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My name is Laura Kenneway, a sophomore at Syracuse University, and I recently attended the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia in fall 2022! I am majoring in Forensic Psychology here at Syracuse with my graduation year being 2025. Choosing to go abroad was one of the best experiences I have ever had.

Being only a sophomore, I realized that many people thought you could not go that early in your college career, but you can go whenever suits you! I knew I wanted to study abroad in Australia for about eight years now, so honestly I wanted to get out there as soon as possible. I am happy to talk to fellow students about Australia or World Partner Programs in general! I know a lot of the abroad students choose Syracuse Programs at the satellite campuses but there are plenty of other places to travel as well. I can talk specifically about homesickness, traveling alone, researching, or just about my experience abroad!

This program was a World Partner Program, so rather than going with a group of Syracuse students, it is more independent and you go to a separate university in the country you wish to study. I traveled 10,000 miles across the world not knowing one person. That may seem very daunting to some, but these universities do so much to help their foreign students. For example, mine has a group called Quest which was a club for all of the study abroad students at the university. This club allowed us to go on overnight trips, attend fun restaurants, and so much more so we could become comfortable and get to know each other. I was able to meet incredible people from all over the world. Some of my best friends now happen to be from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Australia, Germany, and France. That is why I recommend the World Partner programs so much- they allow you to meet people from all over the world and experience new
things on your own.

Every place was so accommodating and helpful when I had questions, and this brings me to some things that I believe everyone should do before going abroad. Research, research, research the country you are going to. For Australia, I had to get a certain student visa and overseas healthcare insurance. You want your experience getting there to be as smooth as possible and having all the information sorted months in advance will do that. And if you were to travel to different countries while abroad, like me, look into their requirements as well.

As I mentioned, this experience has changed my life. I am planning to take extra courses here at Syracuse to graduate a year early so I can go back to the University of Queensland to continue my schooling in a masters program and potentially move there permanently. It truly felt like the right place for me and if I did not travel abroad, I would have never known that. So my advice is to just go for it. Travel out of your comfort zone because there is so much of the world that is meant to be explored and experienced.

Laura Kenneway ’25

Forensic Psychology

University of Queensland

Hello, bonjour and hallo! I am Daniel Morozov, a biochemistry major of the class of 2026. In the fall semester of 2022, I participated in the Discovery Strasbourg program, which was an absolutely amazing experience!

As a Discovery student, I had three choices of where to study abroad: Madrid, Florence and Strasbourg. I had previously been to both Florence and Madrid, so my choice of studying in France was based on my desire to try a new experience – which is what studying abroad is all about. Though I speak two languages fluently and have studied Spanish and Latin for five and three years respectively, I knew nothing in French except one phrase that I learned on Duolingo: “je suis le cheval.”

And that’s the thing; you do not need to know a language to study abroad in most of Syracuse’s centers – as I learned. The language courses provided there are immersive in the local culture, so learning is both easier and more interesting. And while on the topic of the Syracuse Strasbourg Center, I loved every aspect about it.

The best part about the Center is its size, when I was there we had less than 40 students, some not even from Syracuse! This small size made classes more enjoyable as we were able to get closer with the professors and work together rather than simply being lectured (no offense, main campus). Additionally, the Center had a plethora of fascinating events and trips planned for us that facilitated meeting new people. Whether we travelled to local Alsatian villages, Paris, Germany or Switzerland, each trip was a highlight of my time abroad.

You also get the opportunity to travel by yourself or with friends (both are different and interesting in their own rights). Personally, I enjoyed traveling by myself the most when I went to Germany twice – once to a small village in the middle of nowhere and the second time to Berlin and the Baltic Sea where I met up with my family.

One final (of many) aspect of what made studying abroad so memorable was the living situation with a host family. I lived by myself with my host mom, and I took the semester to learn about her, her family and friends, and the culture by which I was surrounded. She, along with her family, helped and encouraged me to try new things and learn the French language. This, I am sure, is consistent among the other host families and makes the semester abroad truly amazing!

Daniel Morozov ’26

Biochemistry

Discovery Strasbourg

My name is Efstathia Desimone and I am a graduating Junior, and psychology major at Syracuse University. During fall 2022, I had the incredible opportunity of attending Syracuse’s Abroad program in Madrid, Spain (Syracuse Madrid). The primary reason I chose Spain is because of what I had heard of Spanish culture prior. Spain’s history and the impact it has had on the lifestyle of Spaniards today was something that I knew I had to experience in person – and I was not disappointed. Spanish culture was exactly what I had expected it would be like. The routine and pace of living was very slow and relaxed just as I had hoped, and the people were incredibly welcoming and friendly.

Having never taken Spanish before, I knew navigating Spain would be a bit scary getting into. To my advantage, student must enroll in a Spanish course while abroad! Introduction to Spanish introduced me to the basics of the Spanish language, while other courses such as Cross-Cultural Psychology and Sexuality in Spain gave me more insight on Spanish culture and history.

Throughout the academic semester, I was quite involved with student activities facilitated by the center. Firstly, I had the honor to work with incredible staff through my work-study position, where I was able to assist in the student life and communication department. Secondly, I was one of the biggest fans of the center’s MadWorld program! MadWorld offered various cultural events throughout the semester which encouraged the student immersion in Spanish culture. The events included daytrips to locations near Madrid, yoga classes, cooking classes and more!

Lastly, I was member of Syracuse Madrid’s Diversity, Inclusion Student Committee (D.I.S.C.). D.I.S.C. is a student run group, dedicated to making all Syracuse and visiting students in the Syracuse Program feel welcomed, supported, and included during their time abroad. As an organization, we placed strong emphasis on creating resources to support students who identify with marginalized or historically underrepresented groups. Overall, participating in university-ran activities, allowed to me to integrate better into the abroad program and transition smoothly into my academic semester.

A once in a lifetime opportunity is offered to the Madrid Abroad students and that is: the Marine Ecology Seminar! I can say with ease, that the 10 days of which it consisted of, were the most adventurous and spontaneous days of my life thus far. Not only was it a great way to meet the students that would be with me in Madrid, but we also had the opportunity of exploring southern Spain. After hiking in Puerto de Javea, snorkeling in Tabarca, kayaking in Xabia and then scuba diving in Cabo De Palos, I knew that there would be a great semester awaiting for us!

The greatest highlight of my time abroad, was hands down the friends I met and connections I made. Going abroad alone, was certainly the scariest factor of my experience. Despite my concerns, I was so relieved to know that most of the student in my program were in the same situation as me; alone and eager to explore Spain! With that being said, during my semester in Madrid, I met some of my closest friends today. Despite, all challenges and fear I might have faced, exploring Spain became the most educational experience of my life!

Thenia Desimone

Psychology major

Syracuse Madrid