Education Abroad Expo Reflection

On September 4, 2018, I attended the Education Abroad Expo at the Ohio Union. The Expo qualified as an Academic Event for my International Affairs Scholars requirement. The event impacted me very positively. I am very interested in studying abroad in both China and Korea for either semester or year-long programs and the Expo informed me about looking for scholarships, programs, and deadlines. The event changed my perspective on study abroad, pertaining to financing because there are many more scholarship possibilities than I thought. The Office of East Asian Studies has scholarships that are not need-based that I will now be applying to, thanks to the Education Abroad Expo.

 

The Education Abroad Expo related to the topic of International Affairs because it showed students that studying abroad can be affordable and accessible. I believe education abroad is a truly necessary component to one’s college experience if one plans to work in an international environment or with people from different backgrounds from them. Education abroad allows us to expand our mindset, perspectives, and worldviews which equips us with necessary skill sets for work and daily life. Experiencing other cultures provides us with many benefits, including increased empathy, expanded linguistic abilities, and the ability to cater to a larger market of people. I am currently studying both Mandarin Chinese and Korean, and this event also united me with like-minded individuals from many different disciplines across the University.

 

If I could design my ideal education abroad experience, it would be a year-long intensive language and study program that would take place in both China and Korea. Students would first attend Yonsei University and study Korean and Korean culture classes for an entire semester, paying close attention to speaking, reading, and syntax comprehension. Students would have to take a series of speaking, reading, and grammatical tests to be admitted into the program as it would cover two semesters of Korean in one semester. In addition to the Korean courses, students would take their level of Chinese at Yonsei in Korean, so that they are preparing themselves for the next semester while being exposed to teachers’ grammar in Korean. After the first semester, Students would attend Qinghua University in China, where they would take two semesters worth of Chinese in one semester. In addition, they would take their level of Korean language in Chinese.

 

For those who could handle the program, their language abilities would rapidly advance, they would get a chance to experience the culture firsthand, and their brains would be trained to work tri-lingually and translate more spontaneously.  Knowing myself, I would benefit greatly from my study abroad experience. I have been abroad, as well as away from home for long periods of time, and I have not experienced homesickness. I like to believe that I have quite a nomadic soul. I hope to travel around the world for some expanse of time after graduation from the Ohio State University. There are so many places that I would love to see, and a wide array of languages and cultures I want to learn about. My study abroad experience would put at a nice professional speaking ability in both languages so that I could confidently pursue employment opportunities in the United States or Abroad that require fluid language use and cultural understanding. I hope that one day I can bring an American perspective to conversations with international business people and vice versa in the States. One of the first steps towards that goal is to study abroad, and the Education Abroad Expo was crucial in making me more informed about my options.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
  • Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
  • Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
  • Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

[Your “About Me” is a brief biographical statement that might include your intended major, your academic interests, your goals, as well as the things that make you unique.  Definitely include a picture! Also, remember that you can always update this post at any point. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]