As a student passionate about sustainability as demonstrated by the following achievements, I believe I am the next Global Citizen of the Year. While studying abroad for nine months in Milan, I became fervently passionate about sustainability and transitioned my lifestyle accordingly. Through this transition, I switched my diet to veganism, boycotted fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara, and expressed my newfound creativity.

Foremost, I became vegan after being inspired by the abundance of fresh produce at farmers’ markets, and the importance of high quality food to the Italian culture. By being vegan, I began fueling my body with the highest quality food from farmers’ markets and farm-to-table restaurants, rather than typical junk food filled with preservatives. This allowed me to lose nearly 15 pounds and regain my health. In doing so, I also gained energy, and was able to put my best foot forward in my studies, work, and travels. Additionally, I learned the importance of supporting small farmers at markets because, on average, our food travels nearly 1,500 miles to the point of where we purchase it. I realized I could avoid this gas and emission pollution by buying local produce, something I proudly did every week in Milan alongside the locals.  

Secondly, I had the opportunity to intern at a fashion company called Front Row Tribe, a company similar to Rent the Runway. The business model of this company revolved around renting the same 20-30 designer dresses to customers. This concept introduced me to the idea of sustainable fashion, rather than introducing new items into the fashion cycle. While interning here, I had the opportunity to model one of the outfits and create Instagram content for the company. After this shoot, I realized I could adopt this idea of sustainable fashion to my personal wardrobe. Thus, I boycotted “fast fashion” companies, such as H&M and Zara, which are major contributors to pollution and climate change. Instead, I began shopping at thrift stores and flea markets, like East Market Milano, in order to reduce my carbon footprint and buy what was already in the market.

Aside from making the previously mentioned changes, I also learned how to express my creativity through new styles of clothing, photography, and writing. Between classes and my internship, I would sit in a café or a park and observe the fashion styles of the locals. I would write down my favorite details and pieces, and try to incorporate them into my style. This allowed me to broaden my style and differentiate myself in the blogging industry by reaching over 30,000 page views. Additionally, I had the opportunity to take a photography class at IES Abroad which allowed me to strengthen my photography skills. These skills are demonstrated on my blog, as well as my experience as an IES Abroad Photo Correspondent. Likewise, I connected with photographers on my program who continued to challenge my creative side. Together, we were able to collaborate and have photoshoots in professional photography studios, and around the city. Lastly, I learned how to express my creativity through writing by taking a creative writing course at the local university, Università Cattolica. These creative expressions allowed me to further formulate my brand of A Newer Kat in Town.

Upon my arrival back to the United States, I continued this sustainability journey by interning at a sustainable company, transitioning my blog to a sustainable fashion and lifestyle blog, and becoming zero-waste. Just three days after my arrival back home, I began interning at a sustainable water bottle company in New York City called S’well Bottle. While interning at S’well, I worked in Sales to promote the bottle to sustainable fashion companies. In doing so, I continued to learn of the horrors of the “fast fashion” fashion industry and made the decision to transition my existing fashion blog, A Newer Kat in Town, to a sustainable fashion and lifestyle blog. I no longer wanted to promote and collaborate with “fast fashion” brands as I had done in the past. Rather, I began collaborating and creating campaigns with eco-friendly brands such as Matter Prints, Empire Street Style, and Swap Consignment.

Aside from collaborating with these brands, I also connected with like-minded bloggers by attending my first official fashion show during New York Fashion Week, a dream I had since experiencing Milan Fashion Week. During this period, I simultaneously began to evaluate my other lifestyle practices, most notably the amount of trash I produced. While in Milan, my apartment was required to compost and recycle, having five different bins in our kitchen for glass, metal, plastic, compost, and trash. With this in mind, our apartment of seven girls only produced about one bag of trash per week. This starkly contrasted with the one bag of trash I alone was producing each week back home. I realized that I had to change in order to align my values of sustainability with my daily actions. Therefore, I decided to become zero-waste. That’s right, I produce zero waste! I made this change by using reusable bags and jars, shopping in bulk, buying unpackaged food, and adjusting all of my purchases so that I could produce zero waste. I now incorporate these practices into my blog, and inspire others to make these simple switches as well.

As the year progresses, I am continuing to learn new sustainable practices, and inspiring others to do the same through my blog and social media platforms. In the upcoming weeks, I will be launching a sustainable, vintage fashion company which will be showcased at Villanova University’s annual fashion show in February, as well as writing my first e-book. I look forward to inspiring others to find newer, more sustainable ways of doing things, changing the way we look at fashion, and creating a world with more creativity and less pollution.

When I decided to study abroad in Santiago in the spring of 2017, I knew that I wanted to get involved and learn about the community that was going to be home for the next couple of months. During my college career, education inequity issues and college access for low-income students fueled me to get involved and work with organizations that seek to make an impact to change the reality of our nation’s inequity in education. My experience navigating the U.S. education system as a Latina first generation college student gave me the opportunity to understand the experience of many groups and engage with organizations that work with students who face these challenges. Through my work with organizations like Al Exito and Breakthrough that work toward these mission statements in the United States, I was able to be part of organizations that assisted and guided low-income students of color to obtain access to higher education. Working with these organizations have been a key part of my college experience as they have allowed me to merge my personal experience, passion, and classroom learnings to hands-on experience. Therefore, prior to choosing my study abroad program, I knew that an internship was essential. It would not only put me in a position to interact with the local community, but also give both of us the opportunity to learn from each other. 

Through the Politics, Social Justice, and Language program in Santiago, I worked with Belen Educa, a Chilean non-profit organization that serves low-income communities in Santiago by providing students with a high-quality education. As I worked at one of their schools, Colegio Alberto Hurtado, I assisted the English Department in the classroom, as well as helped with events, programming, and administrative work. My journey at this school completely changed my perspectives on what education looks like internationally and expanded my mind.  Every interaction with the teachers, students, and administrators made me aware of why this type of work is essential globally. The first and foremost important lesson I learned with the group of 7-12th grade students was the importance of cultural competency no matter your background or race. Therefore, my mindset consisted of learning about the community first and allowing them to guide me in the different ways I could support their needs. I strongly believe that working with communities creates a bigger impact than working for them. I was fortunate that the students and teachers allowed me to share my personal experiences and have them guide me on the different ways we could work together to learn from each other.

When I think of what changing the world looks like, I remember my personal experience. I had several people believe in me and guide me through my educational journey which completely changed my world for the better. I think that my experience working at Colegio Alberto Hurtado taught me that although I only worked with 7-12th grade and not the whole school, it takes planting a seed in one person to create change. I’m hopeful that the students were able to take lessons from our conversations in the same way I did. I hope that in one way during our individual tutoring, class sessions, and daily interactions I was able to change their perspective and create motivation in their lives in the same way they did with my life.

The tools and skills I gained during this experience allowed me to continue this work back in my local community. I presented my experience abroad working at the school to students and families at my college campus, and therefore engage others on the importance of this work locally, nationally, and globally. I currently co-lead a mentoring and tutoring program at the Meskwaki Settlement School in South Tama, Iowa. As a result of the cumulative work with several organizations, I am in the process of publishing a cultural competent college access mentoring curriculum that different organizations can use. In addition, working with Belen Educa encouraged my interest to work with education policy and make it into my career. My time abroad would have not been the same without this experience. It not only changed me personally and academically, but also made me excited for my career path.

Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Milan or why Italy? How did your journey begin?

I decided to study in abroad in Italy mainly because my father is from Italy. He was born in Naples and came to the United States when he was around my age, around 20-21 years old, first to study, and then he ended up staying. So I have a serious personal connection to Italy. Most of my family, especially on his side, is still there. I have family in Naples and family more in the center of the country as well. I've always had a tie towards there. I've always had a passion for the language. I've learned it a bit in the house growing up and studied it in school as well. And one of my major goals for study abroad was to gain complete fluency in the language.

So my decision to go to Italy was pretty straightforward, whereas my decision to go to Milan wasn't so much so. Milan, I actually never been to until I decided to go there. When I landed on January 15th last year, that was my first time in Milan. So that was a totally new experience for me, and it was pretty different from the Italy I knew. It was a lot more modern, a lot more cosmopolitan, subway system works, etc., which isn't necessarily true in many other parts of Italy. That in itself was a very interesting experience for me.

We loved your reflection on deciding to step out of your comfort zone in Milan. In your application, you said:

“I distinctly remember feeling the temptation to be lulled by the tepid water of my new comfort zones: the IES Abroad center, my homestay and all of my new friends. Luckily, I sensed that this would not yield me exactly what I hoped to get out of my time abroad; I would be running the risk of jeopardizing the period of personal growth I was yearning for. To push my boundaries even further, I decided to find a way to get involved with the host community.” 

So beautifully said. In your words, why do you feel it is important to leave one’s comfort zone? And what made you choose service learning as a step towards accomplishing this goal?

In terms of my service learning work while I was abroad, I remember distinctly feeling like in the first few days there I really liked IES Abroad Milan. I really liked the friends I was making. I was very confident that it would be a successful semester. However, I was also looking for an opportunity to kind of go beyond that, to really turn this into a period of personal growth for me.

I had studied abroad in Prague for one semester in high school, my second semester of sophomore year, and I remember that being probably the most transformative period in my life. And I just remember really wanting to get that same feeling out of studying in Milan. And I felt like if I got a little too comfortable with what everyone else was doing, maybe it would've just been a fun semester, but not exactly transformative like I wanted it to be. So I viewed service learning as my vehicle for doing that.

The way the course was advertised, it was not necessarily volunteering in the sense of working at a soup kitchen or what you stereotypically think of what volunteering looks like, but it was much more hands-on, much more grounded in the major issue in Italy right now, which is migration. And although I'd read about this stuff in papers, I'd never yet seen it in action, and it's prominent in Milan perhaps even more so than in other parts of Italy. So that was, I think, an incredibly important move that I made in deciding to enroll in that course. It ended up being a very influential experience, and I'm very happy I did that.

