WORLD OF LEARNING AWAITS
There are many advantages for students who pack their books and head off overseas to broaden their outlook, as Bond University’s Paris Lightfoot and Charlie Churchill have discovered in the US
STUDYING abroad for a semester can be one of the very best ways to stand out from the crowd and proactively market yourself when looking for your first job out of university.
Students who make the most of opportunities to study in a new place strengthen their capability to adapt.
It’s a quality that employers value in prospective candidates as it shows they have the ability to swiftly adjust to new and challenging environments.
Two Bond University students, Charlie Churchill and Paris Lightfoot, opted to spend a semester in the United States at Clemson University in South Carolina.
Paris said she chose the US to get the “American college experience”. “Before arriving the only idea I had of what college life would be like in the US was what I learned from watching American movies – frat parties, sororities and lots of beer pong,” she said.
“After almost four months here, I have to say the movies portray the party culture pretty accurately, but what they don’t capture is the academic side of college and the amazing pride of university life.
“The most challenging part of the exchange has been missing the Gold Coast, my family, friends and playing AFL for Bond.
“Some would say that footy (AFL) and netball are my life, so being in a country where I can’t play the sports I love has been difficult.
Joining the Clemson Women’s Rugby team made me feel a part of a team again and helped me to keep up my training and my love of playing sport.”
Charlie Churchill said she visited New York, Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans in her down time.
“It is really cool to visit places I have never been before. We even have a trip to California organised for the end of semester,” she said.
“Being able to experience university life in America has been one of my favourite parts of this whole process. It’s very different to university life back in Australia.
“There are times when I just really miss home ... I remember seeing a family in New York and it made me really miss my own family back home.
“But I would recommend studying abroad to everyone.
“It has been one of the best experiences of my life.”