere. I am a firm believer that people should take any chance to stretch their mind and expand their worldview during our college careers and our lives in general . When I went to study abroad in a foreign country, I quickly shifted out of my comfortable life in College Park, for the first time, and took on the role of an active visitor, learner, and traveler."

"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."

"The programming setup before the beginning of classes forced me to meet others and to trust myself. This made me more confident and allowed me to experience things I never would have otherwise. For example, I completed a surf camp, I tried skydiving, scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, and also explored both Thailand and New Zealand."

"Studying abroad is an experience you will never forget, one that is unique to you and how you decide to live it. It's learning outside the classroom, where class is probably the only normal thing you experience on a regular basis."

"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."

"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."