On Wednesday, November 20, 2019, I attended the STEP Expo in the Ohio Union as an academic event.
At the expo, I talked with Zack Meder, Juliette Kokernot, and Aaron Burleson, each third-year students who had applied their STEP funds to an experience abroad. I chose these students in particular because I believe that I will be putting my STEP funds towards a similar project (the Canadian Parliament Internship), and I wanted to hear about their experiences and thoughts on their programs.
First I spoke with Zach who had spent a semester studying linguistics in San Jose, Costa Rica. His experience was particularly interesting to me as someone with a family history in Latin America. He had spent three months there learning about the evolution of the Spanish language, all the while living with a host family and traveling all over the continent. While I was particularly interested in his time abroad, I knew that I wanted a program with a different focus, one that would allow me to gain experience in the political and/or legal fields and would match my major area of study.
Next, I talked with Juliette who had spent a few weeks over the summer at Oxford learning about English law with other Ohio State students. As someone who is considering law school, I found it helpful to talk with a fellow pre-law student who was older and had more experience than I. One of my biggest takeaways from our conversation was the increase of her international knowledge and awareness that she described gaining from studying abroad. Juliette emphasized that she had gained new perspectives on both law and the legal system that she would not have gained had she simply studied in the United States. While I do not believe that the Oxford Pre-Law program is the exact fit for me, hearing Juliette talk about the importance of learning overseas made me more confident in my decision to work for the Canadian Parliament this summer.
Lastly, in speaking with Aaron about his two-week trip to Paris, I was able to gain some insight into what it was like to be immersed in the French culture. I made sure to take note of his tips as I will have to navigate a similar culture during my time in Canada this summer. What I liked most about Aaron’s presentation was his experience in interacting with the locals and throwing himself into the Parisian way of life. Being that I will be participating in a program where I will be living with other American students, I will try to follow in Aaron’s footsteps by getting out of my comfort zone and truly getting absorbed into the culture I am living in.
Each presenter that I talked with gave me different viewpoints that will help me get the most out of my time with the Canadian Parliament. I learned how to immerse myself in the program and reap as much as I can from the experience. Speaking with these students at the STEP Expo helped me picture myself in my program and only made me more excited to head to Canada in the summer.