Program Reviews

About 13 years ago, my family and I moved to the United States as refugees. Growing up, I've always wanted to work for a non-profit that focused on refugees and migrants. That is why I chose Global and International Studies as my major, and it's been the best decision. Getting the opportunity to go to Spain was unbelievable for me. As an intern at Bienestar y Desarrollo Association, which is Spanish for Welfare and Development Association, I received a very warm welcome since the first day, and never felt like I did not belong there. As the first non-Spanish speaker to be hired as an intern, it was an honor and I also never felt like an outcaste or out of the loop. Co-workers who did not speak English would still greet me and make me feel very comfortable. That is what I appreciated the most. The work environment was very comforting, which made communicating much better and easier. I was never scared to ask for help or anything.
Through all the professional work, coffee breaks, and simply speaking with other co-workers, without a doubt, I grew both personally and professionally at ABD. As an intern, in many places, you can end up having to do the same task for a very long time, which gets very boring and tedious. However, I was given various tasks, and that allowed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Some of the things I had to do were new to me, but was very educational. It was interesting because the tasks mainly depended on the project that was being created at the time or the main focus, and so my responsibilities include, but not limited to, searching for possible funding opportunities in the EU, possible partners for collaboration, assisting with creating projects (Food Relations and COOLtoRISE), and proofreading/revising documents. Also, because the work environment was much more relaxed as opposed to the US, where everything is more scheduled and at ABD, it was more at flow, I was able to find my pace and work comfortably. I was able to get a lot of tasks completed. I am very proud of all the work that I did, and I hope that my work was very beneficial and helpful to the organization. The two months I spent in Spain were definitely amazing and Barcelona will always have a special place in my heart.

I didn’t want to be that person who said study abroad changed my life, but now that I’ve studied abroad......

This summer (2019) I had the incredible opportunity to travel abroad with IES to Amsterdam. Making it to Europe has always been a dream of mine, and when I saw the immerse and customizable curriculum that IES has to offer, including a course on Intersexuality and its history in Dutch medicine as well as a gendered approach looking at 17th century art history, I knew this program was right for me.

Since pre-departure, the IES Staff made the process incredibly easy — consistent emails and working alongside the study abroad office kept me ahead of schedule and prepared for in advance of boarding my flight.

This communication remained if not flourished as the program began and I was starting my summer in a new country. The summer went by quick (sad), but by the end I can say that I left with a completely new cultural perspective, an expansive amount of knowledge, a ton of new experiences (and photos!), and of course 20 new friends.

I thank the IES Abroad Faculty for the incredible experiences I got to live out this summer, and hope that the many prospective students of the program have an amazing time in the upcoming semesters!

I learned so much on this program! I now know more about the Chilean health system than I do about the United States system. I got 60 hours of hospital observation, including seeing many surgeries and the birth of a baby! All of my experiences in the hospital were completely in Spanish, which made it very intimidating at first. However, by the end I could understand everything happening around me and I loved it! I also made friendships that I know will last for the rest of my life. The IES Abroad center staff was so kind and genuinely cared that we had a great time, and I loved my host family. The city of Santiago now feels like a second home to me, and I can't wait to go back some day. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to improve their Spanish, learn about medicine, and have a summer full of adventure!

My summer internship with New York IES Program was beyond incredible. Before the departure, I didn't know what to expect, but I knew inside of me that this experience was going to change my life forever. And it did. I got on the plane nervous, scared but excited for what was waiting for me. Without any doubt, I can say that I'm not the same person I was when I first arrived in New York. The challenges that I had to face everyday shaped me as a student and as a human being. At first, it was difficult to live in the Big Apple - so many things to figure out. But as time went by, I became more confident. The IES staff helped me every step of the way -they have been always available and supportive. I am and always will be profoundly grateful to them for giving me this incredible experience.The IES staff has played a crucial role in finding the perfect internship placement for me: as and Art Historian student, working in an Art Gallery in Soho was a dream come true! I couldn't think of a better place where I could have interned. The people who worked with me at the Gallery made me part of their team from the frist day, and taught me so much! They included me in all of the activities of an Art Gallery such as setting up a new exhibition, meeting the artists, cataloguing, working with social media, editing pictures, finding new contacts and so much more! I felt I was learning something new everyday. Living and working abroad changed my life and my perspective of the world we live in. I definitely recommend this experience to anyone who wants to follow their dreams and pursue their career goals - you won't regret it!

Getting out of the U.S. to live, work, and play in a new country is an incredibly valuable experience. And, as a musician, there are few better places to jump headfirst into other than Vienna. IES Abroad did a nice job of easing us into the culture and the city, but did not hold our hands too much. Our time there was largely our own to spend as we please. I enjoyed taking German classes with a wonderful teacher that IES selected, and some of my favorite memories were exploring the city as a "class".

As an intern, what you get out of your work experience is what you choose to take from it. I wasn't in the most ideal situation, coming into Vienna without an internship placement, but the staff with IES did a great job of facilitating an interview and getting me into the workplace as fast as possible.

Interning in Rome was the most life-changing experience for me. I got to intern at Livitaly which is one of the leading tourism companies in Italy that specializes in giving small tours all around the country. Through this internship, I got to learn so much about Italian culture and was able to absorb it all in. Through this amazing company, I was able to see Rome and Italy in general in a new perspective. Not only did I learn to adapt to a new work environment and culture but I also learned a lot about myself and improved my cultural intelligence. The internship seminar was also very helpful and insightful. I gained worldwide skills that you can't learn back at home, and I was also able to attend networking events and met professionals who come from all over the world and found themselves working in Rome. Overall the people working for IES are what really makes this program great! Without them, I would have never experienced something as phenomenal as this. If you're looking for your chance to elevate yourself professionally, definitely come and see what the world has to offer you!

