Going abroad changed Nakia's life; she constantly seeks to recreate that experience in different countries throughout southeast Asia.
CEA was one of the few programs that were available at our campus to offer intensive Chinese in Shanghai. As a first-time overseas student, I wanted to have my pre-departure guide to be as helpful and simple as possible.
CEA was very organized and always had available representatives to answer any and all questions that I had.
CEA was surprisingly more helpful than my home institution. They helped with my pre-departure procedure by informing me of the visa I was required to have and provided the necessary paperwork to make my experience with the Chinese consulate less frustrating.
Also, I received a partial scholarship to attend the program abroad. CEA was very helpful by allowing me to pay the remaining balance of my program cost after the program ended and my student refund came. I honestly don't believe any other program would have done that for me.
One piece of advice I would give would be to go in with an open mind and a sense of adventure to try new things and go new places.
Going abroad I did not know what to expect being an African American in China, and it brought about nervous thoughts that I would not be accepted or looked upon with disgust. However, that all changed once I landed at Pudong International Airport. The locals wanted to take pictures and ask questions about my hair (I even got asked on a date!). This continued throughout the program and I actually started to feel at home.
Going overseas is a chance to gain confidence, make memories, friends, and even new life goals.
An average week in the CEA program was like everyday New York City life. Everything is fast-paced and exciting. I typically got up at 8 am to be in class at 9 am for intensive Chinese courses.
Additionally, there were class activities outside of the classrooms such as food scavenger hunts in the nearby local malls and field trip excursions to nearby cities. This is to immerse students in China's everyday culture while helping to develop Chinese linguistic skills.
My biggest fear going into the Chinese program was that I was not going to fit in as I do at home. The media and conversations people had about China were mainly filled with criticism and negative views on how the country operates as a communist nation.
Listening to this negative critical feedback I was fearful the first couple of hours on the flight. However, that all changed when I got settled in the program and started to enjoy where I was. I learned not to listen to the opinions of people and just to go and see for myself.
I was a criminal justice major who was unmotivated without clear career goals. My parents had chosen my career path as a lawyer without considering what I want to do, event though I had no personal goals.
That changed when I went abroad and started to feel a sense of purpose for the first time in my college career. I felt that for the first time I was in control of my life decisions.
This led me to abandon my parents' expectation of law school after I had received acceptance into two law schools. I took the GRE and got accepted to the International Studies graduate program of Texas State University.
Ever since then I have had a purpose to assist other students to go abroad and for myself to go back abroad to recreate my first-time experience that I constantly reminisce about.