Category Archives: Student experience

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: CORINNE

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Corinne Lloyd (she/her)

Program: Barcelona, Spain, Summer 2023

Major: Psychology

Graduation Year: Spring 2025

This photo is from my very first weekend abroad and it was moments before I went to my first soccer (or fútbol) match ever. I love soccer and used to play for years, so getting to see a game with a crowd as electric as this one was straight out of my dreams. I knew in the moment that it would be something I would remember vividly for forever, and so far that has held true!

Students can reach out to Corinne via email at:

corinne.lloyd@chatham.edu

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: ALI

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Ali Connolly (she/her)

Program: Sorrento, Italy, Summer 2023

Major: Education

Graduation Year: Spring 2025

This opportunity not only helped me step out of my comfort zone, but also guided me to feel more confident in myself and my abilities.

Students can reach out to Ali via email at:

ali.connolly@chatham.edu

 

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: SOPHIA

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Sophia Mena (she/her)

Program: Perugia, Italy, Spring 2023

Major: Food Studies

Graduation Year: Spring 2024

Studying abroad has shaped me personally, academically, and with the future of my career. I have grown as an individual through the exposure I had of being in new environments, being a part of new experiences, and meeting new people.

Students can reach out to Sophia via email at:

sophia.mena@chatham.edu 

 

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: SAVANNAH

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Savannah Wood (she/her)

Program:  Crete, Greece, Summer 2023

Major: Psychology

Minors: Creative Writing and Social Services Administration

Graduation Year: December 2023

This is a picture of my friend Bailey and I out to eat at a restaurant with the rest of our group. One of my favorite things about this trip was being able to try all new and unique foods. I feel like to know a culture is to know the food they eat, and that’s definitely something I was able to indulge in during my trip.

Students can reach out to Savannah via email at:

savannah.wood@chatham.edu

 

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: LUCIA

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Lucia Rettig (she/her)

Program: Florence, Italy, Spring 2023

Major: Interior Architecture

Graduation Year: 2025

My favorite memory of studying abroad was not only getting to travel all around Italy discovering their deep culture and eating their delicious food, but also getting to experience other countries and immersing in their cultures as traveling in Europe is extremely affordable, and the time of your life!

Students can reach out to Lucia via email at:

lucia.rettig@chatham.edu

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-24: MADISON

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Madison Shenigo (she/her)

Program: Greece, Summer 2023

Major: BSN

Graduation Year: 2024

Hi, my name is Madison and I go by she/her pronouns. During my time abroad I studied in Greece. In April, I graduated from Shadyside School of Nursing through the Pathways to Nursing Program that Chatham offers. In April 2024, I will be graduating from Chatham with BSN.

Studying abroad is one of my favorite memories from college. It was incredible getting to meet people from different backgrounds and growing together as we experienced such a beautiful country.

Students can reach out to Madison via email at:

madison.shenigo@chatham.edu

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-2024: ALYSSA

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Alyssa Bruce (she/her)

Program: Germany, Spring 2023

Major: International Studies

Graduation Year: 2024

Studying abroad in Berlin gave me memories, knowledge, friends, and a global perspective that I will never forget.

Students can reach out to Alyssa via email at:

alyssa.bruce@chatham.edu

MEET THE STUDY ABROAD AMBASSADORS 2023-2024: JENNA

Meet Chatham’s Study Abroad Ambassadors for 2023-2024. These students are study abroad returnees who are available to answer questions and share their experience with interested students!

Jenna Baljuanas (she/her)

Program: Greece, Summer 2023

Major: Environmental Science

Graduation Year: December 2023


My time abroad in Greece turned my dream of travel into reality (with the plus of celebrating my birthday on a pink beach!). Having no prior experience traveling to a different country, I not only gained more confidence in travel but also stronger relation to both people and places. About a month after this trip, I traveled internationally again, spending five weeks in Costa Rica for an internship. With already experiencing more comfort traveling and living abroad, I developed an even deeper understanding of myself, others, my career plans, and the rest of the world.