I think it's incredibly important to leave your comfort zone, because that's how you grow. That's how you learn more about yourself and more about the world around you. Although it's uncomfortable to leave your comfort zone, it's hard and it's unsettling at times, the reward is always so monumental that you kind of look back and say, "I don't know how I did it, but here I am, and this feels great." So I'm all for leaving your comfort zone. And as I just described before, I think service learning is an incredible vehicle for doing so. I think it gives you all the tools. It doesn't hold your hand in doing so, but it gives you the tools. In my experience, specifically, it gave me the connection to work at the Comune de Milano, volunteering there on a weekly basis and communicating with these people, perhaps in a way I would not have been able to do if I had not gone through the service learning program.

In a few words, tell us about how you have made a positive impact in the world through study abroad.

I think I had a positive impact on the world through study abroad because it forced me to face my own privilege. I consider myself pretty socially conscious and have for quite a while, though I think my time in Italy was a bit different in the way it forced me to view it. I have usually placed myself in the context of American social equities, whereas this put me in a kind of a realm of migration, which I had never yet experienced. So through my volunteer work at the Comune de Milano, I was helping with these translations, helping describe the situations of migrants to the Italian social workers, their trips as well as their visa system, visa application process, and their housing situation.

Your application included a powerful story of translating a Nigerian migrant’s history in reaching Italy, and the responsibility you felt in that moment. You said:

“I felt as if the quality of his care and his future in Italy depended almost entirely on the quality of my translation.”

This reflection ties so closely to something we speak of often: the power one individual can have on another’s life. Share your thoughts with us on this topic. How was this present in your service learning experience?

I think, as listed here, that the quality of my translation was very likely indicative of the quality of their stay in Italy because the social worker that I was volunteering for was reliant on the quality of my translation. If I had failed to adequately translate something or if I neglected to communicate a detail that the migrant was trying to communicate, then that was lost in translation, and neither the social worker nor the migrant would have picked up on that.

So it was absolutely stressful. I felt like I had a lot of responsibility. At times, it was very, very tough. Though I consider myself fluent, sometimes the vocabulary wouldn't come to me or some of the words were too technical, or I hadn't experienced some of these words in relation to migration or visa applications and things like that. So it was complicated, and it forced me out of my comfort zone absolutely every time I went in. But I think it was just an incredibly, incredibly important experience to have as well. And I think, as a result, I ended up really contributing to both the experience of the migrant as well as the [Comune de Milano] center who did not, at the moment, have an English translator.

What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Milan?

I learned a whole lot about the world through my experience in Milan. A lot of it, like I said, through the lens of migration. And to make that more broad, I had learned that the world's most complex issues, the issues that we think are the most hot button right now which we see as a little black and white when we read them online, it's easy to see a ship of migrants in the New York Times and say, "Oh my God, that's horrible. We need to help these people. How are people not doing something about this?" etc. It's very easy to take a side when it comes to stuff like that.

But when you see this in practice, you see the Italian social workers who don't have the resources to better accommodate these people when you see migrants on the street in Italy asking for money on every corner because none of them can find jobs. It makes you wonder exactly where the root of the problem is and what we can really do. Because a lot of the times, we apply these blanket accusations that they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. And my time in service there, they made me wonder, "Well, who is the they? Is it the Italian government? Is it the social workers? Is it the EU?" These are all very important questions that even after my time I don't necessarily have the answer to. And I think most people don't have the answers to those questions. So I say most broadly, it's just understanding the complexities of the situation. Don't just think there's a yes and no question, but more, "what is the situation?", "what can we potentially do about this?"

What did you learn about yourself?

In my time in Italy, I had learned that I'm perhaps a little too ambitious when it comes to solving these problems. I think my social conscience really came into play in the beginning of my college career. When I decided to be a political science major, it was very clear to me that this is what I cared about. And I've never really doubted it since then. But I think I was a little too optimistic back then. Like I said before, I thought things were a little more black and white than they are. I didn't exactly understand how hard it was to change some of these things.

I learned that although I am very passionate about these things, it's incredibly important to understand all sides of the story, to understand why people are thinking about it the way they are, what details are factored into them, how an issue can affect them differently than it's affecting myself. In turn, why that's making them have the stance that they have. So not to be so ambitious and so kind of bulldozer-y in my approach to these social issues, but really try to understand all sides of the story.

How has this experienced shaped your future? What’s next?

I think this has really, really shaped who I am, and it's shaped my future. Right after I came back from study abroad, I took a course at my school on migration and human rights where I actually wrote a 35-page mini-thesis on the socio-economic integration of migrants into Italian society. So rather than just discussing the migration crisis broadly, I decided to examine exactly how or if they're integrated adequately into Italian society, both socially and economically. So I did essentially what I was doing while I was abroad, but then I looked at it through an academic lens while also applying some of my personal experiences.

That was a really, really interesting process for me. I was doing a bit of the reverse of what I guess most people do. Most people would probably study it academically and then go into the field. Whereas here, I did the hands-on stuff, and then came home and studied it. So that was really interesting for me just to see where there were gaps and expectations of reality and where things really aligned.

If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

If I can give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, I would just say try to push yourself out of your comfort zone in every way you can. Although it's easy and it seems fun to just fall in with the rest of the crowd, I would say maintain those friendships. Meet new people. Go places. Go to new cities. Go to new places on the weekends, but also find your own outlet. Find something, whether it's service learning, volunteering, or whatever it may be for you that gives you the opportunity to grow personally as an individual, rather than as a group.

Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad and internship experiences. What made you want to study and intern abroad? Why China and South Africa? How did your journey begin?

Going into this past summer, I had previously studied abroad twice through the College of DuPage. The first time was in Bordeaux, France during the summer of 2013 before I started my undergraduate program at the University of Iowa. While in the midst of my coursework at Iowa, I went to study German in Berlin during the summer of 2015. Both of these experiences taught me more about myself than I had ever learned before.

While completing my undergraduate, I knew that the summer between graduation and starting grad school at Rush University’s Master of Health Systems Management program was a big opportunity to do something I’d remember forever. Before I applied to graduate school, I considered doing a gap year abroad but came to the realization that I could consolidate that time into an incredible gap summer for a fraction of the cost.

I chose to study abroad in China because I had a keen curiosity to learn about the economic and social climate of such an emerging global superpower. I wanted to pair an experience in China with one almost on the complete opposite end of the spectrum in interning for the Western Cape Department of Health in Cape Town, South Africa. The African continent was one I had never previously explored and felt that the time was now to gain real-time public hospital work experience while exploring the southern section of the massive continent.

Through my travels, I’ve learned I learn the most about myself while in situations unfamiliar to me. Thus, on this quest of self-discovery, I chose two countries, which have completely different sets of values to each other in order to hopefully, understand the most that I could about myself and about the world from the experience.

In your application, you shared that funding this experience wasn’t easy. What was it that made you so committed to this making this experience a reality?

When I made the decision to take this unforgettable “gap summer,” I knew it would certainly be costly. I applied for every scholarship I was eligible for through the University of Iowa, IES Abroad, and any national or state organization I could discover.

In addition to this, I worked at Cortado Coffee & Café in Iowa City as a cook, bus boy, prep chef, and food runner for as many hours as I could fit into a week and save every penny that I could. Some days would go by where I opened the café at 6 a.m. and wouldn’t leave until I closed at 8 p.m., which meant, I never even saw the sun.

I was so committed to making this experience a reality because I knew it would change my perception on life, the world, and its people. Ever since I discovered I wanted to be a healthcare administrator, I also knew that I always wanted to work in a hospital somewhere in Africa, at some point in my career. This was at the top of my bucket list as it gave me an incredible sense of empathy, which I knew would be absolutely vital in my future career in the healthcare field.

The day after you graduated you got on a plane and took off for three months. Over the course of a summer, you traversed three continents and had uniquely compelling experiences in each. How did those experiences compare and contrast with each other?

I would say that the experiences I had in China, Southern Africa, and Europe were all different in their own way.

In China, a lot of the experiences I had were focused on learning about how business is conducted in China. The group I traveled with had a lot of site visits with major international corporations located in Beijing and Shanghai. These site visits presented incredible learning opportunities to be informed of how business protocol in China differs from that of the United States. Outside of “learning the business,” we took a day trip to the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and a day at Disney Land Shanghai!

Heading to Cape Town and Southern Africa was a real change of pace. China was full of modern high rises with incredible light displays on the faces of the buildings. Southern Africa was all about the natural beauty. In China, due to the abundant smog and air pollution, there wasn’t a single day with a clear blue sky. While in South Africa, I can’t remember a day that was ever even cloudy! Between Table Mountain National Park and the ocean, the city of Cape Town’s vibe was much less “hustle and bustle” and more relaxed.

The South African experience was also much different from the China one as I was working as a Health Management Intern for 2 months. This came with a lot more freedom to explore as everyday after work was my own and every weekend I could go where ever I wanted to go. I went into South Africa with a bucket list and crossed everything off the list I wanted to. I traveled to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. I went hiking, surfing, riding a camel in the desert, sand boarding, and a sunset dinner cruise just to name a few.

After traveling to all these different countries and having an abundance of new experiences, I made my way to Europe to experience a little familiarity and to catch up with some old friends in the remaining two weeks of my grand adventure. While traveling through Austria, Switzerland, and Italy I was able to spend quality time with my friends playing golf, hiking, flying in a plane around the Swiss alps, and trying all kinds of delicious foods.

What did they teach you about the world at large?

The combination of these experiences taught me the value of never being afraid to try something new. Out of all the new things I tried this summer, I never did something and regretted it. This told me that the world is full of all kinds of opportunities and places worth exploring and trying. It also taught me how surprisingly easy it is to find commonalities with people from all over the world. We’re all more alike in this world than we are different!

And about yourself?

