Strasbourg Study Abroad Lessons
Will Swinton
For my STEP Signature Project, I decided to study abroad at the École de Management in Strasbourg, France. I chose to study abroad in order to gain valuable international exposure while furthering my academic, professional, and personal interests. By studying abroad, I was able to immerse myself in a foreign country’s culture and make unforgettable memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
My STEP project provided countless opportunities for self-reflection and, as a result, personal growth. The hundreds of new people that I met, the immersion in a foreign country, the new responsibilities, and the unique conditions of independence provided me with immense opportunities for both professional and personal development. On a daily basis, I found myself constructing new introspective thoughts that I otherwise would not have had the benefit of learning from all while living in a uniquely special situation. By facilitating, to the best of my ability, an experience that took me far out of my comfort zone, I benefitted from opportunities to expand my global consciousness and cultural competencies all while learning a considerable amount about myself.
Concretely, I gained a substantial amount from interacting with people from all around the globe. In fact, within my first week in Strasbourg, I had met people from every continent apart from Antarctica! Upon meeting so many students with a much more varied cultural background than I am used to, I made it my goal to create lasting bonds with as many people as possible. By the end of my trip, I was closer than I could have ever imagined myself to be with fellow students from Norway, Columbia, Morocco, Greece, Italy, Ireland, China, Australia, just to name a few. I found it fascinating to share stories and cultural dialogue with these peers. Conversations about cultural norms, traditions, current events fueled our discussion. Thanks to the new friends that I made from around the world, I was fortunate to broaden my cultural understandings and become a more globally-aware and internationally-minded individual.
The next most significant contributing factor to my personal development from my STEP signature project was the deepened independence that I gained by immersing myself in a foreign country. Organizing my study abroad opportunity was, at its shortest, an almost two-year endeavor. From saving money, anticipating a likely monthly budget, organizing living arrangements, and coordinating travel plans to standard tasks like doing laundry, buying groceries, and maintaining a budget, studying abroad provided unique opportunities for my independent growth. As opposed to having everything taken care for me, it was my responsibility to organize all aspects of the trip. Cultural, I was fortunate to have prior experience living in France during an internship in 2018. However, during this opportunity, I did not have to organize my lodging, weekly meals, or laundry arrangements. Thankfully, I gained exposure to living in a foreign country before studying abroad, however, my experience in Strasbourg this year allowed to me to become even more independent by forcing me to manage more intricate details of the experience. Thankfully, I am proud to be a more independently successful and productive individual from my time studying abroad.
A final opportunity for growth that came from studying abroad came entirely unexpectedly in the form of a global pandemic. It is easy to imagine that one of the last things that I was anticipating to occur during my semester in France would be an international biomedical crisis. However, it rapidly developed into a situation that directly affected me. After an incredible two months of learning and growing, it became apparent that I would have to make the difficult decision to leave France earlier than I had anticipated. For many reasons, I found it hard to determine whether the best option would be to wait out quarantine alone in France or return to America for quarantine. While I found it challenging, and dealt with substantial regret upon making my mind, I consider coming home the most mature decision that I made while studying abroad. Ultimately, the toughest choice that I had to make in France was the one that I learned the most from. I learned that, sometimes, the best decision to make is also the one that is most difficult.
While studying abroad, I had the fortune of meeting hundreds of new friends from across the world, all walks of life, and personal backgrounds. The lessons that I learned on a daily basis with these individuals that will forever be powerful influences in my life have helped and will continue to shape me into a culturally conscious individual that I strive to be. The memories that we shared will stay with me forever, as will the advanced understanding of different nations and cultures around the world. The challenges of holistically organizing all aspects of my study abroad opportunity taught me valuable lessons in productivity, independence, and resourcefulness. I have no doubt that I have become a more responsible and well-rounded person. Finally, the most challenging and unanticipated situations that I experienced earlier this year illuminated crucial perspectives on my values and beliefs that I will carry onward as I continue to grow and mature. I have always believed that the most challenging scenarios can be most conducive for progress, and I consider the decisions that I made concerning my study abroad experience to be challenging circumstances from which I have learned a great deal.