- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.
My STEP signature project was a study abroad program in Poland. This program fulfilled some course requirements for my major and taught me about Eastern European history. It was about 6 weeks long and 12 credit hours.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.
I would say this program allowed me to realize that a lot of things I thought I wasn’t privileged enough for are more accessible than I imagined. Before this program, I used to think study abroad programs were only for rich students who have a lot of travel experience already. I hadn’t even been away from my family for more than 4 days up until this trip, let alone 6 weeks. It has given me the confidence I need to pursue bigger things that I’ve always been too scared to pursue. I’m so glad I went on this trip because I don’t see any better way to learn these lessons than through this study abroad.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.
First and foremost, I had never been in an airport by myself let alone flown across the globe. This was the first experience that made me realize I am more capable than I thought. Reading signs and navigating gate numbers is a scary and daunting task but I was able to do it on my own and that was a surprise to me. I learned that simply asking strangers for help is the best way to get things done if you are unfamiliar with any setting and you don’t feel comfortable trusting your own skills. This realization also taught me that people are much more eager and nicer than I expected them to be (for the most part). All of this contributed to my positive experience.
Secondly, I was able to see how professors live outside of an academic setting. During the between-city travels with the faculty on this trip, I realized that professors are just as normal as my family. I was raised to uphold academic degrees to a profound level of respect and although this is a positive thing, it led to me forming misconstrued perceptions about how different academics must be outside of their professional field. This was unhealthy, however, on this trip, I realized that regardless of how many PhDs, families raise their children very similarly to my family; they have the same arguments, the same jokes, and the same traditional values and emotions. This was a profound discovery for me because I now see my professors in a more wholesome and accessible perspective.
Thirdly, navigating a new country was a world of realization for me. When I landed in Poland, I was so jet lagged that I hadn’t processed what was happening around me; however the next morning, I was able to sit and come to terms with the fact that I was thousands of miles away from familiarity and that I had made it here all on my own; I was proud. Moving forward, the trip became a matter of time management and ambition. In other words, I was no longer worried about the details of my family and friends not being near, and I started exploring the city and looking at things with an eager perspective. On one of the free weekends, I went to a Money museum on my own and then treated myself to a nice lunch afterward. I also went to the Oprah, the ballet, I went to a piano concert, explored the nightlife, and so much more. All of this was made possible by the change in perspective from “ I can’t do that” to “Why not”?
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.
This change is significant because a lot of my life has been dictated by the limitations I’ve put on myself. I needed this shift in perspective because it taught me that the experience and life I want to have is very much dependent on whether or not I think I can have it. At no one person’s fault, the life I’ve lived up until now as a former refugee African woman has taught me that I don’t have much say in my life; my life is dictated by outside forces. However, this could not be further from the truth. I am just as capable and worthy of the life I’d like to live as anyone else, regardless of what position in society I was born into. I needed this realization because it would empower me to strive for the things I thought I wasn’t made for, whatever that means.
Here is a final project Tiktok. I cooked a traditional dish made during the communist era in Poland.