These experiences taught me the importance of continuing to travel and learn more from the world. It is crazy to thank that I’ve been to 16 countries in my 23 years and its not even 10% of all the countries left for me to explore!

I’ve learned to never refrain from doing something just because you’re the only one who wants to do it, and to simply not stress. When you travel, you realize and see first-hand some of the greater problems facing humanity. By putting all of the little things that might stress us out into perspective, you see the magnitude of the problem doesn’t warrant the stress associated with it!

I’ve learned to appreciate the little things in life and that I’m committed to continually learning more and more about the world every time I travel!

In a few words, tell us about how you have made a positive impact in the world through studying and interning abroad.

I feel as though I made a positive impact on the world through study abroad by working in the South African public hospital systems, which serve some of the least fortunate and most deserving people in the community.

Many of South Africa’s public hospitals are poorly resourced and there is often little time and resources available to improve workflow efficiency or develop creative new ideas. As a Health Management Intern, I was able to jump into the healthcare system and approach the operations of New Somerset Hospital from a perspective well outside of a South African context.

Given this freedom to innovate, I was able to design and implement process improvements from the ground up which have outlived my time and Cape Town and make a lasting tangible difference to New Somerset Hospital and the patient community they serve.

Why do you believe intercultural understanding is important in the medical field?

I believe that intercultural understanding is critical in the medical field due to the fact that, over the next few years, you will see a large expansion of the American Academic Medical Center (AMC) abroad.

This international expansion is one of the greatest reasons why I decided to embark on the path I am currently on. By having international American AMCs, the amount of difference clinicians and administrators will be able to make will exponentially increase. This expansion will lead to improved global health outcomes while simultaneously create access to care for patients that they may have not had previously. Clinicians at the top AMCs in the country see international patients regularly. By having intercultural understanding, we can enhance the patient experience by catering the care and service we provide them, to their needs and desires. Also, when expanding internationally, one must be aware of the market in which they are entering, as it may be drastically different than the United States. A meticulous analysis of cross-cultural competencies will lead to successful expansion internationally for the American AMC.

How has this experienced shaped your future? What’s next?

Studying and interning abroad was one of the most abundantly clear reasons to me on why I began down the path of becoming a healthcare administrator. By being able to see the need for the quality of care we experience in the United States abroad, first hand, I knew I was pursuing a career that would not only help better global health outcomes, but also one that I would find absolute joy in doing everyday.

After finishing this semester at Rush University’s HSM program, I’ll be moving to Cleveland in May as a summer administrative resident with Cleveland Clinic’s imaging department. I couldn’t be more excited and thankful for the opportunity to work for such an organization that makes a difference in the lives of countless patients at home and abroad on a daily basis.

Upon completion of my summer administrative residency, I will be applying for a number of postgraduate administrative fellowship positions with several organizations across the country to start in the summer of 2020. I’m really excited for what my future holds and can’t thank my family, close friends, colleagues, professors and mentors enough for all the incredible support they show me day in and day out to as I continue to push toward my dreams.

If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

If you’re sitting there, reading this, considering the pros and cons of studying abroad, think no further and just go for it.

The experience you will have will completely alter the way you see the world and how you live your life on a daily basis. When you go, do absolutely everything and anything that you can in the time that you have, because it will fly by, and you will wish you had done more with the time that you have.

Which leads me to my unique piece of advice that is not standard to what you may hear elsewhere. While I was in South Africa this summer I really wanted to go to Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, Namibia for a weekend. None of my other fellow interns wanted to go however and I was left with a decision. Do I not go on the basis no one else wants to, or do I go on my own because its something I really wanted to go?

I decided to go and had the absolute BEST WEEKEND I have ever had. While travelling completely alone, in a country where I knew absolutely no one, I learned more than I ever thought I would about myself and a new culture while also having a ton of fun doing activities such as, sand boarding, riding a camel in the desert, and kayaking with thousands of seals in the bay.

Always follow your heart and seize all of the moments because you will regret not doing so!

Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Buenos Aires? How did your journey begin?

I wanted to study abroad since I came to Lafayette. I love traveling, meeting new people, and new cultures, so living in an entirely new place sounded very appealing. And so, I started looking at programs pretty early on.

I wanted to go to Latin America because I knew absolutely nothing about it except that it had beautiful lands and corrupt systems. I wanted to improve my Spanish skills and to be in a big and diverse city, where I could meet people from different backgrounds and try different things, such as attending a tango class. As I looked into Buenos Aires, it seemed like a great option, with a European influence combined with the Latin American culture and the distinct landscapes that were all across Argentina that I was so excited to visit.

You have a uniquely global perspective as an international student studying in the United States who chose to study abroad in Buenos Aires. How do you feel this influenced your study abroad experience?

I was more willing to leave my comfort zone and I valued connections with local communities more. Coming to the United States, I had been through the process of moving to a new country and starting from zero. It took me some time then to realize that becoming uncomfortable was so important for self-growth.

Through making friends with Americans, learning slang, Netflix (it wasn’t worldwide yet), and various aspects of the American culture, I got learn a new perspective, a new way to perceive the world around me. That is why I wanted to engage with the local communities and make friends with the people of Buenos Aires.

In a few words, tell us about how you have made a positive impact in the world through study abroad.

During my study abroad experience, I volunteered, worked, observed, and learned. Being back on my college campus, I am now using the resources that are available to take action. My experiences with environmental justice issues in Buenos Aires inspired me to study urban inequality in my home city, in Istanbul.

For my honors thesis, I am studying the impacts of urban renewal projects on displaced residents’ access to urban services, such as health care and education. I still carry the knowledge that I acquired when I was studying abroad. It has an impact on my daily life, on my values, on my future goals.

You came into this adventure seeking deep cultural immersion—a desire we very much connect to! Tell us more about why this level of connection with local people is important to you.

I am a very curious person and when I travel somewhere, I want to learn all about it! Learning about social issues that were prevalent in Buenos Aires and talking to locals about those issues to get their perspectives, I had some of the most memorable conversations. That’s why I wanted to immerse myself and become a part of the community because it was only this way that I could truly understand the Argentine ways. Not just the ones that are advertised and are all around the internet, but the sides of Argentina that the tourists don’t experience.

What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Buenos Aires?

Through my experiences, I learned to appreciate simple things, such as waking up feeling fresh after a good night’s sleep. Volunteering with an NGO that works to alleviate poverty by providing extra living space, I went to a villa where there are no roads nor a sewage system, spent time in a house where there is no furniture nor heating system, slept on the ground for two nights… The basic needs that a lot of people take for granted were missing in these houses.

We had talked about poverty statistics in Argentina in my classes. Being there, I saw those statistics in action. And yet, the people still had mate, a common Argentine beverage, to share with us, the volunteers. We all drank from the same cup, the language barrier disappeared, as well as other factors that rendered us different. We were all people, working towards the same goal, and we all loved mate.

I was also volunteering weekly with an organization that works with families that live in a villa in the city of Buenos Aires in order to empower development. Volunteering at a daycare center, I helped kids with their homework, played hula-hoop, and organized language activities. These kids generally came from underprivileged backgrounds and had immigrant parents. This center was crucial for their development because they received educational assistance, nutritious food and were surrounded by people who genuinely cared about them.

Leaving the affluent neighborhood that I was living in to volunteer in deprecated neighborhoods and learn about the realities of Buenos Aires, developing relationships with underprivileged communities and listening to their stories, having conversations with my roommate about her internship – which was about living conditions in a poor neighborhood – made me think more and more about environmental justice problems that exist in Argentina, in Turkey, and all around the world.

The discussions we had in the Service Learning Seminar course were really eye-opening and thought-provoking for understanding the social issues in Argentina. Later on, my internship with an Argentine organization introduced me to the topics of international development and helped me place my volunteering experiences in an international development context.

What did you learn about yourself?

Studying abroad, for me, was as much about realization as it was about learning. The perspectives and experiences I gained in Argentina made me realize how much I care about opportunities for all, specifically for vulnerable populations. Maybe it was the freedom of being in a city with so many options, or it was the mindset of studying abroad – the pursuit of discovery and exploration. Experimenting, discovering, and opening yourself up to new experiences. Running into different scenarios of life and learning how to react. Learning what matters to you, and then carrying them with you along the way.

How has this experienced shaped your future? What’s next?

Through my experiences in Buenos Aires, I was exposed to different topics of community and global development and was inspired to study a topic that I deeply care about for my honors thesis. Moving forward, I plan to work in economic development, a field that I wasn’t familiar with until studying abroad.

If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

Make sure to feel uncomfortable at least once every day.

Learn more about Idil's experiences in Buenos Aires on her IES Abroad Blog.

In your application for this award, you reflected on the beginning of your experience, saying, “I want to say there were a lot of factors that I took into consideration when I decided to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, but that would not be true…I heard the words ‘service learning’ and ‘youth’ and that was it.” Tell us more about this point in your journey.

I always knew that I wanted to travel the world but I knew that I did not want to do so in a way that would only benefit me. I did not want to just travel the world. I wanted to serve the world.

A few months before I decided to study abroad in South Africa, I went on a trip to London with my school for a week. I had a great time but something was missing. It did not feel right for me to be taking in all of these experiences in this new place without giving anything in return. That is when I knew my study abroad experience needed to be different.

My mother always told me about how her mission trip to Haiti transformed her life and her world view. She was serving in Haiti while also learning from their way of life. That is the type of experience I wanted. Since I had grown up working with youth at my local homeless shelter and through my service program at the University of Miami, Written in My Soul, I knew I wanted serving youth to be a part of my experience as well.

All of this led up to the conversation I had with my study abroad advisor. “Which programs offer a service component?”, I asked the advisor intently.

“Well our Cape Town program is the only program that offers a service learning component. Through this you can work with youth in schools, at medical clinics, or any sort of service you choose,” the advisor replied.

I heard the words “service learning” and “youth” and that was it. It was decided.

