Skip to main content
O’Neill International Student Blogs Indiana University

Zsofia Leary reflects on her semester in Spain

Posted on by sjpaulso

O’Neill student Zsofia Leary shares about her semester abroad in Spain.

What attracted you to participate in an O’Neill semester exchange?

I have always loved traveling, and being immersed in another culture for a whole semester seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t miss. I would learn about local customs, but also learn about my major from a different perspective.

How has studying abroad benefitted you as a person?

My study abroad semester has helped me grow so much as a person. I made lifelong friends from all over the world, improved my Spanish skills, and thrived in a culture very different from my own. I also gained useful insight into the world of law and public policy in Spain and Europe, providing me with a more well-rounded education.

What is your favorite memory, story, and/or experience from your semester exchange?

I have so many amazing memories, it is hard to choose! I traveled a lot during my time abroad, which was amazing. However, one of my favorite memories would have to be a Christmas party I went to. One of my closest friends while abroad is from Germany, and she hosted a Christmas party in December. She made a traditional type of German Christmas cookie, and we had Gluhwein, a type of German mulled wine. I met some of her other friends (also international students), and also became close with several of them subsequently. We also baked and decorated basic sugar cookies, and sang Christmas songs, and laughed for hours. For me, making memories with these and other friends was the highlight of my time in Madrid, and something I will take with me for the rest of my life.

What advice do you have for students who are hesitant about going on a semester exchange?

Just do it! I was extremely nervous about whether my language proficiency was up to par, if I would be too homesick, and I would make any friends. Of course, I missed my friends from home, but I was genuinely so happy in Madrid. There were struggles, but trust in yourself that you will figure it out. Madrid is a vibrant and joyful city. I always thought when people said that their study abroad semester changed their lives, they were exaggerating, but I can now say I genuinely feel the same.

Anything else you would like to share?

Just that I am so grateful to have received this opportunity. It means the world to me and it was genuinely the best four months of my life.

GLP Portugal Intern Highlight: Claudia Gage

Posted on by Erin Larkin

O’Neill International Global Leadership Program in Portugal Intern Highlight: Claudia Gage

As part of the 2022 Global Leadership Program, Claudia Gage interned at Fundacao Jona Vasconcelos in Lisbon, Portugal. Here she provides some insight into her internship and reflects on how her time still influences her current job.

What were some of your responsibilities during your internship?

I researched potential partnerships for Joana Vasconcelos, a Portuguese visual artist known for her large-scale works, with US-based museums, universities, and cultural institutions. I also did research on the impact of COVID-19 on the visual arts market. I compared and contrasted the arts market and the nonprofit sector in Portugal and the US. I showcased these findings to foundation staff at the conclusion of my internship.

What do you do now? Are you in a job, continuing your education, etc.?

I work for the O’Neill School as the Associate Director of Student Leadership Programs.

Has your internship experience in GLP helped with your current role? Or was there anything that you learned during your time that might influence your future career path?

While my current role is very different from my GLP internship, I use a lot of the same creative thinking and research skills that I developed during GLP during at my job in O’Neill. My time in GLP also deepened my interest in and appreciation of study abroad programs and international education, which is an area of higher education that I could see myself working with in the future.

What was the most valuable part of your GLP experience?

The most valuable part of my GLP experience was the opportunity to completely immerse myself in Portuguese culture. I had traveled and studied abroad before but had never lived anywhere where English wasn’t the primary language and had never worked outside of the US. I particularly enjoyed learning about the differences in how museums and galleries are run in Portugal.

What was your favorite memory from your experience?

Some friends and I took a weekend trip to the Azores, an archipelago in the Atlantic that’s a quick flight from Lisbon. We went whale watching, visited a pineapple farm, and took a tour around Sete Cidades. I saw some of the most amazing natural beauty I’ve ever seen on that trip!

Any advice for students going or applying?

I would tell anyone who is interested in GLP to go for it! It’s such an amazing experience and a great way to experience an internship abroad. For anyone who has been accepted into GLP, I really encourage them to learn the language. Cafezhino (Portuguese coffee hour) at the Hamilton Lugar School is a really welcoming environment to find others to practice your Portuguese with.

 

Graduate student Kenny Rusk shares about a semester in Italy

Posted on by sjpaulso

O’Neill Graduate student Kenny Rusk reflects on his semester exchange in Milan.

What attracted you to participate in an O’Neill semester exchange?

This was going to be my final semester at IU, so I wanted to have some fun. I saw that SPEA was introducing this program in Milan, and Italy is the first country I ever visited outside of the US. It seemed like the perfect place to cap off my academic career.

How has studying abroad benefitted you as a person?

It has definitely made me more independent! I lived pretty far from campus, and I did a lot of solo travel, so it was on me to get to where I needed to be. Also, I spoke a little Italian before I arrived, but since I was far from fluent I needed to find a way to communicate. Eventually I got a lot more comfortable with the city and it began to feel like a home after a bit!

