Widen The View, Challenge The World

I didn't realize it at the time, but I needed to broaden my view of the world. Through this program, I was forced to examine and understand my environment first, before communicating in a thoughtful, productive manner - a key principle in being an effective professional and an all-around better person.

Two years ago, I joined this program expecting nothing more than just another class in an overseas setting. The program proved to be an investment into the self that continues to pay dividends to this day. Through this program, I learned that many of my views and assumptions of the world were often tunneled to the goal of merely getting through the day, conditioned by experiences of everyday life. I learned that traveling to off-beaten paths was a direct challenge to living day-to-day, as the experience altered my view of the world, therefore, altering the platform of understanding from which I communicated from.

Of all the courses I took as part of the Communications and Leadership Studies program, this study abroad course proved the most valuable. From a personal perspective, the process of the program allows you to set yourself free from what you think you know about life and world, and adopt a wiser view that is closer to the truth.