At the University of West Alabama, we have a really, really strong study abroad program, ranging from just a two week study abroad trip in Ireland, all the way to full on year programs in countries like Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Korea, France, Switzerland, England. Plenty of opportunity there to tailor what kind of experience that you want to hav, and also to tailor what you learn.
I traveled to Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai, China, being with my classmates, interacting with people that we didn't even know was so impactful for my life in moving forward in my career of education, as saw a different side of how things can be told.
I think the biggest area of growth professionally is how you interact with people. I wasn't familiar with some of the things that my instructors were saying. But you shouldn't be afraid to ask questions. You shouldn't be afraid to put yourself out there. That's when you're more receptive to people. And that's when people are more likely to work with you.
We have several different programs that we offer partnerships with, and one of the benefits of a partner school is that our students pay their tuition at the UWA rate, and they get to attend school at one of our partner institutions. One of the great things about that is it's an exchange. So we take in students from those partner schools as well and they study here. So even our students aren't interested in maybe traveling themselves, they have exposure to students that come from other countries that are in their classrooms while they stay here at UWA.
I did a one year long dual degree program with IGR Rennes 1, which is located in Rennes, France. I spent one year there, four years here, and I'm graduating with a bachelor's and a liaisons toix, which is a French bachelor's, and those two together just match perfectly to open up all sorts of career opportunities.
My study abroad experience motivated me to grow professionally and personally. It gave me an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone, travel across the world, and see something completely new that I'd never seen before.