What is your favorite memory, story, and/or experience from your semester exchange?

I spent a week in Switzerland, and one day I decided to go to the Appenzell region, near the Austrian border. I went to the top of a mountain called Ebenalp and hiked down to the base. It was my first time experiencing the Alps, and the weather was perfect. I was in awe of the mountain’s beauty and how idyllic the whole region was, it felt like I was in a Disney movie. I saw much taller mountains later in the trip, but that was my introduction and it will always stick with me.

What advice do you have for students who are hesitant about going on a semester exchange?

There could be struggles. Finding housing, the visa process, and culture shock are always obstacles to overcome. But if you keep pushing through and using all the resources at your disposal, the payoff will be so worth it. I will always have a connection with Milan, and I encourage you to persevere and know that you won’t regret it.

Anything else you would like to share?

Talk to people! I became good friends with a bunch of people I met on WhatsApp, and I was the only American in the group. Whether we see each other again or not, we will always have our memories of our time in Italy. And then there’s the people I met in hostels with whom I toured a city or went out drinking. The people you meet can add so much to your experience!

Sydney Glickman on ‘Finding Identity and Belonging as an Outlier in Berlin’

Posted on by Erin Larkin

O’Neill student Sydney Glickman reflected on her time traveling to Berlin, in an article through the O’Neill Career Hub. Find a link to the article and the transcript below.

https://oneillcareerhub.indiana.edu/blog/2024/03/27/finding-identity-and-belonging-my-experience-as-an-outlier-in-berlin/

This past spring break I participated in O’Neill’s week-long study abroad program in Berlin, Germany. Our course exposed us to the economic restructuring Berlin underwent from the aftermath of World War II that turned its economy from stagnant into a competitive global powerhouse. Through infrastructural innovation, entrepreneurship, technological advancements, and a great deal of resilience, Germany successfully re-emerged in what became known as the “Great German Turnaround.”

However, this class only accounted for half the significance of the program. As I quickly discovered, my experience in Berlin would be anything but typical. Being the only Jewish student in a group of 23 people, I found myself both navigating a landscape rich with history haunted by the echoes of the past and grappling with my own sense of belonging in a city marked by the scars of the Holocaust. In drafting this piece, I hope to shed light on the common yet overlooked experience of involvement in unique group dynamics where one’s identity doesn’t match – a frequent occurrence in the American workforce.

As I walked through the Murdered Jews of Europe memorial, the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and the haunting remnants of the SS headquarters, I found myself overcome by a profound sense of solitude. Each step felt weighted with the collective memory of millions of lives lost. At the memorial, the stark concrete slabs seemed to stretch endlessly, a testament to the enormity of the genocide. In Sachsenhausen, the barbed wire fences and desolate barracks bore witness to unimaginable suffering and cruelty. I couldn’t help but wonder, are my peers perceiving these sites with the same guilt, anger, sadness, and hopelessness as I am? Do they feel a personal connection to the stories of survival and loss that resonate within these spaces?

While the answer to these questions may have been a “no” for some of my peers, their curiosity and empathy sparked meaningful conversations, enriching our understanding of the diverse perspectives and personal connections to history that each of us has to offer. This, I believe, is the key to approaching such situations.

When your identity doesn’t align with the identity of the rest of the group, a delicate balance of self-awareness and resilience is vital. In discussing how this issue pertains to the workforce, open communication, adaptability, and education are three initiatives a company can, and should, champion to ensure their employees feel included. When partaking in the job hunt, ensure your company has implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that advocate for policies and practices that promote fairness and respect for all individuals.

In both personal and professional settings, it’s crucial to prioritize authenticity while also seeking common ground with others. Embracing your uniqueness is empowering as it allows you to bring diverse perspectives and insights to the table. Nevertheless, it’s equally important to actively engage with your peers, fostering open dialogue and mutual understanding. Building connections based on shared interests, values, and goals can help bridge gaps and foster a sense of belonging within the group. I am immensely grateful for the many lessons I gained as a student and as a Jew in my Berlin study abroad program.

O’Neill Career Hub: Benefits of Studying Abroad

Posted on by Erin Larkin

Here, June Coleman, O’Neill Career Hub Assistant Director of Career Services (Graduate Programs) shares the benefits of studying abroad.

 

How can studying abroad positively impact career development?

Students develop and grow in so many ways as they move through the college experience. Their values, skills and identities are shaped by their academic, social and professional experiences.  A significant part of a student’s development through college includes their career development.  Regardless of one’s career path, a study abroad experience can positively impact one’s career development by exposing them to global and diverse perspectives, navigating different cultures, and gaining a broader understanding of careers around the world. Even if a student has a specific major and career path established, they may refine that plan or even change it, based on their experience abroad. The value of a study abroad experience is that students experience perspectives and careers that challenge and shape their career framework and understanding.

