Study abroad dream becomes a reality for UVU student

I was standing in line at Nordstrom Rack about to check out, when the cashier a fellow UVU student, asked where I was headed. I guess my purchase of winter boots in August and a European power adapter gave away my trip.

“I leave August 31 to Germany as an exchange student!”, I enthusiastically told her.

“Oh,” She replied, “I have always wanted to do that. It’s just so expensive.”

This response did not surprise me; I hear it more often than not. In fact, I used to think study abroad was out of my reach, until I discovered several of the amazing options and resources UVU offers its students.

My journey began Fall 2015 when I started looking into study abroad options for my Communications major. The Office of International and Multicultural Studies offers several study abroad options such as: learning Chinese in China, studying literature in London, or a Peace and Justice program in Cuba. While these were all amazing opportunities, none of these options were for my major. Besides, I didn’t just want to study abroad for a few weeks, I wanted to live in another country. I started looking into other services offered by the school when I learned about international internships. I visited UVU’s Internship Services in LC 409 and spoke with a counselor who helped me understand the pros and cons of an international internship.

Pros: resume building, international experience, learn a language, work for a specific company, etc. Cons: it can be expensive. Generally international interns do not get paid and, depending on the company, must pay all other living expenses.

At the time, this was not an option for me, but may be in the future. Unfortunately, I let this discourage me and my search halted there.

In January, the following year a Communications student who recently returned from a student exchange in Germany presented their experience to my class. I knew this was my chance! Immediately I went to learn about this amazing student exchange program. What I learned helped me succeed with my ambitionsmade all of my dreams come true.

The National Student Exchange program (NSE) provides opportunities for undergraduates to study for up to one calendar year at another NSE member university. With over 200 to choose from, students can choose a university that provides the right combination of courses, social life, and cultural exchange. The majority of the universities are in the United States and Canada, but student exchanges may also be available through the different departments at UVU. My student exchange is directly through the Communications department. I signed up for this incredible opportunity through the Communications department.

Now, I leave for Germany Sep. 2