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"My life improved in every possible aspect: physical, emotional, spiritual–you name it. It shocked me out of my complacency and made me realize what I had to appreciate more, as well as what I could stand to improve on when I did return."
"Everything I learned about in my Blackness in French class was very eye-opening. I truly left that class changed for the better."
"Every single excursion and reading has been truly important to me."
"After studying the language intensively for my first three years of college, I knew that Italy was where I was meant to study abroad."
“Throughout all aspects of the program, I gained lots of valuable insight and experience towards my goals of moving to Europe to pursue further education and career opportunities as an artist after I graduate from Columbia.”
"Living in Hong Kong made me re-evaluate my openness to relocate and work in different countries later in my life."
"When I think back on my study abroad experience, I remember the genuine, unfettered happiness I felt, the friends I made, the food I ate, and the adventures I went on."
"The courses provided a critical lens through which to view various pedagogical structures, and the first-hand experiences were invaluable."
"Though in some of my programs, I have been 'alone,' I never felt truly alone with the connections I made before and during my experiences..."
"During my time abroad, I experienced an expansion in my independence, self-assurance, and personal development."
"Studying abroad completely changed my life. I definitely grew as an individual because I was exposed to different cultures and experiences that caused me to internally reflect on my own."
"The Collaboratory illustrated the enduring importance of cross-cultural collaboration in moments of economic and political destabilization."
"I now have a network of connections all over the globe, and many of these connections are lifelong."
"Always be open minded to trying new things and meeting new people. You never know what the future holds or what can happen when you put yourself out there."
"Little did I know, my upcoming semester in Japan would help uncover new interests and crystalize my future research goals."
"A study abroad experience is blanketed in a sense of adventure, as you are in an unfamiliar place with few expectations and the complete freedom to try new things."
"Studying abroad not only allowed me to connect my past with my present, it also helped me find a path to my future."
While I learned a lot of French in class, speaking to French locals solidified my knowledge of the language further.
It is difficult to describe my abroad experience without describing the extraordinary natural world which surrounded it.
I am incredibly humbled and grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary undertaking and program. It is invaluable to have opportunities for junior researchers to expand their knowledge and impact on the scientific world.
I often look back to my time of study abroad in Berlin, Germany with very dear memories – the friendships I made that I still cherish; the travels in Germany and Europe that richly expanded my cultural sensitivities, and above all, the advancements in my German skills and in my knowledge of German culture that would fundamentally benefit my future graduate studies in piano and musicology.
Now, in hindsight, I see that the BCGS program’s impact went far beyond improving my German language ability; the program concretely shaped my career trajectory in ways that I had not anticipated at the time.
As we strive to engineer for humanity, we must remember that technologies we build don’t exist in vacuums. They have an outsized impact on users often out of sight and often out of mind. An empathy of people both from and beyond our lived experiences is a necessity in our increasingly interconnected world. Sometimes, all it takes is a new river to start seeing things with a new view.
"My primary motivation for embarking on a semester abroad was to experience something different, which is the same motivation that pushed me to attend college out of state."
"...beyond the obvious benefits of historical learning and art and curatorial practice, the program allowed me to broaden my own worldview of both foreign and familiar spaces."
"Leaning over to pick up my café, I caught my eye in my reflection— like him, I had changed too."
The readings and lessons stayed with me beyond the classrooms, as I saw my readings and lessons in action and alive.
"In my experience, there are definitely ways to continue pursuing your passions and extracurricular activities while you are abroad-- and all of them are worth it."
"I was searching for ways to connect what I was studying in classrooms on campus with lived experiences and intersecting identities at the global scale."
Alone in London for four months, I was able to enmesh myself in different cultures...
"Education is about more than the classroom, it is about experiences."
"Day by day, this social exploration broadened my understanding of modern life on a global scale, while simultaneously putting my prior conceptions of life in America into question."
In my mind, education is about more than ideas--it’s about becoming a citizen of the world and, in so doing, recognizing that your fate is deeply and beautifully entangled with the fate of others.