 

Are there specific skills that employers look for that studying abroad would help expand?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) surveyed employers nationally and identified 8 competencies that show a candidate is “career ready”.  NACE Career Readiness competencies include communication, teamwork, critical thinking, professionalism, equity and inclusion (formerly global fluency), technology, career and self-development and   leadership.  If you think about the impact of a study abroad experience, most of these 8 career competencies are developed and refined through a study abroad experience.  (see infographic below)

 

How can students help market their study abroad experience on resumes, cover letters, or in interviews?

We encourage students to create a separate section on their resume called “International Experience” or “Study Abroad Experience”.  This highlights the international experience and corresponding skills and gives the candidate an advantage.  More and more, we see employers doing business globally and recruiting a highly diverse workforce.   Candidates with study abroad experience highlighted on their resume are highly competitive for most positions.  In the interview process, we recommend candidates outline their specific transferable skills developed through the study abroad experience, and specifically how this global experience can enhance the organization’s mission and aligns with diverse initiatives. Candidates should talk about the value of their international experience even if the employer doesn’t ask about international experience. Study aboard sets candidates apart from others even if the employer doesn’t list this experience in the job description.

 Source:  NACE Job Outlook 2024

 

Are there industries or professions where the experience of studying abroad is particularly advantageous, and if so, what aspects of the experience make a candidate more appealing to employers in these fields?

Certainly global companies, regardless of industry, seek candidates with study abroad experience.  However, I would argue that all companies and industries with a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion understand the value of the study abroad experience.  Regardless of a student’s area of study and career path, a study abroad experience is highly valuable in shaping one’s identity, perspective, career path and view of the world.

Senior Adrian Tanase reflects on his time in Madrid

Posted on by sjpaulso

Adrian Tanase, senior at O’Neill, shares about his semester exchange in Madrid.

What attracted you to participate in an O’Neill semester exchange?

Having an Eastern European background, I was always interested in studying abroad in Europe. I chose Madrid because a friend of mine did the same program last year and had great things to say that aligned with my interests.

How has studying abroad benefitted you as a person?

Studying abroad gave me many new perspectives. On the surface level, I experienced what it was like to live in a major foreign city, immerse myself in different cultures, and see new parts of the world. However, the thing I will cherish the most is the people. Throughout my time abroad, I met some of the most sincere, curious people that I made genuine friendships with and learned from which I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

What is your favorite memory, story, and/or experience from your semester exchange?

Some of my favorite memories from abroad came from the days in Madrid where a couple friends and I would get €1 coffees or go on late night food runs and explore the city.

What advice do you have for students who are hesitant about going on a semester exchange?

Everybody is just as lost and confused as you. If you are worried about not getting the experience that everyone who goes abroad raves about, be open and it will find you. I’ve never experienced such a welcoming environment of people so excited to interact and try new things. Whether it’s the first day of classes or halfway through the semester, there will always be opportunities to put yourself out there and curate your own ideal abroad experience.

Anything else you would like to share?

It’s never too early or too late. I went as a senior and wouldn’t change a thing.

Brazil Global Leadership Program Alum Highlights

Posted on by Erin Larkin

O’Neill International’s Global Leadership Program in Brazil began in 2017 and is an international internship experience for graduate students. The program places students in internships in the Brazilian Federal Government in Brasilia, Brazil. As a partnership between O’Neill and the Brazilian Federal Government through the Escola Nacional de Administração Pública (ENAP), students have gained immeasurable benefits throughout the years. Here, we have highlighted past participants over the years.

Members from the first cohort in 2017 participated in programs such as:

  • Ministerio do Meio Ambiente as a Forestry and Climate Change Intern
  • Ministerrio do Planejamento, Desenvolvimento e Gestao as a Policy Analyst Intern

Second Cohort (2018)

  • Climate Change and Forestry intern in the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment
  • Brazilian Ministry of Social Development in the Sub-Secretariat of Planning and Budgeting

3rd GLP Brazil Cohort (2019)

  • Foreign Trade Intern in the Ministerio de Economia
  • Intern for Senador Alessandro Vieira and Deputados Tabata Amaral and Felipe Rigoni in the Federal Senate

4th GLP Brazil Cohort (2022)

  • Ministerio da Mulher da Familia e dos Direitos Mumanos (Ministry of Women, Family, and Human Rights)
  • Federal water resources and sanitation governance intern in the Brazil national Health Foundation

To learn more about opportunities with the Global Leadership Program, click this link.

https://international.oneill.indiana.edu/bloomington/available-programs/international-internships/index.html

Portugal Global Leadership Alum Highlights

Posted on by Erin Larkin

O’Neill International’s Global Leadership Program in Portugal began in 2022 and is an international internship experience for graduate students. GLP Portugal is open to students in all graduate degrees, offered in partnership with the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), and the Study in Portugal Networkd (SiPn), both based in Lisbon, Portugal.  Here, we have highlighted past participants over the past few years and take a look at where they are now.