I did not yet know much of anything about the place in which I’d spend 6 months. I just knew that I would have the opportunity to serve youth who look like me and who, like me, are historically disadvantaged. I was hungry to serve, even if it was in a place I hardly knew a thing about. I guess that is what true passion looks like.

Your passion for storytelling and commitment to service have guided this difference you have made in the world. If you could sum it all up, how would you describe the positive impact you’ve had in the world through study abroad?

I think my experience abroad can be summed up with three main points: a passion for service brought me to South Africa, bridging my culture with others led me to have powerful experiences, and my thirst as a writer and storyteller allowed me to share those experiences with a global audience.

Through my study abroad experience in Cape Town, I was able to work with SHAWCO Education, a student-led service organization at the University of Cape Town. The mission of SHAWCO Education is “to practice and promote responsible citizenship in the South African context through health, education, and social entrepreneurship.”

Through SHAWCO, I was able to teach Reading and Math to 2nd and 3rd graders in Nyanga, a black township, and in Manenberg, a coloured township. I had a positive impact on my students, not only because I taught them Reading and Math while also teaching them about my language and culture, but also because I allowed them to teach me about their language and their culture as well. I did not act like I was the only person in the room that had something significant to teach and share. I placed value on what they could teach me as well.

As far as the storytelling aspect of my study abroad experience, I used my blog to write about lessons I’d learned about my own racial identity, the destitute poverty I witnessed on the day to day basis, and how racial issues were discussed much more freely, openly, and honestly in South Africa than in the United States.

I was also able to give others a platform to share their experiences through a video story I did on a local restaurant owner in the township of Langa, which gave her business publicity while also sharing a powerful story with a global audience.

Using my love for writing and storytelling allowed me to not only reflect on the experiences I was having, but I was also able to share my blogs and stories with an audience both in South Africa and back home in the United States to spark meaningful dialogue.

For many of my friends and family back home, my blog was a window into a world much different from what they know. In addition to sharing my perspective on my own blog, I was also able to share my perspectives as an American in South Africa through an article I wrote for the University of Cape Town’s newspaper. This article gave South African readers a taste of the experience of an American student through my eyes.

In sharing your experience teaching in Cape Town, you used the phrase “mutual learning experience.” What does this mean to you? And why is it so important?

Through my eyes, a mutual learning experience is one where both the student studying abroad and those they are interacting with in the community where they are studying benefit and grow from the study abroad experiences.

It is very easy for study abroad students to come to their host country and engage in learning experiences without sharing parts of themselves and allowing their host community to learn from them. It is also easy for study abroad students, specifically service learning students, to have a “savior complex” where they believe they are saving the community they are working with and teaching them while not being open to absorbing what they could learn from those they are serving.

Neither approach is best for maximizing an experience abroad. It is important to share parts of yourself and your culture with others while also being open to learning about their culture and their ideas.

What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Cape Town?

I learned that, while places and people around the world share differences, we share more similarities than we think we do.

While in South Africa, I realized that the country shares many of the same issues that plague America: poverty, racial tensions, and inequality in housing, education, and health care. Though these issues were more pronounced and more drastic in South Africa than they are in America, the way that South Africans addressed these issues was, in my opinion, much more progressive than the way Americans do.

South Africans do not shy away from uncomfortable topics. In fact, they spoke about race, and other topics that Americans would shy away, from openly and freely. For me, engaging in dialogue openly is the first step towards progressive action and change. Though America is considered the “leader of the free world,” there is a lot we can learn from countries that share the same issues we do.

What did you learn about yourself?

Perhaps the most important thing I learned about myself is that I am capable and independent enough to survive and thrive in a country that is completely foreign to me. I knew that I was adaptable, but the experience gave me the confidence and reassurance I needed to know that I would be able to move anywhere I need to in pursuing my career in journalism.

I also learned that I have a thirst to travel and experience new things. I did not realize how much I loved traveling until after my study abroad experience.

On a less positive note, I learned that my own racial identity is a lot less certain than I thought it was. As an African American, my experience in South Africa was sobering as I realized how much of my own culture and heritage was lost in the slave trade. I have now become hungry to know where I come from and where my roots lie.

What role do you believe writing and storytelling plays in global citizenship?

I don’t believe it is enough to go somewhere, have enriching and enlightening experiences, and then keep all that you have seen and learned to yourself. I think a large part of global citizenship is sharing eye-opening ideas and experiences that are realized while abroad with a global audience.

Writing and storytelling helped me to do just that. I didn’t just keep the things I was seeing, learning, and experiencing to myself. I used my blog and my videos to share those experiences with a global audience and give them a look at a different part of the world through my eyes.

How has this experienced shaped your future? What’s next?

My experiences in South Africa have made me both a better servant and a better storyteller.

I now think of my service program, Written in My Soul, as a mutually beneficial learning experience rather than just my volunteers and I solely teaching the kids. I let my students share parts of themselves and teach me about their world as well. I use this to connect with them on a deeper level and build bridges, just like I did in South Africa. I believe this mindset will help me as I move towards expanding Written in My Soul into an official non-profit organization.

As a storyteller, I now think of my stories as providing a window into a world different to that of my viewers. I look for stories that tackle social issues, issues that Americans may find uncomfortable but South Africans would proudly and comfortably discuss.

I use my journalism as a voice for those that are sometimes viewed as voiceless. I, now, not only want to use my journalism career to report on national issues, but also international issues that often are overlooked and unnoticed. I think this passion will set me apart from other journalists as I begin my journey as an on-air reporter.

Perhaps most importantly, my experience abroad has helped me to adopt a new attitude, one that has rubbed off on many of my friends and family as well. I now have a joy and zeal for life that stems from my focus on what I have and not on what I don’t have. I learned that from eighty little 2nd and 3rd graders in Nyanga and Manenberg.

If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

Enter your study abroad experience with an open mind, positive attitude, and a willingness to soak up all that you can from your host country.

However, make sure that you are also contributing something to the country where you are studying. Whether you are serving in the community, sharing your gifts and talents with others, or simply informing others about your culture and where you come from, make sure that you are serving the area where you’re living in some way

Try to do as many new things and step outside of your comfort zone as much as you can! This will help you make memories that will last a lifetime!

Want to hear more about Breana's story? Read how her experience studying and volunteering in South Africa influenced her identity in significant and surprising ways.

To further promote the value of service, Breana gave a TEDx talk at University of Miami on Wednesday, April 24th, titled “The Impact Money Can’t Buy”.

IES Abroad: Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Buenos Aires? How did your journey begin?

Pheonix Pittman (PP): When I was in middle school and preschool, actually, I lived in Germany because my dad was in the Army. So, after I had lived abroad, I knew I wanted to study abroad in college.

Then, I knew I wanted to go to Spanish speaking countries because that was the language I was learning. I choose Buenos Aires because I had not been in South America. I really wanted to explore something new. And then the city of Buenos Aires specifically because I had talked to some other Spelman students who had gone abroad. They had a lot of positive things to say about their experience there.

IES Abroad: You mentioned in your application that you were passionate about maternal health before leaving to study abroad. What sparked that passion for you? 

PP: So, I actually went to a talk on campus where we had some midwives come and speak about maternal health in the black community specifically. And so, that is when I first learned about the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates for black women in the United States. The discussion really stuck with me. And there is a lot of women in my family who have had issues with reproductive health.

Later in an international studies class, I did some research on maternal mortality in Argentina, and I found that they have higher rates than their neighboring countries, Uruguay and Chile. I really enjoyed learning about the social factors, like race and gender that caused a lot of the poor outcomes and maternal health.

So that’s kind of what sparked my interest to do that service abroad. I wanted to see it sort of on the ground and see it from more perspectives than just the hospital setting.

IES Abroad: Could you elaborate a little bit more on what those factors were, particularly for black women in the United States, and what you learned about Argentina in you research?

PP: In the States, what is interesting is that your economic class does not really improve your maternal mortality outcomes for black women. A lot of people think that it is because majority of black women are in more poor situations. And it’s just not the case.

So even when women have degrees and they have more money, there is still bias with doctors. They do not care for black women in the way they are supposed to. They do not believe them when they say that they are in pain or that their pregnancies are high risk. And so, then they just sort of fall through the cracks.

When I did my research in Argentina, I also found research that there is lots of proven methods to fix a lot of the issues that women were coming into the hospital with, but doctors just would not implement them.

[This was connected to the] machismo culture of men thinking that they know more than women or not listening to women when they talk about their bodies. Women not even knowing going into the doctor’s office what could possibly be wrong and how the doctor is supposed to treat them. And so those social factors of race and gender—race here in the States and then gender in Argentina—are really what kind of make these issues arise.

IES Abroad: How did your study abroad experience influence this passion?

PP: My work with [Fundación Pilares-CONIN] really helped me to learn more about other aspects of maternal health issues beyond just the birth. So, poverty and access to medical care look very different in Argentina and the United States. But my service that I did in Argentina really helped me see that mothers in both countries are facing a lot of the same problems and it made me eager to learn more.

IES Abroad: You also shared that you are passionate about seeing more black students decide to study abroad. This encouraged you to share your experiences studying abroad as a black woman through your IES Abroad blog, Instagram, and as the first Study Abroad Ambassador for HBCU Pulse. What did you feel was the most important thing for you to share through these platforms?

PP: In my blogs, rather than focusing on the sights of the city that I was seeing or parts of my every day to day life. I tried to focus a lot on how I was feeling at different points in my study abroad experience. I also put my Instagram link on there and opened up my DMs so that so that people could ask me questions directly if they wanted to.

This was very important for me because I think one thing that blocks a lot black and HBCU students from studying abroad is money. But other than that, I think a lot of people are really daunted by the idea of going to a new country alone and without the community that they are used to having in their classrooms.

I felt that if I was open about how I was feeling during my semester, future students might feel that they had someone to relate to, ask questions to, and eventually they might feel empowered to go abroad as well.

