Kailee studied in Australia for a semester abroad in her sophomore year of college. Her home state is Colorado but she attends school in Massachusetts. She is studying for a double major in Business with a concentration in Sports Management and Communications and Media.
She chose to go abroad on the other side of the world for a new experience and a first-hand understanding of international sports companies.
I chose the CAPA program because it fit all of my needs on an academic level and a professional level.
The classes I took abroad offered a unique perspective on courses such as art, where I was able to experience art styles and artists on a first-hand level with classes taking place in art museums. They really fit my learning style as a whole with a hands-on ideology.
The program provider (or university) assisted me with everything and showed support the whole time. My classes, living situation, transportation, and internship opportunity were all provided to me, and I had to organize very little myself.
Events within my program were also scheduled for us to participate in order to get to know our program members better.
One piece of advice I would give to someone going on my program is to save up your personal funds.
One of my biggest personal struggles was managing my money in order for me to travel as much as I wanted to. My best advice is to have enough personal savings when you go abroad to allow yourself the freedom to travel, try new things and food, and still be able to support yourself with things such as groceries.
An average week as a participant in the program was busy, but not busy enough where you had no free time. I had three classes that only met once a week for three hours at a time, and my internship required me to do 20 hours a week. So, I attended class three days out of the week and went to my internship five times a week, which still allowed me the weekends and the evenings to myself.
Going into my experience abroad, I would say my biggest fear was not finding a group of friends out there. It was overcome very fast since I became fast friends with people in the program. On the first day out there you meet everybody you will be in the program with, and it was easy to make quick friendships since everybody there is looking for the same thing. After the program, my views on the issue changed because I realized it was never a concern.
My experience abroad was one of the best experiences of my life, but it also threw some curveballs. People tend to not think of the possibility of a medical emergency while they are abroad, but it is in the cards. On my spring break in Indonesia, I actually ended up needing 16 stitches across my forehead from a swimming accident. This was an intense experience since I was in a third world country, but it was handled very professionally and quickly. I would say that when you travel, always prepare for the worse.