My experience in London has enhanced my career goals because it has given me the opportunity to experience different things that speech-language pathologists do in different settings. While abroad, I got to learn from speech therapists who work in schools, hospitals, clinics, early childhood programs, and support groups. I’m in the middle of my schooling for speech-language pathology, and right now I’m not sure what type of setting I want to be working in, but going on this program has allowed me to get a little bit of experience and know all of my options.

Before going abroad, I had never been to Europe, and I had always wanted to go, but the thought of it made me nervous. I had also never been anywhere that far away from my home without my parents. I didn’t know any of the other students on the program super well, so going alone gave me the opportunity to be independent and make new friends.

I studied abroad in England, so there was no language barrier there, however, I decided to take a weekend trip to France because it was so close. France was where I experienced what it’s like to not speak the first language in a country. Even though most of the people I interacted with spoke English as well as French, I still tried to be more aware of my surroundings, because I knew it would be more difficult to ask for help if I needed it.

One idea that I had about education abroad before I went was that it would be hard to coordinate with other students to travel to other countries. Before the program, I decided that I wanted to try to go to Paris, but I wasn’t sure how I would find people to go with. During the first weekend of the program, most of my roommates had said that they wanted to go to Paris too, so we booked it. It was a simpler process than I thought it would be.

One thing that I learned from the culture in London is that a lot of people who live there care deeply about their history. We went on a good number of tours as a group, and a lot of the locals know historical facts about the city that are older than our country is. Most of the people who live in England are proud to be from there.

Overall, I had an amazing experience during my education abroad program and would encourage anyone who is interested in studying abroad to look into it and go to the informational meetings.

Name: Grace Beadle
Status: Junior
Major: Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Hometown: Rochester Hills, Michigan
Program: Communication Disorders in the UK