Home>“My undergraduate year abroad changed my life”

22.08.2016

“My undergraduate year abroad changed my life”

All students at the Sciences Po Undergraduate College spend their third undergraduate abroad, either doing an internship or studying at one of Sciences Po’s 470 partner universities. David, Margaux, Gabriele and Guillaume told us about their experiences abroad.

David Power : “Amsterdam taught me to be myself.”

  • Australian student
  • Third year abroad at the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

“I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed my third year. As an Australian, two years at the Reims campus solidified my understanding of European and American political systems, but didn’t provide me with a strong enough base to feel truly “European”.

Thus, I decided to study in the Netherlands in my third year, specifically Amsterdam – the ultimate liberal playground. From arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol and seeing two women kiss in the middle of the airport terminal without even a slightest glance of interest from the Dutch, I knew that I was home.

Living in the student dorms on the Prinsengracht, my bedroom was a two-minute walk from Anne Frank House, a 5-minute bike ride from Amsterdam Centraal, and a 15-minute bike ride from the university. I grew accustomed to waking up with a cup of black coffee and a slice of gouda cheese on bread, biking through the quaint canal streets on the way to school, and sometimes even grabbing a Heineken in the evening with mates after a long day at university.  

Completing courses in political science and policy studies at the University of Amsterdam allowed me to gain a fresh pedagogical perspective on higher education. Hours in the classroom would be relatively short, with the majority of the lesson time dedicated to discussion of the readings, of which teachers would assign up to 150 pages per class, per session. Given the relatively low course load at the UvA compared to Sciences Po, I also studied for the LSAT in my spare time.

I find myself back in Melbourne asking, “What did Amsterdam give me?” Amsterdam taught me to be myself. I did not complete a fancy internship, nor did I score perfect marks, but my year in the Netherlands provided me with something much more important: self-realised personal growth. After leaving Amsterdam, I have a greater understanding of what I enjoy doing in life, and thanks to the inspiring staff and faculty at the University of Amsterdam, I will continue the push to achieve my personal and professional goals.”

Margaux Vessié : “It was an opportunity for me to acknowledge the privileges of my whiteness”

  • Franco-belgian student
  • Third year abroad at University of Western Cape (UWC), Cape Town (South Africa)

"A year abroad in Cape Town is truly a year abroad, you arrive there in July and you leave in June the following year. For 12 months, you are almost 10,000km away from France. Your classes start in July and end in November. The second semester is from February to June.  Of course, you are a bit lost at the beginning. You are lost and scared because you’ve heard and read a lot about the insecurity in South Africa. But you get used to it and it's not that bad. Once you have understood that, the city has so much to offer. I was an exchange student at the University of Western Cape (UWC), a historically Black university. During both semesters, I studied women’s and gender studies, history and theatre in a new way, from the perspective of the South. It was also an opportunity for me (maybe the first one) to acknowledge the privileges of my whiteness. Mentally, this transition was difficult. In France, I feel like we avoid talking about race. In South Africa, Apartheid created an obsession about it. I also took classes of isiXhosa at the university, it's one of 11 South Africa languages, the language of the AmaXhosa from the Eastern Cape. Learning the language also meant learning the culture, it was an enriching experience. If you want to make the most of your year in Cape Town, you have to get out of the international communities, you have to meet South Africans. You have to go where you are not expected to be. Forget about safaris and township tours in big buses, forget about your European understanding of life for a while."

Guillaume Schneegans: "The experience I had outside class really shook up my Western-centered mindset”

  • French student
  • Third year abroad at Yonsei University, Seoul (South Korea)

“By spending a year in Seoul, South Korea, I wanted to discover Asia and learn a new, exotic language. Well, mission accomplished. This year was exactly everything I hoped for. With two hours of Korean language per day, my level rapidly improved. The experience I had outside class really shook up my Western-centered mindset.

On the spiritual side, I had the opportunity to stay for two days in a Buddhist temple and talk and meditate with the monks. I also got the chance to visit ancient temples in Kyoto and Nara in Japan, huge stupas in Sri Lanka, cliff temples in Indonesia and more. Throughout my travels, I made extremely good friends who told me about their culture, like my guide in the Philippines, or my students and colleagues at Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (PSE), a school for poor children I volunteered at in Phnom Penh. The cultures and landscapes I saw were so beautiful and diverse that I can no longer think of Asia as a single continent. I have only scratched the surface and I already long to go back!”

Gabriele Papievyte: "I came with the intention of seeing if I like finance and ended up loving it"

  • Lithuanian student
  • Third year abroad at NYU Stern School of Business, New York (USA)

“I have learnt so much while at New York University Stern. I took very challenging classes and although I did not get straight ‘A’s, I am happy to say I finished my Bachelor’s with a very strong base of knowledge. That was my goal for this year and I feel like it is impossible to have it easy at Stern - academics are very challenging so I am happy to have arrived with the expectation of having a difficult year rather than easy one. Also, with regard to academics, Stern is absolutely the best in finance. I cannot stress enough how impressive the finance faculty is and what opportunities there are for the right student. I really feel like the ultimate way to use the year at Stern is for a person who aims to work in finance, because to come here and not to take advantage of the professors who are absolutely the best in the field worldwide seems a like a bit of a pity. I came with the intention of seeing if I like finance and ended up loving it. Stern has given me so many opportunities, and I can even say that it directly helped me to get an internship on Wall Street this summer - and that was extremely tough to do given the fact that I was only an exchange student on a visitor’s visa!

On a separate note, I have really found a home here and this has shaped me in so many ways. I feel a lot more mature, a lot more tolerant towards different things in life and just a lot stronger. So I can sincerely say that this third year programme you offer is changing young people's lives and giving an amazing perspective as well as incredible opportunities. I could not be more grateful for that and I know all of my Sciences Po friends feel very similar.”

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