Studying Abroad with a Scholarship – a Profile by Alice
Alice is a Social Anthropology student who studied abroad for one semester at the College of William and Mary. She has kindly shared the following profile about her experience abroad and how The Santander Scholarship allowed her experience to be enriched.
Looking back on my semester abroad in the United States, I can see how much I have experienced and learned. This opportunity would not have been possible if it were not for receiving the scholarship to support me. Thanks to the scholarship, I have been able to not only cover the essential costs of making the move to another country – accommodation, travel, health insurance, visa, etc. – but also experience new places, people, and things!
When I first arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia, I wanted to jump right into making friends and trying new things. I decided to try new clubs and events around campus, even joining the lacrosse club to practice with them, meet more people, and learn a new sport. This gave me a wonderful experience of college life in America by connecting with my peers from various backgrounds.
Spending a semester at the College of William and Mary, the second-oldest institution for higher education in the USA, has given me a great chance to learn about American history. From studying colonialism and the development of the United States in the classroom, to walking the streets that Thomas Jefferson or James Madison once did in Colonial Williamsburg, this has been an incredibly enriching experience. As an Anthropology student, this is essential to my studies on different cultures and people. I have also been lucky enough to assist on an archaeological research project at Bacon’s Castle, a historical site of Bacon’s Rebellion (1676-1677) – an opportunity that would not have been possible without this scholarship.
During and after the semester, I have also been lucky to be able to travel within the States. For Spring break, I travelled to New Orleans – a city filled with culture, history, art, and of course, jazz. Making new friends has also opened the door to new places, as I have been lucky enough to visit my roommate’s family home in North Carolina and go hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Also, the experience of studying abroad gave me the confidence to travel solo to Washington DC to take in the sights, politics, and history of the country’s capital. I am also excited to visit New York in the next couple of weeks before I head home. Travel is such an important experience to learn about new people and places, which I have been lucky enough to experience by studying abroad.
Without this scholarship, none of these opportunities would have been available to me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Studying abroad is an exciting and rich experience, with so many opportunities to learn and grow.
Thank you to Alice for sharing her experience with us. If you would like to hear more about Alice’s time abroad, or about Study Abroad in general, please contact [email protected]