Student Spotlight

Studied in Weihai, China
RIT - China

I chose to study abroad because I had never been outside of the east coast before, let alone the continental U.S., and wanted to learn about people and perspectives that I wouldn't have the chance to experience otherwise. I also love history and ancient cultures, so I really wanted to go to someplace with a really deep history. 

I think my study abroad experience helped me immensely in my academics. I was able to gain a new perspective on group work, on college life, and just life in general while living in a different culture. This helped me grow as a person and how to manage my time working towards specific goals. 

I was able to grow a alot as an independent person and better manage my time and my expectations of myself. Truthfully, as excited as I was to study abroad, I was also terrified. It was a huge leap for me, but I am so glad I did it. Now that I put myself into that uncomfortable position once, it has been much easier trying and doing new things in the present. 

When I studied abroad I was able to go to Beijing for a week with my friend and her family. Staying with them I was more immersed in Chinese culture and touring the city with them was a truly magical experience. But my absolute favorite part of studying in China was going to the Great Wall. This had been something I had dreamed about since I was a child. When we made it up on top of the wall, the sky was slightly smoggy, but the visibility was high enough to see the wall stretch for miles before disappearing into the fog. It was a truly wonderful experience that I was deeply thankful I was able to do. 

Studied in Tokyo, Japan (The Deaf Community in Japan Faculty-Led Program)
Studied in Paris, France (Deaf Studies & Transatlantic Roots in France Faculty-Led Program)

Growing up, my mom instilled in me an unshakable passion for travel. We traveled all over the midwest and east coast, visiting historical places and national parks. To this day, we celebrate each other's birthdays by traveling rather than exchanging gifts. I knew that going to college would afford me extraordinary travel opportunities that I would likely never have again in the future, so I have taken advantage of it as much as possible. 

I’m a double major - one of them being ASL-English Interpretation - and both of my study abroad programs (to Japan and France) were Deaf-centered. Prior to traveling to Japan, my classmates and I spent the spring semester meeting virtually with students at the University of Tsukuba learning Japanese Sign Language. On my program to France, we got to experience Paris with a Deaf tour guide, and many of the museums we visited had staff who were Deaf docents. The World Federation of the Deaf and Clin d'Oeil (a Deaf art festival) happened to be in France right after my study abroad program ended, so I took that opportunity to extend my stay and enjoy those experiences as well. 

I have a deep interest in international work, especially International Sign. Unfortunately, there is not much available in terms of education here in the U.S. for International Sign, but both of these study abroad opportunities helped me to learn to navigate cross-cultural and cross-linguistic boundaries and I also made professional connections and relationships that will last for a lifetime. 

Virtual Intercultural Experience (Sweden)
Global Health Systems Analysis and Innovation

I thought that a virtual intercultural experience would broaden my cultural competencies and allow me to have a more global understanding of the overall healthcare environment and competitive marketplace. The fact that the course was initially supposed to be an “in-person” experience is what made the class appealing to me in the first place. Being in healthcare, study abroad was not something that I ever thought of doing. When the course switched to being virtual, it far surpassed my expectations. Being pregnant and in the time of a pandemic, a virtual program allowed me to experience another culture from the comfort of home – reaping the majority of the benefits, minus the sightseeing and experiencing food.

I did a comparative paper on Sweden in one of my other classes and appreciated how the country can provide a healthcare system that the people trust and use appropriately. It is just such a breath of fresh air! I am used to learning about how flawed the U.S. healthcare system is so being able to see another country that can do what so many have said is not possible is inspirational. As someone who is going to school to help further advance my leadership skills and be a more effective leader, this experience was nothing short of incredible. Sweden is successful in part due to its culture of accepting new ideas and identifying new ways to do old processes. If anything, this course showed me how important this skill is in leadership.

Studied in Dubai, UAE
RIT Dubai

As a STEM major, I chose to study abroad because I wanted to experience a different culture. As an electrical engineering major, I could potentially work in a field where I'll be creating tech that may impact the world. Because of that, I think it's important to understand more about the world before figuring out how to help make it a better place. 

While in Dubai, I took three core engineering classes and an ethical perspective because I was trying to follow my curriculum plan. My Digital Systems class had an end of semester project, my team decided to create a Tic-Tac-Toe game in Verilog and implement it in FPGA. It was really cool that we were able to create something like that from start to finish. It just makes you think about how engineering is literally everywhere and there are so many things to do in this field.