IES Abroad: You wrote that sharing your experiences in these ways was an “unexpected joy” – tell us more about that.

PP: So, knowing that I had to write blogs about my experience forced me to be more present in each moment and to survey myself and how I was really ingesting everything that I was experiencing. So then rather than just going through the motions of going to class and travelling on the weekends, in everything that I did I was always thinking, "How does this make me feel? What lesson am I learning from this?" things like that.

Living day to day with that mindset and then getting to share the results of that sort of thinking with others gave more meaning to my study abroad experience. And I really enjoyed that.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Buenos Aires?

PP: Surprisingly, I learned a lot about the perceptions of citizenship and nationality. Buenos Aires is a city with a long history in immigration, especially from Europe and then now sort of within South America as well.

One thing that was really mind-blowing to me was talking with my host mom and her family. Most of them have citizenship in multiple countries, which is just something that is almost unheard of in the United States. But it is very common in Buenos Aires.

It was just striking to me how much focus we put on citizenship in the States, how hard we make it to be a citizen, and even people who could be citizens of other countries through their ancestry and just do not even think about it. It was just really eye-opening to see how fluid the idea of citizenship and nationality can be in other places in the world.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about yourself?

PP: I learned a lot about the type of service that I do not want to do in the future and how to deal with stressors that come my way. When I was working with Pilares, I was primarily doing childcare for toddlers. And while I really enjoyed being in that environment and learning, I also learned that I do not really like working with toddlers! …I think that was something that was a good learning experience that I can use in the future.

And then I was able to travel a lot while I was abroad. And so, there is nothing like traveling nonstop to make you realize what stresses you out and learn how to deal with it really quickly. That was a good learning experience for me as well.

IES Abroad: How has your study abroad experience shaped your future? What’s next for you in the short-term? What kind of world do you want to help build in the long-term?

PP: My study abroad experiences really gave me the space to think about what is really important to me. It gave me time to think about prioritizing my mental and physical health above sort of the accolades that it seems you always need to be chasing when you are on campus. It really helped me reevaluate some of my goals and prioritized myself more.

And so, in the short-term, I'm going to be graduating next spring and after that, I plan to get my Master's in Business Administration. So, I will be applying to grad school within the next year.

In the long-term, I would like to build a world in which people are not shocked by the diversity within racial and ethnic groups – and that's a lot to ask – but I think that if travelers went to a country without the limiting expectations of how they'd be treated. And if the local people had a more open mind about the types of people that they might encounter that are coming to visit, then everyone would feel more comfortable in this process of going abroad to other countries, and just in our more interconnected world.

IES Abroad: Thinking about yourself and your peers who will be graduating in the next year or so, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing?

PP: I think that my peers and I have spent most of our formative years in a very polarized world. And I can be guilty of this myself, and there is some issues that I do not believe that there is a lot of room for compromise.

But I think that in general, the unwillingness to get to know someone and their views before we decide to cancel them will end up really hurting us down the line. I hope it is something we can work through.

IES Abroad: What do you think are some important skills and qualities that you and your peers will need to carry with you to face these challenges?

PP: I think the most important thing is to be willing to apologize when you have done or said something wrong or offensive to someone. And to actively listen to others with an open mind, rather than just passively listening so that you can form a rebuttal response to them.

I think that studying abroad is a great way to build on those skills because you are really forced to put yourself in an environment where you might not agree with everyone and have those conversations.

IES Abroad: You are a student that has inspired us through your application and your story. Who is a peer that inspires you? Whether that is someone you know personally or someone you look up to from afar.

PP: Someone that inspires me is Jayden Smith and that is because he is really a model of doing what he can from where he can. And there is Toni Morrison quote, "Do what you can from where you can."

One thing that he did – I guess kind of recently – was intervene in the Flint Water Crisis. Which is still going on and has been going on for years; the government has not fixed it. He had the means and ideas to go in and make an intervention that is really helping lives. Without having the degrees or having a whole organization, he is just doing what he can from where he can. And that is something I really admire.

IES Abroad: If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

PP: My piece of advice would be do not forget to rest and do not think that you have to push yourself too far. Because it is very easy to get caught in the hype of traveling and feeling like there is always something going on that you are going to miss out on. But if you do not take the time to rest, you will not be able to really enjoy anything.

IES Abroad: Any final thoughts you want to share?

PP: Well, I am really excited about the award because I think when people think about studying abroad, they don't necessarily think about doing community service. But I think that is something really important to any abroad experiences; going in thinking about the people that live there and not just what you can get out of it.

Through doing service, you also get a lot out of it personally. And that was my experience and so I hope other people decide to do it as well.

IES Abroad: Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Santiago? How did your journey begin?

Sara Jacques (SJ): I came into college knowing that I wanted to study abroad because it seemed like a really cool opportunity, but I never knew where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. Then I started a Spanish minor and figured out that I could finish it really easily if I studied abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. 

It seemed to me like everyone at Penn State went to Spain or Barcelona, so I started looking for something different. I was between Santiago and Buenos Aires, and the program in Santiago just ended up fitting my interests more. I essentially study social justice, and know that’s what I want to dedicate my life’s work to, so to be able to learn about it in an entirely new context felt like a pretty serendipitous opportunity. 

IES Abroad: What advice would you give to others looking to start sustainability programs or efforts in their own place of influence whether that be their school, office, community group, etc.

SJ: I would say definitely work with the community and not just for them because so much of how I understood the problem was through my own cultural lens, which obviously was much different in Chile. The solutions that work at home weren’t really applicable in the new setting. Rules were different, attitudes were different, it was definitely a learning process, and being really open to that learning process I think, is what made the program so successful. 

Especially with sustainability programs, it's important to make them...sustainable. If the people who are ultimately living with it don’t have the tools to maintain it once you leave, it’s probably going to flop. 

IES Abroad: In reference to all you learned about the effects of climate change while studying abroad in Santiago, you wrote, “My abroad experience made me much more critical of social and cultural norms.” Can you share more specifically about those norms you became critical of?

SJ: In relation to environmental concerns, I want to say that [I became more critical of] the act and process of recycling. In the States, I feel like that's where a lot of our energy is, and what a lot of our media focuses on. 

I mean, recently, we’re coming to realize that recycling systems aren’t reliable...but I don’t think we talk enough about why. We really just waste too much, and systems can’t handle it. Recycling can’t be the end all be all...it’s more about reducing our waste. For a long time I was, admittedly, a hopeful recycler and thought if I put my trash in the right bin it would just disappear from the earth and all would be well. 

Basically, I say all of this to say, I became more critical of the end point, which made me a lot more conscious about my own waste patterns. 

IES Abroad: After recognizing these criticisms, what was your next step personally to address these issues?

SJ: Yeah, so again, instead of relying on recycling, I really focus on reducing and reusing what I have. It’s actually really fun and creative to reuse things that would have otherwise been in the garbage...like as we speak there’s quinoa in a peanut butter jar in my refrigerator.

I never leave my house without a canvas bag and reusable utensils in case I end up having to stop at the store on my way home or eat out. These little things take up literally no space and make such a big difference. Reusable water bottles and coffee cups are definitely staples too. 

I just came from lunch with a friend and consciously felt really good about pulling that reusable fork out. And like, it’s just a fork, but if it’s a fork a day that adds up like crazy. It’s the same thing with bags. 

There’s no need to create an eternal life for a plastic bag when you can just pull out a weightless one that has less of a chance of breaking. I think a lot of times people don’t do these things because they’re outside routine, but all it really takes is a one-time adjustment and the benefits are tenfold. You wonder how you ever lived before, haha.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Santiago?

SJ: Well when I got to Santiago I really couldn’t speak Spanish. I think I learned a lot about humility and patience on a personal level just trying to navigate that. My empathy expanded enormously, especially in respect to the whole topic of immigration in the States right now. 

I was in, arguably, one of the most privileged positions when I was in Santiago. I was a student, I was taken care of by so many people, if I needed to talk to someone in English to hash out my feelings or figure out a problem I was able to do that. 

So often people drop everything and come to the U.S. escaping crisis in the best interest of their loved ones, and then on top of that deal with the same daily stressors I experienced, probably to a much higher degree. It’s just like, I would really sit and cry and live with a consistent headache for the first two months because I felt so helpless...and that was an experience with privilege. 

I just feel really lucky to be born into the life that I was, and grateful for the perspective these experiences in Santiago gave me. 

IES Abroad: What did you learn about yourself?

SJ: Honestly, this sounds kind of corny, but I learned that I'm capable.

It's really easy to get into a grove when you're in comfortable spaces like home or your university, but to be able to do that when you’re thousands of miles from your comfort zone was really awesome. It definitely gave me a new sense of confidence, which bled into every other aspect of my life from school to work to relationships. I feel like I’m more empowered to share perspective and be more genuinely myself.

IES Abroad: Do you have some examples of when you felt that you were growing in your confidence while studying abroad?

SJ: At the end of the semester, I met with a woman at the Chilean Ministry of Environment, Jessica Ulloa Mendieta [who is also an IES Abroad faculty member]. I remember pulling up to the office and seeing the government crest outside and literally saying out loud to myself, “how on earth did I get here?” 

I literally sat with a government official talking about environmental concerns, in Spanish, for an hour. We looked through community plans and talked about programs. I felt so empowered. None of that was in my original plan when I came to Santiago.

IES Abroad: That's super cool. How did you end up in that situation? How did you make the connection with the government official in the ministry?

SJ: She was teaching a course for IES Abroad to another program. And Maricarmen [the IES Abroad Santiago Center Director] told me that she wanted to introduce us based on my interests. I didn’t know who she was at all, but of course I said yes. 

I assumed I was just going to meet in her university faculty office or something, and then when I got to the address, and it was literally the Ministry of the Environment, I was like, "Am I in the right place?” I double checked the address. 

Like I said, she was talking to me about a lot of planning and programs, and showing me the supporting materials. To be able to read and understand these things in Spanish was just so surreal. Honestly, even to think about this now it’s crazy...I can’t believe that happened. 

