Learn more about Ben Shultz and how he spent his final semester of graduate school abroad at the Syracuse Strasbourg Center.
As a dual-degree M.A. in International Relations and Master of Public Administration student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Strasbourg presented him with an unmatched opportunity to explore the European policy space in a hands-on manner.
Read more: Living, Learning and Interning in Strasbourg
Bonjour and Hallo! I’m Ben Shultz and I spent my final semester of graduate school abroad at the Syracuse Strasbourg Center, and just graduated this spring (2022).
As a dual-degree M.A. in International Relations and Master of Public Administration student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Strasbourg presented an unmatched opportunity for me to explore the European policy space in a hands-on manner. I took one graduate course at the Syracuse Strasbourg Center and undertook an internship at the Council of Europe International Cooperation Group on Addiction and Drugs (Pompidou Group). My experience studying abroad was life-changing and opened many doors for me in personal, academic and professional contexts.
What intrigued me most about Strasbourg was its international, cosmopolitan nature. Situated on the Franco-German border in the Alsace region, Strasbourg is one of the four European capitals, home to the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights. It is also one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Europe, and it certainly lived up to the hype.
I lived with a local host family, which was tremendously helpful from integrating in both a cultural and linguistic perspective. I arrived in Strasbourg speaking almost no French and left being able to navigate fully in daily life—from checking into an AirBnB, taking a train, or buying a pain au chocolat from the bakery. Additionally, living in Strasbourg was useful for practicing my German. I was conversational before arriving in Alsace, but found plenty of ways to improve, including taking the tram across the border to Kehl, Baden-Württemberg and speaking in German with my colleagues at the Council of Europe.
For Americans, the chance to intern at any of the European institutions is incredibly limited. Syracuse University’s partnership with the Council of Europe enabled me to gain valuable experience working ‘on the inside’, so to speak. My broad focus at the Maxwell School has been cyber and tech policy, and at the Pompidou Group I was given the chance to explore this focus further.
At the Council, I was assigned to a longer-term project for the Expert Group on Drugs Online that involved researching the status of illicit substance sales and trafficking, as well as money laundering, via online and mobile video games and chat rooms. These platforms represent a gap in the existing European drug and addiction policy, and I was asked to present about my research and potential policy recommendations at the Expert Group’s 2022 Annual Meeting. More than 30 senior members of law enforcement agencies across Europe, from Ireland—to Turkey—to Finland, attended the meeting. It was incredibly rewarding to hear presentations from these leaders about their experiences and research on a variety of issues, and I was equally proud to present my own research into emerging threats via online gaming platforms.
Having been back in the U.S. for less than a month, I’m pleased to say I’ll be starting a new role with Deloitte Global Public Sector as a consultant. I’ll be conducting disinformation and cyber threat analysis for public clients, and I can directly link my work at the Pompidou Group to this new job. Not only was my time in Europe something to converse about with my soon-to-be colleagues and supervisors, but they found my experience of working on an emerging cyber policy issue across the Atlantic valuable, in terms of the insights I was able to glean from the European policymaking process that might help improve U.S. cyber policy. As well, given the broad global nature of public policy, the language skills I picked up and sharpened in Strasbourg may be useful for me at Deloitte.
In total, my time in Strasbourg was simply phenomenal and I am so grateful for SU and the Maxwell School for helping me organize this semester abroad. It was a perfect way to conclude my time as a graduate student and directly set the stage for a quick transition into the professional world. I hope to be back in Strasbourg very soon, this time as a tourist!
Benjamin Shultz ’22
M.A. in International Relations / M.P.A. Candidate
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
In support of academic excellence and the University’s expansion as a global institution, Life Trustee Daniel D’Aniello ’68, H’20 and his wife, Gayle, are gifting $10 million toward significantly enhancing the Syracuse Abroad Florence program. The transformational nature of this gift will expand opportunities for students, attract exceptional faculty and improve facilities in Florence, Italy. In honor of the couple’s gift, the program will be renamed the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University Program in Florence.
Apply now for spring 2023 programs – applications are due October 1 and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications should be completed as soon as possible, as some programs have limited space.
Florence, Italy
London, England
Madrid, Spain
Santiago, Chile
Strasbourg, France
World Partner programs
Learn more about grants and aid available for spring 2023, and check out our video series: Financing Study Abroad!
Of the ten Syracuse University students that have been named as 2022 recipients of awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, eight students and one alternate are alumni of Syracuse Abroad programs!
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries.
Dia duit! My name is Lily Rhuda. I am a junior biomedical engineering major(Class of 2023) here at Syracuse University and I was able to study abroad through the World Partner Program at the University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland.
