I am so grateful that I am spending my semester in New South Wales, Australia, through SIT’s Environmental Action and Sustainability study abroad program. During my time here, I have learned from leading environmentalists, listened to impactful activists, been exposed to the indigenous Aboriginal culture, and experienced indescribable moments of connection with Earth.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa, Anna Patty (B.A. journalism, Spanish '03) had never been on an airplane. That all changed when she decided to study abroad in Heredia, Costa Rica, for an entire academic year. Nearly twenty years after her study abroad experience, Patty is now owner of Be The Good Consulting, LLC, a marketing, public relations, and fundraising firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Patty recently took time to reflect on how her study abroad experience has shaped her career.

While it’s more fun to show pictures of all the adventures I’m having, the reality of study abroad is that it is, in fact, study abroad.

Anna Kroeger is witnessing preparations for Day Zero first-hand as a UI student studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. Kroeger, a student in the Tippie College of Business, is spending the Spring 2018 semester at the University of Cape Town through IES Abroad.

As soon as we’d settled into our school routine, it was time to shake things up with a seven-day tour of central Morocco. Rabat is fairly far north, so “south” encompasses most of the country. It was our first excursion, and first time leaving the home-base of the Rabat Medina neighborhood.

Lyon used to be just a dot on the map for me. Situated in the east of France and tantalizingly close to Switzerland, this city was my obsession over the summer and fall of 2017.

One day you are tackled by time and realize that you have only a week to go before spending the next semester of your life in another country. Then you suddenly find yourself stuffed in the middle of a Boeing 777, with a stomach full of airplane food and butterflies. 

University of Iowa International Relations major Alex Bare, a Walcott, Iowa native has been awarded a 2018 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS).

University of Iowa Political Science major Eli Bratsch-Prince, a native of Ames, Iowa, has been awarded a 2018 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS).

oming from January in Iowa, my first two impressions of Morocco were “Wow, all the colors are so bright!” and “Wow, it’s so warm!” The rich orange dirt contrasting with greenery and palms is stunning.

My name is Brooke Jennings, and I am fourth year biology student on the pre-medicine track. This winter I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Kerala, India. When I first decided to study abroad, I knew that the cost would be my primary obstacle. I grew up in a low-income household, and I am currently putting myself through school. This meant that I had to decide if studying abroad was worth it, that it would make a difference in my educational experience. This was the best decision I have ever made. The trip to India was nothing short of life changing. Working with the wonderful staff of Pallium India was the best experience of my undergraduate career.

I am happy to be writing to you since returning from the 2017-2018 India Winterim Study Abroad Program. It was an adventure to say the least, but I hope my letter will provide you with some insight and direction in your choices of studying abroad. I will describe the sites visited as well as the field based learning opportunities.I studied abroad in Bangalore, Karnataka, India in the section titled: Youth, Nutrition, and Foods. This program aimed to educate students about India’s overall culture and cuisine, the ways in which schools and businesses work together to feed India’s children living in low income populations and/or living with disabilities, and the history of India to provide a better understanding of it’s current landscape today.