IES Abroad: How has your study abroad experience shaped your future? What’s next for you in the short-term? What kind of world do you want to help build in the long-term?

SJ: So in the short-term, I actually just got accepted to teach in Spain for the 2020-2021 school year which I’m really excited about. I absolutely fell in love with the Spanish language, and what it taught me about myself. I really want to develop that a little more and have some more international experience before I enter the “real world.” 

Learning a second language for me was like escaping the logic I’ve always lived my life in...it’s hard to explain but I just really loved how it challenged me to think and speak in different ways. Then you internalize that and you just feel different. 

As for long-term, I'm really invested in social justice so that’s what I want to do in some capacity. I feel like being on the social justice program in Santiago really opened my eyes to different ways that that's possible. I learned so much about economic policy and how that contributes to inequality...like I had never known anything about the Washington Consensus. 

I was never all that invested in environmentalism until my time abroad either, so now that that’s really central to who I am. I’m thinking that eventually I want to work toward environmental justice. I love communicating and storytelling, and I’m grateful that can take me in so many different exciting directions. I don’t know, we’ll see!

IES Abroad: Thinking about yourself and your peers who will be graduating in the next year or so, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing?

SJ: I feel like, obviously, I need to say climate change! Yeah, it's unprecedented what's happening right now. And the fact that money and power are overriding these serious existential threats is super unsettling. It would feel defenseless if there weren’t so many little things we can do as individuals. 

Your voice matters. Being knowledgeable and having conversations matters.  Voting matters. Voting with your dollar matters. 

IES Abroad: What do you think are the most important skills and qualities you will all need to carry with you to face these challenges?

SJ: Critical thinking is really important. When we're just constantly fed information and taught to regurgitate it rather than question it, it's detrimental to our progress.

I think we need to be more cautious about the information we consume, the things we say, and the implications they have. I think just being more mindful and conscious about how we live our day-to-day lives, rather than being so hung up on an end game can go a long way in creating a better world. 

IES Abroad: Who is a peer that inspires you; whether that’s someone you know personally or have looked up to from afar?

SJ: I loved this question. My best friend Allie at school inspires me so much. She is the most democratic – by definition – person I know. The way she approaches problems and challenges herself to question her own beliefs seriously inspires me. She challenges me to think outside of boxes I don’t realize I’m in, and be more empathetic, especially when it’s hard to be.

It’s so easy for us to only be around people who have our same beliefs and don’t make us question ourselves. While Allie is probably one of those people to me, she actively keeps me aware of it. We have critical conversations and play devil's advocate for fun. I feel like our friendship is really holistic and I feel so lucky to have a person like her in my life. She’s really helped me grow on all fronts.  

She’s also the person who sparked my interest in environmentalism in the first place now that I think about it. I wouldn’t even be having this conversation if it wasn’t for her influence in my life. She’s just such a good person. So wise beyond her years. Having someone like that on your side is a crazy blessing. 

IES Abroad: If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

SJ: Go somewhere different! Go somewhere that's going to challenge you to leave your comfort zone. I mean, studying abroad anywhere forces you to leave your comfort zone, but I picked Santiago because I knew it would be hard. Now that I look back, none of the hardships are how I remember my time abroad. It was literally the most beautiful, amazing, enlightening, rewarding experience of my life, and as cliche as it sounds...made me who I am today. It was the best stress, and I feel like after that, I can really do anything.

IES Abroad: Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Rabat and Rome? What made you decide to do two semesters?

Yazmin Baptiste (YB): When I decided to study abroad, I was going through a difficult time in college. I had always planned on studying abroad, but I didn't really know where to begin. I decided my first step was to figure out how to get financial aid to go. I went to my financial aid office, and, luckily, they said that I could study abroad with my scholarship.

And so I was like, "Okay. Now the next step is to find out where to go." And I chose Rabat first because I'm a Religious Studies minor, and I definitely wanted to study Islam as one of the main religions that I focused on.

Then through my time being in Rabat and learning about immigration, I realized I have so much more to learn about immigration and decided to go with Rome, Italy because they have a Sociology & Religion program that has a lot of immigration courses. And I thought that was the best fit for my academics and my interests.

I really wanted to do a year but, again, the financial issues. So I called my school back when I was in Morocco, and I was like, "Hey, can you please help me with another semester?" and my scholarship also covered that. It's been all a blessing, honestly.

IES Abroad: You shared that your volunteer work with Foundation Orient – Occident helped you “understand immigration away from academic or professional settings and learn what it would be like to work in immigration away from the American context.” How did your experience volunteering with migrants and refugees in Morocco compare and contrast to your experiences and knowledge of immigration in America?

YB: Well, it's different because Morocco is not a western country. It's referred to as a developing country. When people think about immigration in general, they think of a bunch of people coming into countries like America and the countries in Western Europe.

In Italy, I learned, actually, that the largest amount of refugees are actually in Africa and the Middle East. And so it's different because Morocco has a lot of issues. Not a lot, but some Moroccans are leaving because the infrastructure in Morocco is just not livable. It was interesting to see how the civil society in Morocco works so differently from the nonprofit organizations in America, and the infrastructure is so different. It was interesting to see how different countries with different cultures tried to manage the same problem.

But it was the same in that—so a lot of the immigrants that I worked with were from Africa, so they were black—it's interesting to see how the anti-blackness rhetoric was really similar. The people I was teaching, they were telling me they'd walk in the street and people would call them the N-word...It's interesting to see that the rhetoric about immigrants is really the same in America and in Morocco.

IES Abroad: You also mentioned that often you felt like you were participating in “voluntourism.” Can you share more about that aspect of your experience?

YB: This is a really good question because I think it's really tough to see yourself as a voluntourist. But I think it was important for me to put that in my [Global Citizen of the Year] application and to really reflect on what that looked like for me, and how to grow from that experience, which is why I decided to go and study in Italy and to do my research project.

In the internship with IES Abroad you also do a seminar. My professor would talk about how civil society has changed since the Arab Spring, and then I would see in my internship how that would actually play out on an individual level, and how people actually experience civil society with infrastructure that's really going through these really big changes.

I think I was participating in voluntourism because my organization specifically, they use a lot of American students who circle in and out of teaching every three months, so I was part of that bigger cycle. For teaching, in particular, you need some type of consistency, but then also immigrants are always moving so our class levels fluctuated a lot.

I thought I was participating in voluntourism because I was able to take so much meaning from that experience, but then it was questionable how much meaning the people I was teaching were taking from that experience. It's uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, to think about myself in that way but I think it's important to acknowledge where the shortcomings were and where I can improve in the future.

IES Abroad: In what ways, if any, do you believe Americans volunteering abroad can break away from “voluntourism”?

YB: Research first. So, in my case, I did research on why immigrants were coming to Morocco, why not anywhere else? And a lot of my students were from Cameroon so I researched a little bit about what was happening in Cameroon.

I think also [it’s important] to understand the power dynamics specifically in teaching people English. I can go to Morocco and see them and talk to them and everything. But then they could never come to New York, where I live, and see how I live and see what I'm doing.

It's important to adapt where needed. So, for example, I think in American classrooms we're very used to have a teacher standing up in front of the room and just teaching people. Then me and my co-teachers realized we need to do something more interactive. We realized competitions were the best way to teach our students, and they really like that and really learned a lot of English words through the little competitions.

I think it's important to do your research and then also reflect on what you're doing, so the next day you can improve on what you're doing. You're probably not going to get it on the first try, but if you take accountability for what you've done today, you can be better tomorrow.

IES Abroad: In Rome you continued to study immigration and completed research on how companies affect immigration to Italy. What interested you about this topic specifically? What were some of the key findings of your research?

YB: I did an internship my freshman summer with an organization called Worth Rises [formerly called The Corrections Accountability Project], and I was doing research on companies that benefited from prison. I started getting into this idea of who profited from incarceration, who profits from detention—ideas like that. That idea really stuck with me.

I took that to my research in Italy. My research documents the private companies who profit off of immigration in every step. 

I start in the Middle East and in Africa, and I talk about this company called Leonardo. They sell arms to people in countries in the Middle East that are already in conflict. They're assisting in the fueling of those conflicts which makes people migrate. Then companies like Leonardo are in lobbying groups. They're in this group called The European Organization for Security, and they lobby for policies that make it harder for immigrants to come into the EU, especially to legally come into the EU.

So [companies] fuel the conflicts in the country, they prevent [immigrants] from getting into the country, and then if they're not allowed asylum and they're put into detention, more companies come in and profit off of [the immigrants] again.

[My research] talked about each stage of that process and then also connected this to the larger history of colonialism and the relationship—the power dynamic—between Western Europe and the so-called “other.”

IES Abroad: Part of the Global Citizen of the Year award is a $500 charitable donation to an organization of your choice. You chose No Más Muertes – tell us about the organization and why you chose it.

YB: No Màs Muertes is an organization that I really admire because they do humanitarian aid directly with migrants. They also do educational stuff, they do legal aid, they do policy work. And I really like the multifaceted way they do their work.

They started as community organizations coming together to do as a coalition to help immigrants in their community, and I really appreciate and admire communities coming together to work on the issue that they see that is important to them.

Also No Màs Muertes, they are really famous for advocating against the criminalization of humanitarian aid. A few of their volunteers were arrested and convicted for putting water in the desert [for migrants]. A couple of days ago in January, that conviction won on appeal and that conviction was reversed. I really admire the work that they're doing.

Since I learned about No Màs Muertes, I've worked with other grassroots organizations. I worked with Angry Tías and Abuelas for my thesis that I'm working on now. I also volunteered with a couple of other people in my college with BorderLinks.

All of these organizations, especially the grassroots organizations, are doing such great work. So that's why I chose them, but it also could've went to a number of amazing organizations I've worked with!

IES Abroad: What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Rabat and Rome?