My experience in Berlin has informed my future career plans after graduation; in particular, the inspiration and encouragement I found in vibrant community art scenes has led me to consider more seriously entering the field of art education alongside a professional career as a musician.
It feels good, and gives me confidence in myself, to know that I can move to another city, country, and continent and make a life for myself there in just four months.
I want to try my hand at things I could be bad at. I want to take risks and to keep taking on an active role in my own life, in seeking out opportunities to let go of what I know in favor of what could be bigger or better or more well-suited for my talents and interests.
It is clear to me that this program has changed the course of my personal and professional life, not to mention fulfilling the tall order of being the best summer I have ever had.
There are few things more satisfying and reassuring than grappling with the challenges of study abroad and emerging victorious.
"It was a great way to get to know other students from different courses and years."
"Crucially, my time in Venice reaffirmed that art history was what I wanted to pursue as a major."
" I learned more about community engagement while gathering public input on streetscape projects in the pouring rain than I have in classrooms or offices."
"Going abroad helped me understand new environments, interact with local communities, and be comfortable stepping outside of my comfort zone it was my first step in setting my newfound path into motion."
To combat the general discomfort I felt, I created and surrounded myself in physical and mental environments that I wanted to be and thrive in. Immersing my mind in positive thinking and poetry helped to greatly enhance my time abroad.
It’s not just in America where the strongest ties that bind are formed by our values.
...we have to get sore before we get strong, and I came out of the experience much more conscious of my place, and responsibility, in the world as an American than before.
"Coming from a minority perspective forced me to see things in a different light and take a critical look at my own assumptions, thought processes and fundamental beliefs."
"Beyond the language component, the classes I took through BCGS exposed me to topics and intellectual discussions that fascinate and engage me to this day."
"My day-to-day experience was vibrant. I would share each breakfast and dinner chatting with my host mom about politics, the city, and new art installations at museums—she was my biggest resource in terms of connecting to the culture."
...all of my previous experiences in Paris could not prepare me for the one I had at Reid Hall – a place that opened a vast world of history, thought, and cultural life to which I was, until that point, little more than a doting outsider.
Returning to Paris from Cannes, I was distinctly aware that I would never have another experience like this one. Truth be told, my entire time spent at Reid Hall was full of adventures as extraordinary as this one, full of people and places that changed me for the better.
When I left Paris, beyond the joy I felt for the great memories I took with me, I also recognized that I had gained a set of tools I can now use to solve problems in the future.
The type of housing you select may have a significant impact on your experience abroad, and each has its own benefits and drawbacks.
My BCGS study abroad experience paved the way for my return the following summer to work as an EMGIP fellow in the German parliament and my graduate studies at the London School of Economics in European Politics.
I am grateful to BCGS, as the year I spent in Berlin has academically and socially prepared my life after college.
It was BCGS that built my confidence to live and work in Germany permanently after graduation.
"I think the most impactful experiences for me were those in which I didn’t just learn about a culture, a tradition, history, politics, or language, but actually encountered them and experienced them outside the classroom."
"Spending a year abroad at Oxford certainly taught me a lot not just about my major, but about myself and my identity."
BCGS was a challenge in all the best ways possible. We were pushed outside our comfort zones, but the triumph and sense of accomplishment we felt afterwards, was perhaps the most rewarding part of all.
If you want to make studying abroad a thought-provoking experience, I encourage you to keep track of every little culture shock as well!
Spending time in Athens, Nafplio, and the island of Syros, I was able to delve deeper into my academic passion of Art History, while also learning about other disciplines, and gaining new friendships and cultural understanding.
"Only being there for a semester, I was prepared to do things I would have been too afraid of doing at Columbia."
Studying abroad allowed me to gain insights on issues that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise – through seeing things I that otherwise wouldn’t have.
Study abroad provided me with the mechanism to not only enrich my language learning experience, and my understanding of the world, but also to rediscover some of the hidden beauty in everyday life.
What I study at Columbia is completely different than most of what I was studying in Kenya, but it didn’t matter.
My fears were replaced with pure excitement and anticipation of all that I would then see and do over the next six months.