Reflection
I feel so grateful to have all of the experiences I have accumulated to expand my knowledge both professionally and internationally.
I greatly appreciate all the experiences I have accumulated during my undergraduate career at the University of Florida. I am very happy that I decided to pursue the International Scholars Program during my time at UF because the various requirements that I had to fulfill were a great way to encourage me to expand my knowledge of the world and view the content that I was studying from a multicultural perspective. I probably wouldn’t have taken on my minor in Sociology without the International Scholars Program, but once I started taking internationally-focused courses at UF, I realized how much I enjoyed discussing the socioeconomic impacts of globalization, international relations, and ethnic identities, which made me want to take more courses on these topics. I’m even considering pursuing a Global Human Rights Certificate in my graduate career.
I am happy to have had an international and multicultural perspective within my educational experience because it has opened up my eyes to a variety of ways I can use my future career to expand the general population’s knowledge of these perspectives. In a time period in which we are so easily connected to others across the globe via virtual communication, it is more important than ever that we learn to consider people from other nations and cultures so that we can accommodate individuals from all walks of life in an equitable manner. Having international experience in my time as an undergraduate student led me to pursue a career in Social Work because this field offers a variety of ways in which I can productively advocate for individuals from a variety of national, cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. If I continue along my current track of obtaining a license in clinical social work, then I can utilize my international knowledge and experience to integrate multicultural therapeutic methods into my practice, which will be beneficial for clients who do not benefit from the standard popular approaches. However, I am also considering pursuing a more macro-level division of social work which would involve working with non-profit organizations and policy reform committees, in which I would love to collaborate further with individuals from a variety of backgrounds to help aid individuals in need from all over the world.
Studying abroad was definitely the element of ISP that challenged me the most. It is an experience that put me out of my comfort zone in a variety of ways and gave me a taste of what it is like to be an immigrant living in a foreign country. It was a struggle to sort out all of my important documents relating to student visas/resident permits, international exchange transcripts, and bureaucratic complications, especially when I had to translate most of the paperwork I was dealing with. But there was also a social element to being a foreigner that is important to consider when interacting with people in different cultures and language comprehension. These obstacles helped me to understand all the intricacies of multicultural interactions and the courage that it takes to live in an environment so culturally different from what you are used to. This experience also offered me the opportunity to get to know so many other students from nations all over the world, and I greatly enjoyed conversing with individuals from a diverse set of backgrounds in this process.
On top of this experience, being able to take courses that discuss migration sociology/psychology, international relations, and multicultural integrations in art has definitely increased my knowledge of the intersection of various international cultures. I greatly appreciate having coursework that enhances the understanding I have gained from my international experiences because it allows me to see all that I have learned from an academic and objective point of view. For example, I never would have guessed that vampire folklore has so much tie in with colonialism or anti semitism, but my coursework at UF was able to showcase all the ways in which it does. I also am happy to continue learning both the Spanish and German languages to increase the amount of people in this world that I am able to communicate and collaborate with. I think that all of these elements combined greatly contribute to my success within the goal I have to apply international and multicultural elements within my future career.
In conclusion, I think that if there are any underclassmen at UF who love the idea of working with a diverse population in their future, have a dream of studying abroad and getting the most out of the experience, or just want to challenge themselves: the International Scholars Program is a great option for you to consider.