Members from the first cohort in 2022 participated in internships at organizations such as:

  • Fulbright Portugal
  • CoLAB ForestWISE
  • Art Museum: Atelier Joana Vasconelos
  • Alto Commissariado para as Migrações (Migration Services)
  • Systemic, Sustainable Development Management

The second cohort that participated in 2023, worked at organizations like:

  • European Affairs Coordination Directorate
  • Liga para a Protecção da Natureza (League for Nature Protection)
  • Agência Nacional Erasmus+ Educação e Formação (National Agency Erasmus+ Education and Training)

To learn more about opportunities with the Global Leadership Program, click this link.

https://international.oneill.indiana.edu/bloomington/available-programs/international-internships/index.html

 

Prof. Joanna Woronkowicz answers questions about Switzerland

Posted on by Erin Larkin

Prof. Joanna Woronkowicz answers questions about the new summer program, Switzerland.

 

Why should students study abroad?

Until you spend time in another country, relating to people who come from different backgrounds and learning about a different culture, you don’t realize how small your immediate world is and how much more you can learn (and enjoy) when you expand it. Studying overseas is the perfect situation to help expand your world especially in a topic you already are interested in or care deeply about. It not only will help you learn more about a subject that you might want to develop a career in, but will give you a structure for embedding yourself in a different culture, including a new network of people that you have common interests with. Also, studying abroad while you’re a student is the ideal time to have this experience, before many students have full-time jobs and families to care for, and many other responsibilities that make it harder to travel.

 What are you most excited about for the Switzerland program?

I am most excited to introduce students from IU to the people in Switzerland at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) whom I’ve been working with for several years in the area of cultural and creative industries. This course is a pilot for a joint program between the O’Neill School and ZHdK that would include this course as a ‘module’ in ZHdK’s new cultural policy minor. Beginning in summer 2025, the students in this course will hopefully be studying alongside students at ZHdK. I’m also excited to show students – especially those who have never left the United States – how beautiful Switzerland is. I had the good fortune of doing a Fulbright in Switzerland in 2019 and being able to discover the beautiful landscape. I also really enjoyed seeing how sustainable the Swiss way of living is from seeing everyone there primarily rely on public transportation, biking, and walking, and how they use different methods for controlling their natural resource usage.

 What is the course itself about? What will students spend their time focused on?

The course is about how creative products are produced and consumed in the market. By creative products, I mean music, television, film, and other forms of art and creativity. We’ll learn about how people and firms operate with the cultural and creative industries (CCI), and how governments approach CCI policy. Since the CCI is a term that is more commonly used outside of the United States, we’ll focus on learning about them in other countries, especially Switzerland and Western and Northern Europe where CCI policy and practice is relatively sophisticated. We’ll have the pleasure of studying and learning about this topic at the Zurich Center for Creative Economies and hearing from experts working in both policy and practice in and around Switzerland.

What’s something surprising students may encounter on this program?

While Switzerland is probably best known for its chocolate and its cheese, and the beautiful snowy rocky landscape of the Alps, the country is also one of the top producers of design in the world. Students in this course will get the opportunity to visit and see the archives in the Museum fur Gestaltung Zurich, a leading Swiss museum for design and visual communication. There students will see original designs of many products that they’ve probably never thought of as being Swiss – Logitech products, Sigg water bottles, Freitag bags, and of course luxury Swiss watches!

Prof. Daniel Preston discusses studying abroad in Portugal

Posted on by Erin Larkin

Yellow vintage tram on the street in Lisbon, Portugal.

Here, Prof. Daniel Preston shares the benefits of studying abroad with a spotlight on Portugal.

What makes the Portugal program special?

PRESTON: Sustainable development is the centerpiece to how the world addresses its most pressing problems, and there is no better place to study the topic than Lisbon, Portugal. Theory and practice come together where students can learn from leading experts and practitioners in the classroom and engage with sustainable development tangibly through site visits and excursions.

Why should students study abroad?

PRESTON: Study abroad rounds out your university education to prepare you to be successful in an interconnected world and better understand the world as a global citizen.

What is one fun fact about you?

PRESTON: I used to be able to kick a 55-yard field goal; I’m still happy to challenge anyone to a punt, pass and kick competition.

What type of students should apply to study abroad in Portugal?

PRESTON: I am looking for students who have a strong academic commitment and care about the future of our planet.

What is your favorite part of running international programs?

PRESTON: I especially enjoy hearing from former students who were transformed for the better by their experience abroad.

Skip to toolbar