My summer in Santiago, Chile as part of the IES Abroad Summer Health Studies Program was the most amazing summer of my life. There are several options for how/where to do your observations, and I chose to do them at the public hospital in Santiago. I got to shadow doctors of many different specialties and even got to see a few surgeries. I gained so much experience in the medical field and learned a ton of medical terminology in Spanish, a vital skill in our changing cultural landscape. The staff at the IES Abroad Center were so welcoming and more than willing to help you with anything, whether that was help with academics, travel safety tips, or just finding the best place to buy an empanada. Also, Chile is such an amazing and diverse country with amazing opportunity to travel on the weekends to places like the Atacama Desert or Easter Island. This program is PERFECT for those wanting to enter the health field AND learn medical Spanish that will be vital in your career. If you are wanting the most fun, challenging, and life-changing summer of your life while ALSO boosting your resume for medical school/career, this is the place to go. ¡Viva Chile!

If you are looking for a study abroad program so dedicated to its students and presenting the best that Italy has to offer, look no further than here! The staff with IES worked with me from the day I sent in my application until I returned home and confronted my reverse culture shock. Siena may not be the largest or most infamous Italian city, but it contains some of the richest history in the world and the most passionate citizens. With a smaller class sizes, professors get to know you on an individual level and do all they can to help you succeed. The staff is consistently presenting in and out of class options for immersing yourself in the Italian culture and my suggestion would be to capitalize on these opportunities. In Siena food, art, and history all come together in a beautiful communal lifestyle.

I had an amazing time at IES Rome! I was originally hesitant to even consider going abroad, but after some persuasion from my friends, I decided that Rome was the place for me. I heard about IES through some friends of mine who really enjoyed the program and had nothing but amazing things to say about it, my experience was amazing and the reviews I heard were extremely on point. Going abroad is definitely one of the best decisions you could make! The program director and the professors I had throughout the semester were amazing and an invaluable source of support whenever I needed help or had questions about the program. If you do decide to go abroad, IES and Rome specifically were amazing!!! If you choose IES, say hi to Gianni Ponti, he is the best resource if you have any issues or just want to talk!

Spending a semester abroad was more than just taking courses in another country for a couple of months. The experience impacted me in every way imaginable. I experienced the unknown a lot while I was abroad – public transportation, Kiwi slang, Māori language and culture, Tim Tam Slams – and each of these experiences is a memory I carry that developed me into who I am today and who I will be in the future. Study abroad taught me to be more independent, flexible and fun-loving. The five months I spent navigating the ins and outs of a new country increased my self-confidence and helped me mature as an individual. The curriculum I engaged with while abroad opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about subjects I thought I already knew, and a spark has been ignited in me to follow my passion and do what makes me happy.

While my experiences abroad may have shifted some of my plans for my future profession, there are certain qualities I acquired that will be useful no matter what field I end up in. I have a greater respect of people who aren’t the same as me. I’ve always been a tolerant person, but study abroad has helped me to better understand habits and notions of my own culture that were so ingrained in me I didn’t realized they existed. Not only have I earned a greater sense of respect for people, but I also feel more comfortable adapting to new situations and environments. My semester abroad threw many things my way I couldn’t plan for. I had to learn very quickly how to juggle them in order to succeed.

As part of my program, we went to Rarotonga, the Cook Islands. The entire trip was unforgettable. IES gave us such an incredible and unique experience that I never would have been able to plan myself. On one of my favorite days, we got to visit a school that had preschoolers through about year eight students. After our introduction and a performance from the children, we got the chance to interact with them on a more personal level. They showed us how to play the drums, husk and grate coconuts, weave plates and make coconut leaf jewelry and I even got the chance to play netball and tips with them on their lunch break. As we were leaving that day, most of the children lined up to give us parting high fives. A little girl that I played netball with grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers instead of giving me a high five. She had one of the biggest smiles on her face I think I’ve ever seen and at that point I realized I would have been so grateful to just spend every day on our trip playing with those kids. Their lives are so fundamentally different than my childhood was, but their happiness was infectious. I have never been on a holiday where I’ve interacted with the local culture as much as we did that week. Yes, we spent our fair share of time on the beach, but I also left with a greater understanding of what life is like for Cook Islanders. I hope I can do that on all my future trips.

A semester abroad is about engaging with the culture of your host country. My program and my semester abroad helped me to do just that. I got the opportunity to embark on road trips with newly made friends, fly to the North Island and set out on an adventure in a very cramped campervan, work on one of my greatest passions (photography) and just see and experience the awesome New Zealand landscape. It seems like around every turn in the road there’s something new and overwhelming you get to take in. I spent a lot of my time abroad just feeling small in such a grand landscape. It was refreshing.

I had my life turned upside down in the Southern Hemisphere and realized that it was exactly what I needed for a lot of pieces in my life to slot together. I don’t think I’ll go a single day in my life where the impact of my semester abroad doesn’t somehow play a role in how I interact with this world. Study abroad is important. It opens new pathways and changes perspectives. Study abroad enabled me to learn about marine biology, evolution, Māori culture, and land ethics. It enabled me to learn about what it means to engage with your surroundings. It enabled me to learn about how I think about the world and what I can do to be a better global citizen. My experiences during my semester abroad are unparalleled to any method of learning I have previously been a part of. Not every moment was perfect, but I experienced so much sheer joy in the five months I spent abroad, I know I’m going to look back on those memories in the future and just soak in that happiness again. I am so immeasurably grateful for the opportunity to study abroad and I can’t wait to continue traveling in the future.