Studying Abroad

Hello, how are you doing? My name is Naphtali Bryant, and I'm the founder of Spark-ED University. I just want to talk to you a little bit today about studying abroad and why you should study abroad as a student. Number one, the first reason why is because this thing concept mindset is called immersion. When you study abroad, you're immersed in the culture. In some programs, you'll stay in a hotel, and in some programs, you'll stay in a dorm. In some programs, you will stay with a host family where you're literally living with somebody of that culture in that area in that region. It's gonna teach you nuances, of course, that the books can't teach you. The second reason why you should study abroad is that it makes you more marketable. There is global business going on right now. With the internet, we have opportunities all over the globe. So what's happening now is more students will need a global perspective, and you can't get that just sitting in a classroom. I know that we have books and you can have international studies and all that type of stuff. Still, it's something totally different when you can smell the smells of the street market or when you can go down to the river where some people may be washing their clothes. You can get to see the ancient artifacts that may be thousands of years old, and you get to literally see them in front of you, whether that's glass or they allow you to put your hands on it. It's a type of education that you can only get when you are in that culture.

The third one is something that many study abroad students will tell you, and that is you get a level of breakthrough or an epiphany. I don't know anybody who studied abroad who didn't have at least one moment while studying abroad. They didn't have an aha or an epiphany. I remember I sat on the great wall of china back in 2015, and I remember when I had my actual epiphany moment. The epiphany moment for me was one of the seventh wonders of the world. My study abroad experience was, based on a business competition we participated in in 2015. The faculty took our product and made it into a study abroad program. I realized that I was trying to reach the stars and always had a seven wonder of the world potential. When I stood on the great wall, I realized, wow, this was in me the entire time, and I was looking for it outside, but it was inside me. I don't know of a student who doesn't have that experience when studying abroad. The fourth one is just that it's not as expensive as you think. Many people believe that just because you're paying extra for the flight and the hotels and things of that nature, studying abroad is too expensive.

Truth be told, there are all types of scholarships that are specifically for study abroad. There are institutional scholarships at your local college that help students study abroad. Nonprofits that help students learn abroad. The United States government has scholarships to study overseas. Fulbright is one for the postgraduate level, and the one that I had for the undergrad was the Gilman. By earning a government scholarship, you also have non-competitive eligibility, which means that you benefit from being in a different pool for a federal job. All because you studied abroad and you got that scholarship. I just want to encourage all the students that may be watching this; if you're in college at some point while college, I want you to do more than just consider studying abroad. You need to go to your international programs department, your international studies department. Inquire on what those different programs are and how they help you study abroad and graduate faster. Apply it will change your life! I know with Covid right now, programs are still deciding what they will offer. Please, at least look into at some point studying abroad before and during your college experience. My name again is Naphtali Bryant; I'm the founder of Spark-Ed University. I just want to encourage you to do more than just go to college. Do more than just study, better yourself and become a whole person as you study.