YB: I think I had a really idealized concept of what Europe was before I went. So I feel like a lot of times when people think of Europe, it's like, "Universalized healthcare! They're doing great!" right?

I realized how similar they were, especially in regard to rhetoric towards immigrants. The former prime minister of Italy, I had to do a lot of research on him, and a lot of the rhetoric that he used was, "Oh, the immigrants are diluting our culture. They're taking away resources from all of us."

So it was interesting, in both Morocco and Italy, to see how people reacted to that kind of rhetoric... And I think it really gave me a more nuanced idea of how the world works especially in Western Europe.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about yourself?

YB: I think I learned that I'm a lot more brave than I thought I was. I want to share with you this story. IES Abroad Rabat took us to the desert towards the end of our semester, and my friends saw these guys who were at the hotel we were at and they had ATVs. ATVs were really expensive to rent.

So they were like, "Let's ask those guys what they're doing, where they're going to go." And we asked them and they were like, "Oh. Do you want to ride with us?" And we were like, "Yes." They ended up being professional ATVers.

And they took us around the whole desert and then they brought us to an oasis. And then we drank tea with them. And honestly, that's not a thing I would do before studying abroad.*

It taught me to be more open to different people around the world. To be more brave. To be more curious and to be more open to new experiences.

IES Abroad: In your application, you shared that you are creating a Mental Health Invisible Tour at Lafayette College inspired by an Invisible Tour of migrants in Rome that you went on while studying abroad. What is an invisible tour and why do you think it’s an effective medium?

YB: My Invisible Tour is going to be a podcast filled with narratives from people on campus who experience mental health struggles or successes at Lafayette.

I think it will be an effective medium because a lot of the tour is anonymous. You can't see the person who's talking. I think with anonymity, people are a lot more open to share what their feelings are and what their experiences are.

Experiencing an Invisible Tour in Rome—that was one of the biggest things that impacted me in Rome. I got to see these really famous places that I had already visited from a totally different perspective. 

They took us to this little store. It looked like a store you would just pass right by, but it ends up that's one of the places where you can get your papers and become documented as an immigrant.

To see these familiar places from a different perspective really had a big impact on me, and I think people are more able to speak freely about what they feel when it is anonymous, when you can't see them.

IES Abroad: What has the process of organizing the tour at Lafayette College been like from ideation to now, a month or so out from launching?

YB: It was hard. So first, I had to ask people all over campus to submit a narrative, and that's a big thing. Even though it is anonymous, people do not want to go back to places where they struggled or might have experienced a type of difficulty because it involves them being vulnerable.

But I did get quite a few responses, luckily, and now, I am doing recordings and trying to link all of those stories together to make it meaningful, which is hard, but also really exciting and fun...This is another [difficult] thing because everyone in the college campus is really busy and doing amazing work, so just gathering people and organizing them together has been difficult but fun.

IES Abroad: How has your study abroad experience shaped your future? What’s next for you in the short-term? What kind of world do you want to help build in the long-term?

YB: Studying abroad really opened up a lot of options for me that I didn't think I had. I never thought living outside of America was an option for me, period. And doing this experience really taught me that I am capable, I am deserving, I am worthy of going abroad and doing things that I see other people doing all the time.

Short term, hopefully, I guess to go to grad school in Spain or Ireland, (hopefully, hopefully, hopefully!)

Long term, I'd like to be a part of a grassroots organization like the ones I mentioned before. I think in my work doing grassroots organizations in the future, I really want to be a part of the solution to power inequities in the world.

I think a lot of times, we don't speak about the inequalities that are happening in the world. There’s a quote about it: when we don't speak about it, we are complicit in perpetuating those inequities. I hope to continue the work that I'm starting now and challenge how we think about how the world works and how we can imagine a world that we would like to see that is more equitable.

IES Abroad: Thinking about yourself and your peers who will be graduating in the next year or so, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing?

YB: I think because of social media, we are increasingly becoming aware that a lot of our issues across the world are very similar. One example that I can think of is capitalism. Across the world, the consequences of capitalism are just starking.

We see that a lot of people across the world are dealing with racism. They're dealing with anti-LGBT rhetoric. They're dealing with xenophobia. And I think the next year or so, I think we'll be dealing a lot with trying to understand how these power dynamics work, especially dealing with literature that's already out there about power dynamics.

I can see us trying to handle—to deal with the inequities and the injustices that we see in the world.

IES Abroad: What do you think are the most important skills and qualities you will all need to carry with you to face these challenges?

YB: I think we need a lot more empathy, first and foremost.

I think a lot of people come into new situations working with their own experiences. And thus, they can only work through problems with their own experiences, not realizing that other people out there have different experiences...I think to empathize with people is important. I think to have a strong sense of accountability for what you do is really important. I think a lot of times, people just think that what they're doing is absolutely good—so if you're volunteering, you're doing an absolutely great job.

But volunteering is complicated. It can be good one day. It could be bad the next. It could be iffy in the middle. And I think having a strong sense of accountability for what you do in the world is important and to have patience with others and yourself to think through the ways that we can improve our future and to work through the challenges that we're facing today.

IES Abroad: Who is a peer that inspires you, whether that’s someone you know personally or have looked up to from afar?

YB: Yeah. That's a great question. So I met somebody in Rome, Italy. Her name is Lara Andree. She was like my best friend in studying abroad. I'm so proud of her.

She won the Gilman scholarship. One of the things that she did was start like a pen pal kind of situation. Before she went abroad, she talked with groups of color about the idea of studying abroad. While she was abroad, she sent some emails and letters and stuff like that talking about her experiences.

After, she brought some stuff back from Italy to talk about her experience studying abroad, but also like introducing the topic of studying abroad to students of color, which is something I think is so important.

I really admired how she went about thinking through making her study abroad experience meaningful and opening up students to the option they didn't even think they had before. She also wants to be a teacher right now, and she's going to be a great teacher one day.

IES Abroad: If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

YB: For future study abroad students or students of color: I think for me, the idea of studying abroad is very daunting, especially the idea of paying for it. I want to say to them, "Go to your financial aid office, and ask." I think a lot of times, we just don't know the money is out there, and there are people who are willing to help.

For example, I also got an IES Abroad scholarship, and that was really helpful. There are also third-party scholarships. There are so many different ways you could get the money.

I hope that they realize that they're deserving of the money and they deserve an opportunity to study abroad like they see other people doing. So just go and put yourself out there and see the options that you have, especially in institutions of higher education. There is a lot of money that is available, and it's just a matter of seeking out the right people who are willing to help you.

IES Abroad: How does it feel to be named the IES Abroad Global Citizen of the Year?

YB: I'm still a little bit in shock. I'm not going to lie to you! I think I doubt myself a lot and what I'm doing. I'm definitely an overthinker. I think about things over and over again to make sure like this is what I want to do. This was really assuring to me that the decisions I'm making, the things that I'm doing are in the right direction.  I really appreciate the time you guys took to read over my application—it's just really encouraging!

IES Abroad: Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Granada? How did your journey begin?

Sam Hochberger (SH): There's actually a couple of reasons that I ended up Granada. I did a couple of service trips while I was in high school to Costa Rica and South Africa, and kind of having those week-long experiences of being abroad kind of gave me that bug to want to go and actually want to have a meaningful long-term experience in a different country.

I had been studying Spanish for about six years, so I knew I wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country, so that narrowed it down a little bit for me. And Europe was something I never experience before. I had been to Central America, so Spain seemed like the best option, kind of following out that way.

I wanted to be able to practice and work on my Spanish as much as possible, so I knew I wanted a smaller city where tourism was a little bit less, and so of the Macalester-approved programs, Granada was my best option I thought.

In addition to that, I was really intrigued by Andalucía by their rich history with the Moors and the Jews and Christians and kind of all that mix of experiences there. I thought it would be an amazing place to go, not just for the language, but also for the cultural aspect. So I guess those combination of things landed me in Granada.

IES Abroad: You interned with MÍRAME, a non-profit in Granada that provides services to the autistic community and their families. In your application, you wrote about an interaction that you’ll never forget. Can you share that story again and describe that experience?

SH: I worked with MÍRAME for two different programs. One of them was their adapted sports program, and that's where I met one little boy who was about five years old, and he had one of the more profound forms of autism that I worked with while I was in Spain. So he would do a lot of repetitive behaviors. He could make a couple of words, but not many, and really didn't have much interest in social interactions or concentration or anything like that.

Working with him was a challenge throughout the semester. He wouldn't really look at me or really want to interact with me too much. So I would just keep trying, really, every day, and without really any success with him. But one day, it was actually one of my last days with him, we were doing some sports activity and we had some balls out, and I just sat him down and I tried to have him push the ball back with me. I was speaking to him in Spanish because of course he spoke Spanish. And nothing was really happening.

I would push the ball to him and I'd have to go and get it and push it again. And I kept trying. I kept trying and saying, "Push the ball to me. Push the ball to me." And finally, he did. And it seems like the littlest thing, the smallest thing, like “who cares about it?” But after working with him for two months, and really, him not even really acknowledging I'm there, knowing that he heard me, he knew I was there, something got through to him in that moment, was really pretty amazing to me to see, given how severe his form of autism was.

So knowing that there is someone inside of him there that wanted to interact with me, that was a really, really special moment, probably the most special that I did in my internship.

IES Abroad: You previously had worked with children with developmental disabilities in the U.S. and you study neuroscience – two experiences that you said gave you tools and knowledge to utilize at MÍRAME. How did your previous experiences and studies inform your work at MÍRAME? 

SH: So yes, I am a neuroscience major, and I have had the opportunity to work with Gigi's Playhouse, which predominantly worked with kids with Down Syndrome but also kids with other disabilities here in the U.S.

And I would say over the course of the various psychology courses I've taken in school, we talked a lot about child development and some tools that people use to help work with kids and help them learn how to do things and hold their concentration. That really helped me from a kind of logistical sense of how I could interact with these kids with MÍRAME.

