Thursday, December 11, 2014

8 Things You Learn About Yourself While Abroad

For the last blog entry of the semester, I thought it would be great to talk about how much learning can happen while studying abroad. For this entry, I reached out to several of my friends who have studied abroad and asked them to tell me what they learned about themselves from their time abroad.  Here are nine things study abroad students said they learned about themselves from studying abroad:

1) From Kerry who studied abroad in Uruguay:


You learn about yourself in the sense you learn what things about you are "American" per se and other things you can easily let go to adapt to the new environment you're placed in. For example, something I really missed about the USA that I would say identified more to my life would be humor. I realized I'm way more sarcastic than most Latin Americans because they tend to be more sensitive. Now, on the other hand, with let's say music, or dancing, I was more than happy to not listen to english music for a whole semester and picked up on Uruguay style music in a heart beat. You leave to this new country thinking you're going to learn so much about the country but what you really end up learning more about is yourself! 

2) From Anna who studied abroad in Australia: 


I learned a lot about how other countries viewed Americans and how easily Americans get labeled when going abroad. I also learned to put a lot more faith in myself, that I can do things on my own and really how independent I can be!

3) From Kristin who studied abroad in Costa Rica:


I learned that I'm a lot more adventurous than I thought I was!  I also learned that I was much more able to adapt to different circumstances than I thought I would be.  I did not grow up camping or really spending much time outside, so as lame as it sounds, I was really nervous about bugs and anything related to nature, but I got really used to living in a house full of cockroaches and traipsing through the jungle for hours, it became my way of life, which was a cool transition to see happen.


4) From Callie who studied abroad in Australia: 


I learned that you’ll always find at least one person who likes you for you, so it’s pointless to hide in a shell you make for yourself. I also learned that traveling by yourself isn’t too scary and can actually be quite liberating.  It’s nice to be able to do what you want to do, so if you can’t find a travel buddy, don’t let that hold you back!

*The WIU Office of Study Abroad does not recommend traveling by yourself. If this is something you plan to do, check with your study abroad coordinator in your host country for safety tips or places to avoid. 

5) From Catherine who studied abroad in France:


I learned to enjoy spending time alone. In the US, I was constantly with friends/roommates/family. In France, I was in a single dorm room, and I had to find ways to entertain myself that didn't involve others. Some of my favorite memories of studying abroad involve wandering around Nantes by myself with no plan, no time constraint, and just myself for company.

6) From Stephanie who studied abroad in Australia:


About halfway through my semester abroad was the first time in my life that I was really homesick, which was unexpected. When I didn't have the option to go home on breaks or weekends, when just scheduling a Skype call was complicated because of the time difference, when I missed my little brother's high school graduation...it finally resonated with me how much the people back home meant to me and that in spite of my stubborn independence, it's ok to need other people.  

7) From Katie who studied abroad in Spain: 


I would say that one of the biggest things I learned was not to take myself so seriously. I made tons of mistakes with the language and with the Spanish culture. At the beginning, it bothered me all the time, but eventually I just learned to take it in stride and move on, both learning from it and letting it go. This growth allowed me to truly enjoy my time in Spain and not get caught up in the little things

8) From Charlie who studied abroad in Australia: 


I learned just how much of a change can take place in a person's outlook during the course of a semester abroad. My close friend came with me to Australia, and during the first couple weeks she had convinced herself that she needed to buy a return ticket back to the states immediately. She persevered, and by the end of the semester, she didn't want to leave. She actually lives in Australia now!

What are you waiting for?? Come in to the Office of Study Abroad to start the process of a journey of a lifetime that allows you to learn so many different things about culture, school, and yourself! 

Monday, December 1, 2014

Career Benefits to Studying Abroad


View of Canberra, Australia from Mt. Ainslie Lookout

In todays diverse world, international experience is something that can really make you stand out to employers. How exactly does study abroad put a competitive edge on your application? Here are few things that make you stand out to employers because you studied abroad and a few things to keep in mind about your study abroad experience when job searching:

1) Knowledge of a Foreign Language: If you study in a country that speaks another language, you will come back to the US and have knowledge of a new language. With our diverse world, it is always great to have knowledge of a second language to make yourself stand out during internship or job searches.
 
2)  Cross-Cultural Interpersonal Skills: Learning how to interact and work with people who are different from you is another skill you will gain while studying abroad that will add a competitive edge to what you can offer a compnay. No matter where you go, you will be interacting with people from a different culture on a daily basis, and this will improve your interpersonal skills. Employers will love seeing that you have gained some experience interacting with different cultures!

3) Graduate School Applications: If you are looking into continuing your education after undergrad, studying abroad can help with those applications too! Graduate school admissions committees will see that you studied abroad and know that you gained a variety of skills while abroad such as adapting to an unfamiliar environment, learning from different teaching styles, communicating in diverse groups, and recognize you have a willingness to challenge yourself.

4) International Internships: Any work experience is valuable to a potential employer. An international internship or job can offer even more benefits and make you even more competitive to a potential employer than a domestic internship. These benefits include awareness of diverse business practices and customs, exposure to global issues facing your industry, and the opportunity to networks with professionals from across the world, just to name a few.

5) Flexibility and Adaptability: These are two skills employers will love to see! I have answered many interview questions regarding these skills by talking about my study abroad experiences. Situations will arise while abroad that require you to be flexible.  Being in a new environment and country requires extreme adaptability. Both of these skills will make employers happy and make you stand out in the job or internship search!

6) Putting Your Study Abroad Experience on Your Resume: Now that you have this awesome experience, its important to know how to market it to potential employers. Be sure to think about where to place it on your resume and what to include. Regardless of where you place it on your resume (under Education, International Experience, etc.), dont just put the program name, country, and dates you went. Let employers know why your experience is on there and what you learned! Some action verbs that might be useful to explain why study abroad is on your resume are adapted, immersed, lived, organized, overcame, translated, and visited. For more about how to include study abroad on your resume, check out http://www.gooverseas.com/blog/study-abroad-resume-tips and http://www.salisbury.edu/careerservices/students/resumes/MarketExperience/StudyAbroad.html.

Additional Resources: