Study Abroad Alumni

I studied abroad in Paris, France, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I have been studying French since I was 13, so to finally be able to exercise my language skills in France was incredible. In addition, studying and living in another country really pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me grow both academically and personally. Speaking my second language for an entire semester was certainly challenging, but I left France with more confidence in myself and my ability to adapt to new surroundings.

Study abroad was valuable to me because I got to experience being an outsider in a whole new way. You’re forced to think on your feet and be more independent than you would otherwise. It gave me more time to reflect and think about things than I knew what to do with because, well, not everyone could even talk to me. I got to experience a fairly different culture and see how things are done 15 hours ahead of me on the other side of the globe.

I knew I wanted to study abroad before I came to Mudd. The idea of learning different histories, exploring landmarks and eating delicious food was so appealing, I ended up studying abroad twice: Beijing, China, in the summer after my first year and Budapest, Hungary, my junior spring. In Beijing, I got to eat Peking duck and explore China’s historical landmarks. But I especially loved my semester in Budapest! I took computer science classes not available at Mudd, explored Hungarian and other European cities and had some wild adventures.

My study abroad experience was the most formative semester of my life. I learned so much about Spain, the world and myself that it’s impossible to put into words. It gave me the opportunity to go it alone and follow my own path. I met so many cool people, went to so many places, and had such crazy adventures I cannot look back on my memories without smiling. It was definitely one of the most important semesters of my education: not only was it a crazy amount of fun, but I learned about things I didn’t even know existed. I think study abroad should be an essential part of anyone’s education if they want to be an educated citizen of the world. It really opened my eyes to other cultures and how other people live and made me more aware of our own culture and how it affects our perception of the world.

I had a great time studying abroad and want to encourage others to do so as well. A lot of students are interested in studying abroad but assume that it is not possible or really hard to work into their schedule, so don’t take the time to think about it, but it IS possible. I had an amazing time abroad and being away for a semester made me gain some perspective on Mudd. While there were definitely times that I missed Mudd during my semester in Dublin, I am so happy I decided to go.

Studying abroad was one of the most unique, exciting experiences of my life, and I believe other students should take the plunge and spend a semester understanding, experiencing and embracing a new culture, like I was able to. I had never really left the country (just crossed the border to Canada for a couple days once when I was a little kid), and I was a little bit scared for my first experience away from home to be a three-months-long academic exchange to a country where English isn’t even the main spoken language. However, despite my initial reservations, encouragement from Study Abroad and the IES volunteer ambassadors helped me to follow through with my application, and I was able to have the wonderful experience.

CIEE’s Global Sustainability & Environment Program in Cape Town, South Africa, taught me about the environmental and socioeconomic challenges in sustainability that the world is facing today in the context of a society that is still suffering so much from the legacies of apartheid. I learned that sustainability is not only about the environment but also about people. For example, Cape Town has a huge housing shortage and there are hundreds of thousands of people living in shacks. In the next 35 years, Africa will have an additional 880 million more people living in urban centers, more than the U.S. and the Europe have managed in the last 265 years. Finding out how to build houses for them in an sustainable manner will be critical in alleviating urban poverty. Building sustainably and environmentally friendly is critical especially as buildings in the U.S. account for 39% of CO2 emissions. Realizing that science and social issues are so deeply connected in these interconnected global challenges has helped me immensely in finding out what I want to do in my future and my career, especially in light of Mudd’s mission statement of having a clear understanding of the impact of my work on society. Of course being in a new country, I also became more independent and better able to navigate cultural differences and customs, which are skills that will always be useful in an ever more interconnected world.

Study abroad was an invaluable experience for me because I got the time to discover a new side of the world, to practice speaking foreign languages, to push myself in other ways outside of academics. It gave me the time to think about what truly makes me happy, while being physically far from the stigma that I had to dedicate myself to STEM. Traveling alone allowed me to grow much more independent and gave me a new confidence in myself. Study abroad IS possible, and it’s a life-changing decision (and you can graduate on time!)

Many students say that studying abroad changed their life, and while I don’t know if I’d go quite that far, without a doubt it widened my perspective and gave me the opportunity to experience life in an unforgettable way. I was able to gain proficiency in a foreign language, experience a different culture and travel to new and exciting places all while continuing my engineering education at two of the best universities in Latin America. For me, that’s a no-brainer. However, as positive as my experience was overall, there were still plenty of challenges along the way. For example, the institutional support and preparedness that we are used to from Mudd is rarely present in Chile. This made preparing for the semester stressful because there is no way I could have definite plans until arriving.

Studying abroad in London, England, was an immensely rewarding experience for me. Leaving the country and supporting myself while abroad gave me a great sense of independence and made me feel more confident in my ability to live as an adult after graduation. Studying abroad gave me the unique experience of working with students from England as well as students from various prestigious U.S. schools. Working side by side with these students and discussing our various academic backgrounds gave me more perspective on my HMC education and made me feel more prepared for post-graduation endeavors. Additionally, working with students abroad made me feel more confident in my abilities to learn and perform as a student. While at HMC, I often found myself asking for help from other students. So studying abroad and helping students from other prestigious schools was both refreshing and encouraging.

