DeShaun graduated last May from the University
of Arkansas, with a major in Journalism and minor in Marketing. He spent a summer doing interviews and filming with U of A faculty
in Bolivia (now in Argentina). We asked him a few questions about his study
abroad and here's
what he had to say:
Why did you decide to study abroad?
In
order to get the complete college experience, I wanted to take advantage of
every opportunity that the university offered to students. As a freshman, study
abroad was one experience that I heard upperclassmen talk about all the time
and I wanted to be sure to take my college experience up a notch by doing it
too. People who did not study abroad told me that their biggest regret in
college was not studying abroad and that was not a regret that I wanted to have
after graduating,
What did you really learn by going abroad? How was it impacted
the rest of your college experience/your personal life/your job search?
I learned more about about
my major and about the culture of a South American country. I went on an
international reporting trip so I was able to use the skills I learned at the U
of A in a challenging way. I had to interview people in a different language
and learn to navigate a city while learning how to respect a culture different
than my own. Having that international experience has impacted my life by
making me more aware of respect for different cultures and trying to deal with
others in a culturally aware manner. I have been asked about my experience
in every job interview I have had.
What was the biggest hurdle in getting abroad and how did you
overcome it?
The biggest hurdle in getting
abroad for me was finding the right program. Until my senior year there wasn't
a program for journalism - I wanted to be able to go abroad for something
within my major. Fortunately, the journalism department created a study abroad
program at the right time for me.
What is one piece of advice would you give to other students
thinking about studying abroad?
Do your research starting your
first semester and attempt to study abroad as early as possible! Once you do it
once, you'll want to do it again in another country. I waited until my senior
year to study abroad. If I had studied abroad during my sophomore year I would
have taken advantage and done it again. The earlier you try - the more
opportunities you have. You can study abroad during a summer, and intercession
or an entire semester or year!
What did you learn about yourself/your culture by going abroad?
I learned that cultures have
their differences but we all have similarities. I learned how smart I am not.
Don't get me wrong, I am confident in my intelligence but when you are
somewhere and you don't know the culture and barely know the language, you must
depend a lot on others and your resources to get things done. I am a better
person because I studied abroad.
Where did you live while abroad?
While abroad, I lived in a
hotel.
Was studying abroad expensive? How did you pay for your experience?
My particular trip was not
very expensive. It costs about $3,600 total, which is fairly cheap.
Unfortunately, I missed the scholarship deadline so I was able to pay for my
experience with excess funds from my semester scholarships and help from my
parents.
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Find information about the U of A Reporting in Argentina summer program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/argentina
If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a
look at the first steps: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/first-steps.php.
