IES Abroad: Study Abroad & Intern

I had never been outside of the United States prior to my semester in China, and I wanted to challenge myself by going abroad during my junior year. Furthermore, after falling in love with Chinese language during my sophomore year in college, I knew that I wanted to continue learning the language, preferably in China. I knew that going abroad would be a life-changing experience (and it was), and I wanted to get that experience while I was in college. International study is prioritized at my home university and transferring credits was relatively easy. I figured that chances to study abroad dwindle somewhat after college graduation, and I didn't want to look back at college with any regrets.

Since high school I have been interested in international affairs, but particularly in those regarding China. In college I continued to pursue greater understanding of the country through learning the language and taking related courses while working on an Environmental Studies major. As junior year was approaching, I decided it would be beneficial to take my studies to China for a more experiential semester abroad. I believed learning abroad in China—the location I had primarily been focusing my research opportunities on—would provide a depth of insight into the subject matter largely unattainable in just my studies in America.