I studied abroad my third year of college. It was a 11 months of self discovery and a time I hold dear to my heart. All the good and the bad. So I decided to postpone my graduation date to study abroad again. This time in the country that entices my curiosity and wonder, Scotland.
The opportunity to study abroad twice is a magnificent opportunity that I was granted and definitely took advantage of. I chose to this path for my college experience for a wide variety of reasons, but most always come back to these:
- Coming from a first-generation home with two immigrant parents with limited options for work, money was always tight.
- Travel was almost out of the question with me and my siblings. I did not realize how underexposed I was been until I went to high school and hung around classmates who travelled extensively. (I remember a kid who left for like two weeks to visit China. It was normal for him and his family. I was just lost for words and hate-liked every story he told. haha!)
- Most students see study abroad as something they can’t do and finish their education. But I found that once study abroad is mentioned, most people say that is their biggest regret of college is not taking the opportunity. I was not going to be one of those people.
So here I am six weeks until I fly out to Edinburgh and I can’t wait to be gone until January to find myself again, a grad school, and explore Scotland. I will be here and on the Fund for Education Abroad’s site posting about my trip and will answer any questions you may have about studying abroad as a minority first-gen student.
Isaias Dassum 