by Mina Corpuz and Sarah Kirkpatrick
With more than 1,150 Boston University students set to depart for Study Abroad programs in early January, several students expressed excitement for the opportunity to learn in and explore different parts of the world.
With more than 1,150 Boston University students set to depart for Study Abroad programs in early January, several students expressed excitement for the opportunity to learn in and explore different parts of the world.
In fact, one was so excited for the shot at studying abroad that she only applied for a single program.
“In hindsight, it felt a little reckless [applying to one program], but I knew I just really wanted to go to Israel,” said Katelyn Pilley, a junior in BU’s College of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences, double majoring in advertising and history. She will study at the University of Haifa in Haifa, Israel in the spring.
“I’m just really excited to experience a bunch of things first hand,” she continued. “I’ve been studying Israel for two years now and I’ve never been there, so I’m excited to have concrete experiences to add to my education. I really feel like my education isn’t complete without it. I’m excited to hear first hand what it’s like to live there and the environment. Also, to explore, listen and try to learn as much possible and just come out with a better view on things because it is such a chaotic environment.”
Mike DeSocio, a junior in COM studying photojournalism and minoring in visual arts in BU’s College of Fine Arts, will participate in a studio arts program in Venice, Italy. He shared a similar passion to Pilley for the educational opportunities the abroad program will provide.
“I look forward to being able to speak the language in a more casual environment,” DeSocio said. Although a lot of my family is Italian, I don’t really speak it to them, so it will be nice to actually start speaking it outside of the classroom. I’m excited to get back into design courses because it’s been about a year and it’s going to be nice to spend a whole semester immersed in that.”
BU offers programs in more than 30 nations; however, some students choose to stay closer to home, for domestic internship programs in Los Angeles or Washington. Julia Metjian, a junior studying journalism in COM, will stay in the United States and participate in the internship program in Washington during the spring semester.
“The original thing that attracted me to the D.C. program was really how concentrated it is, so of course there are many things you can do in the city, but mainly what I was interested in was politics and reporting,” Metjian said. “I thought that that would be a great place to go and explore those two opportunities and to combine them.”
Among some BU students, simply being accepted to the study abroad program is a rite of passage in itself. It's almost become a joke among BU students that once you're accepted to a program, it's required to post the acceptance email on social media:
