What has been your career path so far?
Cara: After I went abroad, I still wanted to travel more so I did an internship in Costa Rica after I graduated. Then I moved to New York and worked for a study abroad company there, which is similar to the Syracuse University World Partners program. Since I had experience working with world partner programs, working at SU has been a good fit.
Did YOU study abroad?! If so, where and what inspired you to go?
Cara: I studied abroad in Madrid my junior year of college. As long as I can remember I have just always wanted to study abroad and since I was studying Spanish it seemed like the best place to go.
Which study abroad destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?
Cara: We have a balance of where people are going within our programs. If anything, students should be less nervous about going to a program in a country where English is not the native language. Learning a new language can help students in so many ways both personally and in their careers.
There have also been studies that show that being bilingual or learning new languages is extremely beneficial to your cognitive health. Learning a new language might be a step outside of one’s comfort zone, but there are so many benefits that it is really worthwhile.
Why is language learning and cultural immersion important to you?
Cara: I think the reason learning another language is particularly important to me is partially because of my personal background. My mom was a language teacher and she always stressed the importance of learning a language. Another reason I think it is important is that our country is so isolated geographically and learning another language helps to close the gap between us and other cultures.
Learning another language puts us in the shoes of other cultures and helps us to think differently about other cultures and our own. Learning another language is an experience that humbles you because learning another language is hard but in the end, it really helps you connect with people around the world.
What was your favorite traveling experience?
Cara: One of my favorite experiences was when we took my daughter abroad for the first time; we went to Spain where I had lived for two years. I was able to see a city where I had lived through a different lens of having a child. It was very eye-opening.