Preparing to go abroad
Program Manager, Global Sustainability Studies Program
It is that time of year again. All across the United States college students are finishing up classes and embarking on finals week. There is a panicked energy on most college campuses, at least there is here at Arizona State University. I find it fascinating to watch the frenzy of students running from classes, to the library, waiting to pounce on a professor to plead their case for a higher grade. I love the chaos and a little part of me loves to see who will win – the professor or the student. While sitting in almost any hallway or building can feed my people watching needs, I must admit that I have a favorite place on campus during finals to people watch: the study abroad office.
Just under 300,000 students study abroad each year in the United States. I have had the privilege of working in international education for almost a decade and to me it’s the most fulfilling work I can imagine. I have personally helped over 1,000 students study abroad and hearing their stories and watching them grow has been incredible.
I love seeing how different students approach going abroad. Some students are only focused on the excitement of seeing and learning about a new culture. There are students who are curious about their adventure, but don’t really want to think about it too much before they actually arrive. There are also those students who are a little panicked because they are not quite sure what they have gotten themselves into.
If you listen to students before they leave on a program you can hear a myriad of questions including safety and health concerns, questioning if their academic plan will stay on track or just wanting to get tourism advice for their free time.
There are however questions that students don’t ask. If I were offer my advice to students going on a study abroad program, here are my three answers to the questions students don’t always think to ask:
1. How can I make this experience grow my network?
Study abroad programs can range from 10 to 40 students. These students can become one of your strongest and most powerful networks later in life. You have the opportunity to create lasting bonds with people who are dedicated and interested in pursuing careers in the same field as you. Sure people talk about this in marketing study abroad programs, but rarely do people talk about how to actually make those bonds. There isn’t a secret recipe, but I will tell you that getting to know everyone on your program is a great place to start. Don’t form cliques with the cool kids. Don’t limit yourself to only hanging out with two to three people that you either already knew or would have been friends with anyway. Take the time to go sight-seeing with different people during your free time. Sit next to different people during the business visits and engage in thought-provoking conversations with them about what you’re learning. Most importantly, continue to engage and interact with these students after the program ends. Keep your network alive so when you’re starting up your own company 15 years down the road and find out that one of your past study abroad colleagues could help you, they actually remember you and recall the relationships you formed.
There may be chances to network with people in your field who are hosting you for business visits or site visits. Be prepared with more than just surface questions if the opportunity presents itself for you to engage with one of these hosts. And remember that you are there to learn about them and their field – not to try to sell yourself. You’re not in a job interview. Write down things you talked about with that person and then follow up with that person upon your return to the U.S. thanking them for their time and potentially even asking them another question or two. As you go throughout the next few months of school and making decisions about classes, internships, jobs, etc. send them an email and ask for their advice of what they think you should do to help advance in the field. Don’t ask for a job or internship. Cultivating a mentor will take time and dedication. And it doesn’t happen with one conversation in Spain and then a follow up email a year or two later asking them to help you find an internship. If you cultivate a mentor relationship there will come a time that it’s appropriate to ask advice when you’re seeking an internship or job. Again, don’t ask for a job. They will offer you what they know and help you shop around in their network.
2. How can I see and document everything about this new culture?
You can’t. And you really shouldn’t try. I’ve seen way too many students who are so worried about capturing the perfect picture for Instagram and seeking out WiFi to upload it that they miss out on actually experiencing the culture. You can’t see everything. And you can’t document everything. However you can have a truly rich experience trying to submerse yourself into a new locale. Put your phone away. Put your camera way. Forget about WiFi. Just be where you are. Stop trying to be a National Geographic photographer. Be a person who is open and waiting to absorb what comes to them.
I encourage students to try to manage taking no more than 10 photos a day documenting your experience. You may end up with 30 because you want to make sure you got the perfect shot, but the idea is that any day you are looking for 10 moments that you want to capture. Beyond that, just live in the moment. Participate in what is going on instead of trying to document it.
Most importantly write about your experiences every day. Whether it’s for five minutes on a bus or for an evening back at your hotel – take time to write about the events of that day. Reflect back on the 10 images that represent that day to you and caption them or write the background of the photo.
3. How can I use my international experience to get a job?
Way too many students ask this question after they have returned home. At that point, it is harder to answer this question. If you ask this question before you leave, you have the opportunity to frame your experience in ways that work on a resume and for an interview.
Find a job posting for a position that you would really like to apply for if you were graduated. Take that posting with you on your program. Read through the job responsibilities and qualities that they are looking for in a candidate. Then as you go to class and attend lectures, business visits and site visits, translate what you are experiencing into statements that coincide with the job posting.
If you view your study abroad experience as training for a future position you will see and learn things that you would otherwise miss. You can make connections and correlations to employment that otherwise may be obscure. Often times if you wait until you are home and actually searching for a job, it’s difficult remember all the skills you learned and mastered several months or years ago on a study abroad program.
So there you have it. The three questions that far too many students don’t ever ask or ask too late.