Aiza Khan has been quite busy during her last four years at Emerson College. Not only is she a Communication Studies major with minors in both Psychology and Leadership and Management, but she has also been involved with multiple organizations on campus. Along with her classes, she has been an active member of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi, a Resident Assistant for two years, a desk coordinator in the residence halls and has been the awards coordinator for the Emerson Recognition Awards.
After keeping herself so involved at Emerson through her junior year, she decided to get out of “the bubble” and study abroad in Greece through Athena Study Abroad. Aiza says, “I absolutely love traveling…I chose this program because I didn’t know anyone studying there and I also really wanted to be in good weather and near the water.” Hailing from southern California, Aiza is no stranger to traveling and good weather. She loves the atmosphere and activities California has to offer, but she has loved going to school out in Boston. “I love seeing actual seasons here. I think it’s beautiful.” When asked about the main reason she enjoys the East Coast, she says it’s the attitudes of the people who live here that makes the difference. “I love the people on the East Coast,” Aiza says. “I love that they cut the bullshit and are just real.”
When it came time for her experience abroad, she was excited to be introduced to new people, culture and art. On the surface, some may think a study abroad program on an island—Paros Island, to be exact—sounds like a long vacation. However, just as with everything else, Aiza kept fully engaged with her studies and interests. “I studied art on the island and got to travel to various different islands in Greece,” Aiza says of her time abroad. “I really learned that there is so much more in the world than what I thought. I always felt that students got easily stuck in the fast paced environment of America—realizing that that’s not all what’s out there in the world was a good feeling.”
Aiza returned from her study abroad program refreshed and with an even more positive outlook on her last few semesters at Emerson. Her chapter is coming to an end here, but she will have plenty of adventures waiting for her beyond Boston. As for the future? Aiza simply says, “I hope to be living a happy life.” With her empathetic and kind nature, that shouldn’t be too difficult.