ISEP Voices is our new student blogger program aimed at featuring diverse and underrepresented voices in study abroad. After an overwhelming number of applications, we are excited to announce our Spring 2016 ISEP Voices featured bloggers! You’ll get to know them throughout the semester as they share their ups and downs of studying abroad. Through their posts, you’ll find out what it’s like to study abroad in a certain school, major, region and more.
Joy Donnelly
Home institution: Missouri State University, Missouri
Host institution: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
Her story: Growing up in Kansas, I was often the only person of color in my classes or activities. This fostered an environment in which I was drawn to discovering and learning about other cultures and embracing my own. I have always known that it was a goal of mine to see all of the different types of people in the world. I am starting this journey in Milan, Italy. I hope to gain different perspectives and grow richer in experience and culture. I am the most excited about being in such a large, influential city.
Catherine Masoud
Home institution: American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Host institution: Virginia Tech, Virginia
Her story: An Egyptian born and brought up in Dubai – the most cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse city in the United Arab Emirates and possibly the world. I toured Europe as a little girl and have been infected with the travel bug ever since. Now in beautiful Blacksburg, Virginia, I am doing an ISEP Exchange program at Virginia Tech. I am certain that through my five months studying in a campus with over 30,000 students, I will meet hundreds of wonderful people from around the planet. I look forward to these new friendships, and most importantly, snow – a rare sight in the Middle East!
Beatrice Uccelli
Home institution: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
Host institution: Eckerd College, Florida
Her story: I am 24 and I am a charismatic, friendly and determined person. I am a recent graduate in Foreign Languages for International Relations and I am still studying in order to get a Master’s degree in International Relations in 2016. I want to be part of ISEP because I truly feel that this will be an experience of a lifetime. I love traveling abroad in order to improve my language capabilities and get to know new people from different cultures. I honestly believe that you will never stop learning new things by traveling around the world and I hope you will enjoy the moments I will share with you during my semester abroad at Eckerd College in Florida.
Dantae Garee Elliott
Home institution: Roanoke College, Virginia
Host institution: Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, Spain
Her story: I am a small island girl from the south side of Saint Elizabeth Jamaica, who had a dream to go to college in the United States. Upon accomplishing that dream, I decided that I wanted to study abroad to enhance my skills in my major. I hope to fully emerge myself into the culture in Spain, while using the language that I have acquired from years of studying it. I am excited about creating and building relationships with new people and being apart of a new culture. Based on statistics, people of my demographic do not normally study abroad due to the lack of opportunities that they are faced with, therefore, I am incredible honored that I have this opportunity. With this opportunity I can show people in my community and other minority students that it is possible to study abroad, and gain a life long experience.
Carlos Ruiz
Home institution: Monmouth College, Illinois
Host institution: Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay
His story: My name is Carlos Ruiz and I am 21 years old. I am an International Business major with a minor in Spanish. I was born in sunny California and currently live in a small town in Monmouth, IL. I love sports, especially soccer and basketball. Los Angeles Lakers and Barcelona are my favorite teams. My goal in life is to have a career I love.
Catherine Jones
Home institution: University of Memphis, Tennessee
Host institution: Ewha Womans University, Korea
Her story: Ever since I was little, I’ve loved learning about other cultures. I even participate in Middle Eastern and Indian Classical dance, and am apart of the Asian American Association at my university. Seoul, and Korea in general, attracted me like a magnet. Since high school I’ve been planning a trip like this! I already have a list of places to go to, from major tourist sites to places known by very few. I can’t wait to find more during this time abroad.
Destiny Simpson
Home institution: Northern Arizona University, Arizona
Host institution: Edinburgh Napier University, United Kingdom
Her story: I am a first-generation college student studying abroad in the spring of 2016. In Scotland I am continuing my studies to fulfill my requirements for my double major in microbiology and chemistry by taking microbiology electives abroad. I have not been outside of the United States before and plan to take advantage of every opportunity given to me. I am integrating into a culture different from my own and getting the experience of a lifetime.
Diana Laura de Anda Padilla
Home institution: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO), Mexico
Host institution: Linnaeus University, Sweden
Her story: I was born and raised in Mexico. I am 21 years old and three years ago I decided to start a major in Design. I decided to go abroad because I wanted to expand my horizons and learn about different cultures. When finishing my ISEP Exchange study program I will study for another year before I graduate.