I had actually come into Mudd fully intending to study abroad in New Zealand, and I was fortunate to be given the resources and opportunity to easily fulfill that goal. Studying in Christchurch was an amazing experience in so many ways; getting a chance to meet new people, as well as try out a different type of education system, were incredible and valuable experiences. I had so much fun getting to explore the country with friends new and old. Hiking or driving across the country never failed to amaze me with it’s beauty and vibrance. It really is an unforgettable experience!

I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea. My experience abroad was far and away the most amazing time of my life. I was able to experience new things, make great friends and discover new things that I’m passionate about.

When I first toured Mudd as a senior in high school, I worried that studying abroad, something I had known I wanted to do for years, wouldn’t be possible at such a rigorous tech school. An admissions counselor reassured me that Mudd encourages students to study abroad and that it’s possible for anyone if they want to make it happen. Sure enough, getting to the point of embarking for a semester abroad was easier than I could have imagined and the decision to do so was one of the best choices I made during my time at Mudd. I did, saw and learned so many new things during my semester in Lima, Perú, and it was a huge time for me as an individual that I know I will never forget.

Harvey Mudd takes pride in educating young people who “have a clear understanding of the impact of their work on society,” and I knew that studying abroad would develop that understanding beyond anything taught in a classroom. Studying in Cork, Ireland, opened my eyes to another world, where the friendliest people and tastiest chips reside in one small beautiful city. From Cork, I was able to travel across Europe and experience not only new cultures, but a fresh perspective on the world around me in each place I visited. I returned filled to the brim with excitement yet hungry for my next adventure. I will never lose the love for traveling, the itch to ask questions and the passion to meet new people that studying abroad gave me, and I hope this inspires other students to study abroad so that they can have their own unique and incredible experience.

Growing up, I always wanted to study abroad, and I was ecstatic when Mudd allowed this hope to become reality. I studied in Botswana, where I took classes at the University of Botswana and lived with a host family. As much as we can read or hear stories about other cultures and ways of life, I think the best way to understand is by immersing yourself in the culture and embracing a different way of life for a semester (or more!) While in Botswana, I faced huge challenges and was repeatedly forced out of my comfort zone, but I ended up learning an incredible amount about Botswana, the culture, the people, the surrounding areas and myself in the process. Spending a semester in Botswana is one of the best decisions I made, and I want to encourage others to experience spending a semester abroad.

Choosing to study abroad in Madrid was easily the best decision I made in college. I fell in love with Madrid and the rest of Europe and learned more about the world than I ever had before. I discovered my passion for traveling, made wonderful friends from other countries and had many, many adventures all over Europe that I learned so much from. It was so refreshing to step outside the Mudd bubble and see what the rest of the world has to offer. I encourage other Mudd students to go abroad.

Spending four blissful months in New Zealand widened my knowledge of understanding other cultures. Although classwork is a key component to studying abroad, I found that there is so much to learn from others and really living in the moment to capture it all. This country definitely took hold of me, and I won’t ever forget all the wonderful experiences I had—from meeting local kiwis to exploring the pristine nature! It was so worth it to take a semester away from Mudd and engage in a different community to become more open-minded and challenge myself.

I always wanted to study abroad, and I love that Mudd not only made it possible, it made it easy. I studied public health in India and learned so much more about myself, my career and this country than I could ever have expected. Immersion in such a rich, fascinating, contradictory, challenging and exhilarating culture was an experience beyond words.

Studying abroad in London was a really amazing experience. It gave me the chance to learn about a different culture, to travel to a ton of countries that would have been impractical otherwise and, most importantly, to experience a sort of tutorial-mode version of what life was like in the real world without Mudd’s crazy workload (and tight knit community). I loved it.

I studied abroad for the chance to explore the world and in doing so explore myself. It was my first time living on my own and being in a new environment with less support that I have ever had before. I wanted to push my own comfort limit, and at the same time have a chance to explore a new culture, live on my own, and be able to take classes I couldn’t take while at Mudd. It was a great chance to get outside the Mudd safety bubble and meet new people and have new experiences. I had also traveled abroad before and enjoyed the experience, but it always left me wanting more, and with a new perspective on my own life and personal growth. I knew that it would be a great growing experience, and it exceeded my expectations in that regard!

For one, I learned that I am capable of pushing my limits and growing from the experience. Even though it was scary to be so far away from home and in a country where English was not the native tongue, I learned that I could take care of myself even in a challenging situation, and living on my own was even fun and exciting. I had a chance to meet people with a variety of different backgrounds, including the other American students I studied with and the Hungarians that I met. I was able to travel with friends across Europe, learning to take care of ourselves and how to plan trips completely on our own. The cultural experiences I had are difficult to share in few words, but there were many. I was also able to take CS and humanities courses that Mudd doesn’t usually offer, or when it does they fill up quickly.

My program, AIT-Budapest, was focused on CS and Math. I was able to take very unique CS courses, and a lot of them, which actually put me ahead of other CS majors in terms of electives taken. In addition, Hungary has unique localization needs. For example, many people share the same full name, so while in the U.S. full name and birthday are usually adequate for unique identification, for Hungarians this is not. It opened my eyes to the fact that if you are developing software, localization is very important because different cultures have radically different needs. I was even able to visit some Hungarian software development companies, which is useful for someone considering going into industry. Seeing how a company operates is naturally helpful, and seeing how it works in a different cultural setting is also helpful, especially since I would like to work abroad one day. Study abroad was one of the best experiences of my life.