As an engineering student, people often think that it is super hard to go abroad but I’m hoping that through my experience and what I can contribute to the Ambassadors that I can help change that perspective! I was led to my program by my advising staff and one of my fav professors, shout out Dr. Yung, because while it’s not difficult to go as an engineer we do have to be careful about choosing our program.
I chose UCD because after doing a bit of research, that was my best option for going abroad as a Junior and it was in Europe, which is where I’ve always wanted to go. While sophomore year is ideal for bioeng majors I was unfortunately not able to go because of COVID. Honestly so happy that happened because I would not trade my experience in Dublin for anything!
I spent my semester living and learning at UCD which is just about the city of Dublin. I stayed in the university accommodation which was great because I was able to get much more involved with my organizations and friendships on campus. While I was there I was able to join the women’s club rugby team and the engineering society and both were great craic! The rugby team was an awesome way to meet new people because in addition to all the Irish girls there were a bunch of other international students on the team. It was so great to have the opportunity to bond with them in a team environment like that and now I’ve also got tons of connections for my future travels!
Speaking of travel, that was 100% one of my favorite things about studying abroad. I was able to travel extensively within Ireland and Northern Ireland. The UCD Study Abroad program had several weekends of day trips to famous destinations that were completely free for us, and my friends and I went on every single one of them. My favorite was probably the first weekend where we got to kayak through the Irish sea out to an island, climbed up a mountain(not a crazy hike lol) to get some panoramic views of the coastline, and finally did some cliff jumping at the local baths. In addition to those trips, I traveled with my friend and with my family when they came to visit.
Part of what I loved about traveling around Ireland was that anything could be a day trip. Which gave us so much flexibility. My absolute favorite trip of the semester was taking a long weekend and going up to Belfast with a big group of my friends. We went on a game of Thrones film location tour(One of the best days of my life) and to Giants Causeway. This will forever be one of my favorite trips and I will look back on these memories for my whole life!
I know it sounds clichébut looking back on my time in Dublin I can really say that study abroad changed my life. By traveling so extensively within the country and joining the university organizations I was able to experience so much of the culture of Ireland. I can also say that I have grown so much as a person since I stepped foot in logan airport ready to embark. I also never knew how close I would get to my friends in the short time that I was there. I’m so thankful that I was able to have this experience and I will cherish it forever.
Sláinte!
Lily Rhuda
Biomedical Engineering
World Partner Program: Dublin, UCD
Hello – my name is Kara Mueller and I studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark in fall 2021 with World Partner program DIS Copenhagen. I’m graduating in 2023, majoring in Human Development and Family Science. Here are some questions and answers about life in Denmark:
Why did you choose this program?
What were some interesting courses you took abroad?
What’s one of the best experiences you had?
Did you travel within or outside of Denmark during the semester?
What was your living situation like? How was the experience?
After college, I am definitely going to emphasize traveling, which I may not have planned on doing if it wasn’t for studying abroad. I would love to work abroad for a little while, or at least for an international company that allows me to travel for at least the first few years. There is so much of the world to see and it was so helpful to learn about the way different countries function and how it works for them.
Kara Mueller ’23
DIS Copenhagen
Congratulations to Goldwater Scholar and Syracuse Abroad student Ellen Jorgensen! Ellen is currently studying abroad with DIS Copenhagen. Her core course at DIS is Climate, Glaciers, and Human Impact, which has a week-long study tour to Iceland to study glaciers in person.
Learn more about Ellen: 2022 Goldwater Scholars
The 2022 Syracuse University Scholars have been announced! Five of the twelve senior scholars are Syracuse Abroad alumni, check them out!
Fall 2022 is an incredible time for students to study in Santiago, Chile!
In addition to the exciting adventures that await in Santiago, Syracuse Abroad is excited to announce a new $2,000 travel grant for students studying in Chile this fall. All students enrolling at the Syracuse Santiago Center for the fall 2022 semester will receive a $2,000 grant that will be automatically applied to program costs.
The Syracuse Santiago program is designed to maximize immersion and language acquisition through homestays and interdisciplinary field study, along with enrollment in semester classes taught in Spanish at local Chilean universities. Syracuse students will enroll in classes alongside Chilean students in a wide range of disciplines, and both graduate and undergraduate students have the option to participate in a professional internship while in Chile.
The application deadline has been extended to April 1 for Syracuse Santiago, among other select Center and World Partner programs. View all programs still accepting applications for the fall 2022 semester.
Read more at SU News.
