Campus Resource Post

For the campus resource assignment, I was not aware of all of the resources mentioned in the assignment, but I knew that I would like to go to the Office of International affairs. Education abroad is something that I have wanted to be a part of my undergraduate experience for several years. One of my sisters spent a semester in Vienna, Austria and one other spent a summer in Rome, Italy. After hearing about their experiences, I have wanted to study abroad as well. A minor in German is also something that I have been considering, and studying abroad in a German-speaking country would be a great way for me to get the credit needed for the minor as well as to practice using the language in the real world. I attended an education abroad getting started session at the Office of International Affairs. To do so, I simply showed up to one of the bi-weekly sessions and signed in. I think studying abroad would be an amazing experience that would broaden my horizons by immersing myself in a culture that is different than the one I live in. This would enhance my Ohio State experience. It would also be a great way to share experiences with new people from OSU and other places from around the world. I learned a lot at this session. I was not aware that some education abroad programs do not guarantee that other Ohio State students will be there. This would be intimidating, but also exciting because I would be able to meet a lot of people with different experiences than my own. At this session, I was introduced to the study abroad search tool. This tool is very helpful because you can customize the type of education abroad experience you are looking for, and see what programs are available based on your preferences. The presenter also mentioned that scholarship applications are often due before the applications for the education abroad programs themselves, which I found to be very helpful information because I could see how many people would miss scholarship deadlines. She also mentioned the importance of having a powerful personal statement established for the application process, which is something that I would ensure to work on in advance of applications. Going into this experience I was not expecting to learn as much as I did about education abroad and I am happy that I went. As an engineering major, I understand that studying abroad for a semester is difficult, so I went into this session hoping to learn about summer and winter programs. The session covered all the different types of programs that the Office of International affairs offers which I found very helpful. Some ways that this service could improve would be to provide more examples of the trips that are offered to students. The presenter briefly mentioned the countries that she studied abroad in, but she did not elaborate on her experience at all. I think that it would encourage more students to engage in education abroad if individuals who studied abroad through the Office of International Affairs shared their personal experiences in this session.   

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