Emily Smith
Home institution: University of Southern Indiana, Indiana
Host institution: Université de Caen, France
Her story: All my life I have dreamed of speaking French and seeing the world. This dream is entirely my own, my family is not well traveled, let alone speak a foreign language. Traveling the world and being fluent in French has just always been this unquenchable desire I had to fulfill. And now, through hard work and effort, I’m doing it. I’m on the path to accomplishing my dreams.
Emma Welch
Home institution: Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia
Host institution: Tokyo International University, Japan
Her story: I aim to become a concept artist for movies and games, which combines my love of narratives and world-building with my interest in drawing. While in Japan, I will be studying the language and culture–an experience I have always longed to have, but have not been given the opportunity to. Due to these circumstances, I will be focusing on both expanding my visual library and learning academically about Japan during my stay there.
Humberto Rodriguez
Home institution: Texas A&M International University, Texas
Host institution: Ewha Womans University, Korea
His story: Hello wanderers! You can identify me as Humbert, the guy behind these words. I am here to share stories of my international studies in Seoul, South Korea. I too am anticipating what is to come as I write this bio. I hope my stories will help inspire an upcoming journey of yours. Please keep in mind that I am majoring in Psychology and not English, go easy on my writing.
Blue Cremeans
Home institution: Marshall University, West Virginia
Host institution: University of Chester, United Kingdom
Her Story: I like to talk, a lot; sometimes people listen. Standing out isn’t too hard when your name is Blue, it’s the fitting in that I’m working on.
Jason Schroeder
Home institution: Ball State University, Indiana
Host institution: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile
His story: Jason, 22, is a Video Production and Theatre student from Northwest Indiana. He spends much of his time serving tables, enjoying fine (and some not-so-fine) wines, conquering fitness goals, relaxing with friends and family and budget traveling. He is proud to have already covered Canada, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Australia and Germany. Jason’s latest project put him in the (assistant) director’s chair, shooting videos for Indiana Tourism’s fall destinations campaign with a team from Ball State University. Jason is studying Spanish in his second study abroad with ISEP, having previously studied Film & Media in New Zealand in 2014.
Barbara Diaz
Home institution: Università degli Studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Italy
Host institution: Creighton University, Nebraska
Her Story: I am a determined person and I am looking for exciting experiences! I grew up in Argentina then I moved to Italy with my family where I spent the most part of my life. Once I undergraduated (in translation and interpreting) I decided to move to London where I spent one year. I worked at Harrods as an assistant manager and I took an intensive course in audiovisual translation at the Imperial College. When I came back to Italy I decided to get a higher degree in International Communications and Marketing. I love travelling and meeting people from all around the world. Most especially, I love getting to know different cultures and different ways to see the world. This is the main reason why I applied for the ISEP Exchange program. The other reason is because I think this would be a once in a lifetime experience for me and I think studying in an American university will give me the chance to grow personally. Moreover I want to know my limits, and I’ll start from here!
Jessica Forlizzi
Home institution: East Carolina University, North Carolina
Host institution: Universität Bern, Switzerland
Her story: New Jersey diva transformed into a southern sorority girl; Jess is inspiring to travel the world, own a field of sunflowers, and hopefully stumble upon aliens one day. You can find her laughing with friends, whining about the younger Jesse McCartney, or chilling on the beach under the hot sun. Her current route of exploration is in the beautiful land of Switzerland.
Jessica Johnstone
Home institution: Kent State University, Ohio
Host institution: Universidad de Almería, Spain
Her story: Hola! My name is Jessica, and I am a twenty year old college student currently studying Spanish Literature, Culture and Translation and Education! This Spring semester, I am going to be embarking on the biggest journey of my life by studying abroad in Almeria, Spain! I cannot wait for my adventure, and I hope you will travel with me by reading about my experiences on this blog!
Leigh Barrios
Home institution: Louisiana State University, Louisiana
Host institution: University of Sunderland, United Kingdom
Her story: Third year Kinesiology student, studying sociology abroad. I love to travel and going to concerts to experience music live. All I want to do is go and see as many parts of the world as possible and write about my journey along the way.
Lydia Ward
Home institution: University of North Carolina at Asheville, North Carolina
Host institution: Södertörns högskola, Sweden
Her story: Hoping to never go a day without doing something for the first time!