But I would definitely say my experience with Gigi's Playhouse was even more important to me given that I had already worked with a population that had intellectual disabilities. And it is different working with children with intellectual disabilities than typical children because there's different techniques that I had to employ to get their attention.

If there was an emotional outburst, there was things I had learned in the past that I could kind of draw upon the calm down situations especially emotionally charged situations and get kids to kind of refocus and try to integrate into group sessions.

I think the biggest thing those previous experiences gave me was the comfort in knowing that I could manage maybe uncomfortable situations while working with MÍRAME and that really helped me when I was there.

IES Abroad: How did your internship expand on your previous understanding of autism?

SH: This is actually one of my favorite questions because I wasn't expecting actually to have that different of experience working with kids who have autism in Spain than in the U.S. And I was very wrong because over the course of the semester working with the kids, focusing on just them, the presentation they had of autism it seemed different to me.

In my experience working in the U.S., kids are very reserved. They don't want to have any social interaction. They don't like being touched. And they definitely don't like interacting with each other very much. And I could see some of those things with the kids I worked with in Spain. However, I think Spain itself has a huge cultural importance on community, on connection, and they are a more tactile culture.

They do touching and hugging and kissing more than the United States from what I noticed. And that really showed in the kids which was very interesting to see. I would get kisses on both cheeks from some of the kids. They would hug me. They would try to interact with me, but they just didn't really know how. I think that's kind of how the autism was manifesting itself in those kids, was they didn't know how to do social interactions that most people can do, but they had more of a desire to have them then I think a lot of the kids in the U.S. that I saw.

And obviously, I don't know why that was the case with the 15 kids I worked with, but I do think there was a large cultural aspect that Spain on had on the development of those kids.

The manner in which I got to work with the kids in Spain was different than in the U.S. It was a different sense of a professional setting in Spain where I could have more freedom with the kids. There wasn't so many limitations. It was more unstructured, and I could kind of work with the kids based on their own personality, how they work best, and kind of formulate my own kind of action plan of how to best help them.

So it was a little more of a hands-off approach over there than it was here in the U.S., and I think there were advantages and disadvantages to that, but it was definitely a different style of working with them that was really interesting to be a part of.

IES Abroad: In your application you also shared about meeting with immigrants from the Ivory Coast in Morocco. What stuck with you from that conversation and how does it shape the way you see the world now?

SH: That was a very, very tough conversation to be a part of, especially coming from a very privileged background, being a white male living here in the United States. I would say before I had this experience, I knew about the challenges that people had immigrating from different places and you'd hear about it in the news, you'd learn about it in school. But it's a completely different experience learning a story from someone firsthand of sexual abuse, of being sold, or being betrayed by their own family or their own government, and just feeling like an outsider wherever they are.

It struck a chord with me, and I think, with every student that was in the room with me learning and talking that day. And it definitely pushed me to want to make a difference and do something for the immigrant population that live, where I live here in the U.S.

That was kind of the turning point for me of my abroad experience where I was. I knew I loved working with kids, I loved working with MÍRAME but I also wanted to now bring that to help an underserved population here in the U.S.

And so from that experience, that's what pushed me to want to volunteer in a Spanish immersion school this semester with low-income kids who are immigrants from Central America and South America. It's kind of lit a fire in me that something needs to be done for this population, and the people who are the targets of this racism in this difficult immigration process shouldn't be the only voice fighting for their rights.

I think the people who have privilege and privileged statuses in the world should be on the front lines with them to help and whatever small part I can do in that process I want to be a part of. So I think that is the biggest thing I took away from that conversation.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Granada?

SH: I love this question, but I also hate this question because there was so many that I learned. But when I really break it down to just, I guess, the biggest theme that my semester was abroad in Granada that I learned about the world is that people live their lives in such a different way in so many different places.

I had a big culture shock going to Grenada and learning all the new customs and ways of life – and language apart from the whole thing – just how they behave, how [various] things are done over there is so different.

I think a lot of the political climate and culture that we live in today focuses on how our differences make us bad, or undesirable, or divide us. But what I really notice from being abroad was how welcomed I felt from the community over there even though almost everything I did and acted like was different from the Granadians that I interacted with.

Having that opportunity to work alongside Spaniards in MÍRAME and live with a host family, I was able to learn their way of life. They were curious and interested to know how I live mine. And I think that intercultural exchange that I had with them over there made us both better because of our differences.

So I think I really got to learn firsthand how our differences really make us a stronger world than a weaker one. And I think that message has gotten a little bit mixed up in recent years. So I think that's the biggest thing I learned about the world being abroad last semester.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about yourself?

SH: The biggest thing I learned about myself - and I think my friends and family would say I'm a different for it now that I'm home - is I realize how important people are in my life. I know before going abroad, it was very, very academic-based. And I love science. I wanted to be a scientist. And just that was it. And I valued my relationships, but not like I do now.

Being abroad, especially in Granada specifically, there's such a strong sense of community. There's such a strong sense of love for your friends and your family and your neighborhoods. And I was constantly being waved at on the street or hugged by someone I just met. And there was so much just love for other people that I saw there.

… And it actually really strongly influenced my decision to want to become a doctor rather than a scientist because I want to have that interpersonal relationships with patients, with people, with my job one day. I think working and living with people is the most important thing.

The culture and environment that lives in Granada really exemplified that for me and made me really think a lot harder about how important my relationships are with everyone that I love.

IES Abroad: How has your study abroad experience shaped your future? What’s next for you in the short-term? What kind of world do you want to help build in the long-term?

SH: The short term is that I'm in my third year of college, and I have about a year and a half left. With that year and a half, I am working at a-- as I said previously, a Spanish immersion school. And so I really am going to try to use this next year to really involve myself with the Latinx community here in the Twin Cities in Minnesota because I realize that that is the population that I want to serve one day as a doctor predominantly.

After college, I hope to travel abroad actually to South America to work and teach English in a South American country to hopefully achieve fluency in Spanish but also to really learn about the culture and the places that Latin American immigrants come from.

Then I'll hopefully one day be able to go to medical school and work to have a focus on pediatric, working with children and especially children that are Latin American immigrants maybe that are from a lower-income community.

A lot of that has to really with what I experienced in Morocco and with MÍRAME and what I did abroad last semester. So my paths have changed before, but as of right now, that is really what I'm looking forward to do, and I have a lot motivation to do it.

IES Abroad: Thinking about yourself and your peers who will be graduating in the next year or so, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing?

SH: The biggest challenge I anticipate facing is the complete independence that I'll have after I'm done with college. I think a lot of people think that after high school you can go and do whatever you want to do, and that is true but if you choose college, there is quite a bit of structure to that.

When I’m done, it's kind of all on me to make my life what I want it to be. And so that I think will be a little bit of a challenge to make a structure for myself for once. And I know I've heard the same thing from several friends.

That is one thing I am also grateful for going abroad as well because that definitely being thrown into a country by myself without a ton of support-- a lot of support coming from IES Abroad, but other than that, not a ton-- really helped me, I think, being able to envision myself as being an independent, functioning adult after I'm done with college.

So I think that independence, that sheer independence will be probably the biggest challenge.

IES Abroad: What do you think are the most important skills and qualities you will all need to carry with you to face these challenges?

SH: I think probably the biggest skill that I'll need and my peers will need is an open mind.

I was talked to a lot about having open mind in my pre-orientation process before going to Spain, and I thought about that really ever since – going into every situation now with an open mind about how different people think, in different ways, and how I'll have to be able to adapt myself to different situations. I'm not always going to get along with everyone and not everything's going to work out.

I think going into especially challenging situations, like a new job or a new career, to have an open mind and that everything is possible will really make that experience easier, rather than trying to brace for the worst, or I already think I know what's happening when I really don't.

So I think definitely having an open mind will be the biggest key to success after college, for me and my peers.

IES Abroad: Who is a peer that inspires you; whether that’s someone you know personally or have looked up to from afar?

SH: The peer that inspires me and actually inspired me to go abroad was my best friend from home. She has been, I think, my friend for six years now. And she studied for six months in Australia in 2019 as well, at the beginning part of it.

She was the first person I knew to study abroad that was my age, and she did not have one ounce of fear going into it. She was so ready. She planned everything out. She was so independent about the whole thing and lived that experience in Australia to the fullest she possibly could.

Hearing about her experience and what she did down there and what she learned and how she was different coming back, really inspired me to want to be a global citizen, to want to go abroad, to want to see and live in a different culture. That has fundamentally changed who I am. I strongly believe so. I think she has been one of my biggest inspirations over the past couple of years in that sense of independence, and really wanting to do something with your life and go abroad and see how different the world can be and how different people can be in different places.

IES Abroad: If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

SH: I would say the same piece of advice that my program director in Granada gave me the first day when we arrived in Malaga, which is – I think a lot of people think when you go abroad, you need to go to a different country every weekend. You need to explore and see every city in the country you're in. And while those things, I do believe, are important - I think it is very enlightening and a cool experience to see different places while you're in a foreign country - to me, it's much more valuable of an experience to immerse yourself in the city that you're studying in.

I think that's what I really tried to do while I was in Spain. And because of that, I was able to meet so many Spaniards. I was able to see the culture and their life in Granada in ways that I think maybe not everybody in my program was able to. I had time to take a dance class. I had time to intern at MÍRAME, to take a class at university, and really feel like part of the Granadian culture by the time I was done there. Whereas if I went to 14 countries over the course of the semester, I don't think I would have been able to say that same thing.

I think we have our whole life to go to other countries for a short period of time, but most of us won't have the opportunity to live for, in my case, four months in one place outside of the United States. And to really be able to commit yourself fully to being an international student of that culture, can impact you a lot more than just trying to travel everywhere in that one semester.

So if there was one piece of advice I could give, I would say do your best to immerse yourself in the place that you're studying in, and that means knowing the people of that culture and what that's all about there.