Studying abroad is a great opportunity to continue to earn your college education while immersing yourself in a new culture. While traveling to a foreign country can be scary, sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is necessary in order to expand your horizons. Students of all different majors from colleges around the world decide to spend a summer, semester, or sometimes even a full year abroad.
“After choosing a school so close to home, I also wanted to see what it was like fully living on my own in a different country. I absolutely love to travel so being able to live and study away seemed like a great option,” Sydney Friedmann, a junior at Temple University who studied in London, England, said.
Friedman shared, “One of my favorite memories in London was toward the end of my trip when we went to Trident Studios. Trident was once a thriving recording studio that recorded some of music’s most legendary acts such as The Rolling Stones, Queen, Elton John and The Beatles. The building now mainly records audio for movies and commercials, it was amazing listening to the current owner tell us stories about what once went on in the space we were sitting in. While he was going through his presentation, we figured out that the night we were there and even the hour, marked the anniversary that The Beatles recorded ‘Hey Jude’ in the room just below where we were sitting, decades before.”
“Another highlight of the trip was my involvement in covering the birth of Prince George for TUTV. I was able to be outside of the hospital and at Buckingham Palace with press from around the world. The other students and I interviewed Royal family ‘super fans’ and got to see first-hand what it was like covering a major news event.”
While some students may not have the option to study abroad due to high expenses, more and more scholarships are being offered for college students.
“I was always interested in studying abroad (all throughout high school), but I felt like it was beyond my means. When I got to college, however, I realized I could go abroad on scholarship, and decided to go for it. I was convinced that study abroad was the best way for me to travel and continue my studies,” Yashi Dixit, a sophomore at Temple University who spent part of her summer in Korea, explained.
“I honestly fell in love with Seoul. In the first week, we traveled to Pyeongchang and stayed at a really nice resort, which coincidentally was the filming site of Hotel King, a Korean drama that was still airing at the time. For the rest of my time in Korea, I was living in Seoul, in dorms on Yonsei University’s campus,” Dixit said.
Amma Prociuk, a sophomore at Temple University, decided to spend five weeks of her summer in Cusco, Peru. “I would definitely recommend studying abroad. You make friends, learn a new language, experience different cultures, and get to visit so many amazing places. You also widen your understanding of the world and of yourself because you see a completely different way of life from its perspective,” Prociuk said.
Owen Steinberger, a sophomore at University College Dublin, decided to leave the familiarity of suburban Pennsylvania behind and attend college in a foreign country.
“I chose Dublin to study writing in a nation known for its writers and to meet people from all sorts of cultures while absorbing the country around me.” Steinberger stated. “You haven’t gone out drinking until you’ve done it in Ireland! It’s hard to come up with specific moments, as I’d say it’s certainly been a difficult experience, but so far has been worth it.”
He advised, “It’s impossible to be completely culturally aware, or to be a truly well-rounded person without exposing yourself to different viewpoints than those of your own upbringing.”