Madeleine Kiszewski
Home institution: University of Vermont, Vermont
Host institution: Universität Bern, Switzerland
Her story: I am Maddie Kiszewski (pronounced [Mad-dee Kiss-chef-ski]), a 20 year old Italian-Polish-American student, and world explorer! I am currently studying Plant Biology, and spend a lot of time wandering around the woods trying to identify unusual flora. In my spare time, I enjoy yoga, hiking, and crocheting, as well as train rides and good coffee! I love meeting new people, trying new things, and am always looking for a new adventure.
Marie Kressin
Home institution: Hendrix College, Arkansas
Host institution: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
Her story: I am the first in my family to leave the country, and I’m super stoked about it. I think the best way to learn about the world is to interact with different people around the world. While I’m abroad, I will learn by listening to the stories of everyone I meet. Who are they? What do they believe? When they look out their windows, what do they see? What do they want to see? By hearing the stories of other people, we can become part of a global community and maybe even come up with some stories of our own.
Marina Sufiyanova
Home institution: Tilburg University, Netherlands
Host institution: Bridgewater College, Virginia
Her story: My name is Marina Sufiyanova. I am Russian, born in Kazakhstan and raised in the Netherlands. During my life I got connected with all kinds of people from different cultures with a lot of different views, religions and ideas. That inspired me to see more from the world and go on exchange. I am a senior law student. My passion is expressing myself trough writing and speaking. I am interested in philosophy and debating. Writing about adventures, other cultures and questions about life gives me a lot of energy and excitement.
Megan Mason
Home institution: Colorado Mesa University, Colorado
Host institution: Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
Her story: Traveling is my passion and blogging allows me to capture and share every special moment and experiences with others 🙂
Melissa Olson
Home institution: University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Wisconsin
Host institution: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile
Her story: I am a first-time solo traveler, ready to dive headfirst into the art of travel and a new culture through my study abroad experience. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to live like a local in my host city, and to truly absorb every bit of the Chilean lifestyle that is tossed my way. Every activity and every interaction, can be viewed as a learning experience, and I am so excited to share these happenings with you all!
Morgan Laketa
Home institution: University of North Georgia, Georgia
Host institution: La Trobe University, Australia
Her story: I have always had a passion for discovering far off places and extraordinary things. I love traveling out into unknown lands and learning all that I possibly can. I also hold a place in my heart for living things- namely animals of all types of species. These reasons are primarily why I am traveling abroad aside from academics. From the excursion I hope to broaden my horizons intellectually and in great hopes for my future. I wish to become many things- a writer, an artist, an intellectualist, an explorer- but namely I want to help the animals I love so my career goals are directed towards being a wildlife veterinarian. This sort of field of work does not come easily and requires quite a bit of knowledge to pursue- not the job for someone confined to the city limits of their home town for their whole life. And so, from traveling abroad I wish to take in the knowledge of a place very different from mine, gain an understanding of creatures no textbook can fully describe, and fall in love with a world very few can visit.
Sam Holland
Home institution: Whitworth University, Washington
Host institution: Université de Caen, France
His story: I’m from the eastern part of Washington where things are pretty quiet and the people are the same. I came to France to meet new people and experience new things.
Sofia Ursini
Home institution: Universidad de Palermo, Argentina
Host institution: University of Sunderland, United Kingdom
Her story: Hi my name is Sofía Fernández Ursini , I am doing ISEP Exchange at University of Sunderland, and I am very pleased to be an ISEP blogger!!! I am 20 years old and I am from Argentina, Buenos Aires !
Virginia Block
Home institution: Hamline University, Minnesota
Host institution: Al Akhawayn University, Morocco
Her story: I was bit by the adventure bug at a very early age. As a small town girl, I dreamed of seeing the beautiful places that my favorite characters explored with my very own eyes, but wasn’t sure how I’d do it. Then I heard about the study abroad program and I knew that would be my chance. I chose Morocco because it is a beautiful country that is a mix of European and African culture for a unique experience I hope to cherish forever!
Yusemi Mondragon
Home institution: University of North Georgia, Georgia
Host institution: Sichuan University, China
Her story: I am a first generation college student and I will be studying abroad in China because I find its culture and language challenging, yet fascinating. Since I am the oldest in my family, this opportunity will serve as an example to follow for the rest of my family. When I go to China, my goal is to explore my surroundings and learn as much as I can. In my opinion, the most exciting thing about studying abroad is the opportunity to open my mind to new perspectives.
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