Students can reach out to Jenna via email at:

Jenna.Baljunas@Chatham.edu

CHATHAM STUDENTS IN GERMANY – SPRING STUDY ABROAD 2023

Aaron Zabrinas (rear, second from left) and Ava Krepp (rear, third from right) discussed their journey studying abroad in Germany this Spring. (Photo via Pulse@ChathamU)

Aaron Zabrinas’ 23  and Ava Krepp’ 25 share their experiences during their 2 week stay in Germany visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle, German countryside, and the Bauhaus-style neighborhoods.

For more information, click the link below:

https://www.pulse.chatham.edu/blog-stories/study-abroad-germany-berlin-pittsburgh-college-scholarship

 

When will you study abroad? Please contact the Office of International Affairs with any questions about study and intern abroad programs, the application process, or funding at internationalaffairs@chatham.edu.

Appreciating my Home Country Through Studying Abroad

By Honoka Ihara

English Language Program

Chatham University

I was in elementary school when I decided to go to the United States to study. The trigger was a trivial thing. I listened to foreign songs and watched foreign movies, and I simply wanted to be able to speak English. I also longed to live in the U.S., which is very different from Japan. From there I began to study English. I asked my parents to go to an English cram school.

I also attended the English Department in high school and enrolled in the English Literature Department at university. My plan was to study abroad during my second year of college. However, in 2020, the year I entered college, the Covid pandemic happened. My college life became completely different from what I had imagined. My first year of college, I never went to college and took all of my classes online. My college had many foreign professors, and I looked forward to taking their classes. I wanted to chat with them in English after class. However, taking classes online meant no interaction with the professors. Furthermore, international students who would have come to Japan every year were no longer able to come to Japan to study due to Covid-19. My college had a “conversation partner” program, and I had been looking forward to participating in such programs, but I was no longer able to do so. I have two older sisters and when they were in college, they really seemed to enjoy it. Knowing that, I was really disappointed compared to my own college life. Despite this, I prepared myself from the first year so that I could go study abroad in my second year. After passing the internal selection process, I was selected to study abroad in the academic year 2021. However, as it turned out, the study abroad program for the year 2021 was also cancelled. 2021 was still in the midst of the Corona epidemic, and I was only able to go to about half of the colleges, so I was prepared for the possibility that the program would be cancelled, but I was still shocked. In 2022, after one more year, I was able to study at Chatham University.

In Japan, I was not able to do things that are typical of university students, but since coming to the U.S., I have experienced many different things. There were also many things that I did not notice when I was in Japan. What struck me most was that Americans are not afraid to leave or throw away food. In Japan, leaving food behind is not considered a good thing. Of course, it may not be considered a good thing in the US either. However, while eating dinner in a dining hall, I noticed that many Americans leave the pizza crust behind. Some people leave other things that they just had a bite of.  Seeing this happen, I once thought to myself, “They must have left it because it didn’t suit their palates.” The extreme case is there is a trash can in the area where we return the dirty dishes. That trash can is divided into two types: one for paper napkins and other trash, and the other for throwing away leftover food. I was surprised when I saw that for the first time because I had never seen trash cans in Japan for throwing away leftover food scraps. I heard that the leftovers are used as animal feed, and I was surprised that the trash cans were built on the premise that leftovers would be thrown out. In Japan, there are probably people who have no objection to leaving food behind, but most people are taught by their parents or teachers not to leave food behind as much as possible. So many Japanese people are resistant to leaving food behind. I think this is a good thing about Japan that I noticed when I came to America.

Thus, since coming to the U.S., I have had many opportunities to learn about the good qualities of Japan. Before studying abroad, I did not expect to think about my home country because I thought I would discover many things about the United States. However, I thought that it is because I live in a different country from my home country that I notice the good things about my home country. Conversely, before I came here, I had an image of America as being very beautiful and everything was wonderful compared to Japan. I think that coming to the U.S. has broadened my perspective in many ways. From this perspective, I would like to identify good and bad points and use them as material to improve myself. For me, studying abroad is not only about learning English, but also about myself. I want to apply what I have realized through studying abroad to my future life.