Category: Student Stories

  • Sereena Yeghiazarian

    Sereena Yeghiazarian

    Ever since I could remember, I have always dreamt of studying abroad. Growing up, I would close my eyes, spin a globe, and blindly point my finger out to land on a random country. I was fascinated with the names of the cities, the neighboring countries, all the different oceans, and thought about the people…

  • Meghan Lamba

    Meghan Lamba

    My name is Meghan and I am a Biomolecular Engineering student. I participated in the UCSC Exchange Program at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. Studying abroad as a South Asian female in STEM was eye-opening. I’ve always had an itch for adventure and traveling and knew that going abroad was something I…

  • Alexander Palines

    Alexander Palines

    My name is Alexander Palines. I am a double major in sociology and politics and studied abroad in Paris and London through UCEAP’s Global Cities Urban Realities program. Studying abroad as a first-generation Filipino-American was both freeing and eye-opening. On one hand, it was freeing because it personally felt like an escape from skin color-based racism commonly…

  • Tolulope Familoni

    Tolulope Familoni

    Tolulope Familoni, a Robotics Engineering major, discusses studying abroad as an ABC STEM student in Paris, France through the UCEAP Social Justice and Activism program.

  • Camille Cheng

    Camille Cheng

    Hi, my name is Camille Cheng. I’m a Feminist Studies and Legal Studies double major. I studied abroad for three consecutive summers in Paris, Hong Kong, and London. As a first-generation college student, studying abroad was an exciting opportunity, as none of my family members had the chance to even go to college, let alone…

  • Ayodele Abdul-Hadi

    Ayodele Abdul-Hadi

    For an insider’s view into Ayodele’s experience abroad, check out her video, Live The Experience, Cordoba, Spain. My name is Ayodele, and I am an Environmental Studies major with a concentration in global environmental justice. In the Winter quarter of 2020, I studied In Córdoba Spain. I am an African American Muslim woman; an identity not…

  • Chelsey Boykin

    Chelsey Boykin

    Studying away as a first-generation college student offered me more than my wildest dreams. I remember when I first came to UC Santa Cruz, going to OPERS Fest and receiving the Study Abroad Booklet and thinking, hmm, interesting, but this is not for me. I even gave the book to my roommate because I was…

  • Lucia Ortiz

    Lucia Ortiz

    Studying abroad had been a dream of mine since my first year. I didn’t know how I was going to do it or when I was going to do it but I was determined to make it work. Throughout my undergraduate career, I always made excuses for why it wasn’t a good time to apply,…

Last modified: Jun 04, 2024