Name: Jessie Norton ’25
Major: Spanish Education/Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture/Food Studies
Semester abroad: Spring 2023
What was your most valuable experience abroad? My most valuable experience from living in Chile has been the constant immersion in Chilean Spanish, history, and culture. My Spanish fluency has vastly improved from my time abroad, and I have greater confidence while speaking my second language. The class I’m taking with Chilean professor Mauricio Paredes has given me an incredibly eye-opening perspective on Chilean and United States relations, which I plan to carry into my future career as a Spanish teacher. My classes at the Universidad Católica de Chile are alongside Chilean students, one of my favorite parts of the Santiago study abroad program. Throughout my American Anthropology course, I’ve worked alongside a Chilean classmate on a micro-ethnography project, in which we’ve studied a historical café in Santiago called Café Caribe. Through my rock climbing class at the university, I’ve made several Chilean friends, which has helped immensely in improving my Spanish and in getting to know Santiago, Chilean food, and geography.
Contact: jenorton@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Allergies & dietary needs, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, Financing study away
Fitting study abroad into your home campus experience, Health, safety, and support, Living with a host family, Meeting locals, Preparing for departure
Name: Sophia Moore ’25
Major: Television, Radio & Film and Sociology
Semester abroad: Fall 2023
What was your most unforgettable experience abroad? Traveling to Patagonia with the entire SU Santiago cohort was easily the most unforgettable memory of my time in Chile. Being able to learn about the environmental and indigenous issues actively occurring in Patagonia was fascinating, and the ability to see a natural landscape more beautiful than anything I had seen before was extremely emotional. Even though our trip was only four days, I felt connected to the landscape and history we were learning, and have continued to think about my time there long after returning to Santiago and now to the U.S.
Contact: somoore@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, Fitting study abroad into your home campus experience, Health, safety, and support, LGBTQ+, Living with a host family, Meeting locals, Race & Ethnicity, Selecting a program option
Name: Gabriel Calloway ’26
Major: International relations, linguistics
Semester abroad: Buenos Aries Immersion Program 2023, Santiago fall 2023, Santiago spring 2024
What was your most valuable experience abroad? The most valuable experience I gained from studying abroad was learning how to accept my mistakes and move forward in spite of them. Managing the Spanish language in various social, professional, and personal contexts proved to be a constant challenge for me. There were times during the year when I found myself hiding in my room because everything about my new world was so uncomfortable. However, I discovered that the longer you stay away from challenges, the scarier they become. Exposing myself to situations where failure was guaranteed at some point became a necessity for my survival in both school and social life. Through this process, I feel I have advanced in my ability to change my perspective on the world to be one centered around the learning and development of my character, rather than the previously held success versus failure mentality I had.
Contact: gacallow@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Allergies & dietary needs, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, Financing study away, First time abroad, Fitting study abroad into your home campus experience, Health, safety, and support, LGBTQ+, Living with a host family, Meeting locals, Preparing for departure, Race & Ethnicity, Religious life, Selecting a program option
Name: Sally Jewell ’25
Major: International Relations and Political Science
Semester abroad: Santiago spring 2024 (courses in English)
What was your most valuable experience abroad? The most valuable experience in my host country of Chile was getting to travel to other parts of the country with our program. Because Chile is such a big country in length, it is often hard to see everything that the country has to offer. The Syracuse Abroad program has a seminar class built into the schedule that teaches us about Chilean history, culture, and allows up to travel to see different parts of Chile. One of my most favorite trips was visiting Patagonia with the seminar class. Something that I thought was very important that the seminar class did was that before we left for Patagonia, we had two classes about the Indigenous groups within the Patagonia region and the history behind that land. I thought that was such an important educational experience because not only are we going to visit Patagonia and see its beauty, but we also got to learn about its history and what happened to the Indigenous people who have lived there before colonization. Having that knowledge before getting to Patagonia made me cherish this trip even more that I would have had we not had those classes.
Contact: sjewel01@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Living with a host family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, Financing study away
Name: Alexyss Gazmarian ‘26
Major: Environment, Sustainability, and Policy / Geography / Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
Semester Abroad: Fall 2024
What was your most memorable experience abroad? I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile, where I was a part of a Spanish-immersion program. While it might not seem like a huge deal, my most valuable experience was having a conversation with a vendor from a feria, which is the name for open markets in Chile. As a non-native Spanish speaker, it can be daunting to try to talk to someone whose first language is Spanish. One of my class assignments was to go to a feria and during my visit I struck up a conversation with one of the vendors who asked typical questions like, “Where are you from? What are you doing here? Why did you choose to come to Chile?”, once he heard my American accent. Once I had finished answering his questions, he said something that took me by surprise. He said, “You speak Spanish so well!”. I was ecstatic. This interaction occurred in the earlier months of my time abroad and I was still trying to find my confidence when it came to speaking Spanish in public. That single conversation empowered me to keep speaking up and to make mistakes because practicing is the one fool-proof method to learning how to do something. After this day, I made a promise to myself to try and talk to one random person everyday. By the end of my six months in South America, I had done exactly that. This experience taught me the importance of trying new things and how to be confident in myself and in my abilities. This is something that I will remember for a long time because it makes me feel proud knowing that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.
Contact: acgazmar@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, First time abroad, Living with a host family, Preparing for departure, Race & Ethnicity, Selecting a program optio
Name: Renee Kurie ‘26
Major: Advertising and Spanish Language, Literature and Culture
Semester Abroad: Fall 2024
What advice would you give to a student undecided about studying abroad? If you are undecided about going abroad, understand what is making you hesitant, and see if there is a program that you can compromise with. For example if you are hesitant about living with a host family, find which programs offer apartment-style or dorm housing. The same goes the other way, if you are hesitant about cooking and taking care of your own space on top of your studies, find a program where you can live with a host family. Similarly with other issues, if you are hesitant to spend a whole semester abroad, look into the shorter, summer programs.
Contact: rgkurie@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Living with a host family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Culture shock / Homesickness, First time abroad
Name: Meagan Hernandez ‘26
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Semester Abroad: Fall 2024 (Discovery Madrid, fall 2022)
What advice would you give to a student undecided about studying abroad? Going abroad can seem like a lot, whether it’s all the preparation necessary or the time away or the nerves for what it’s going to be like over there. But what drove me to study abroad twice was the knowledge that this is an experience that I will probably never have the opportunity for again, especially because I lived with host families. It was an opportunity to explore and get to know a country for months rather than the days or weeks of a standard vacation that I just could not pass up. Plus, it was an amazing reassurance that I was a part of a structured program with a support system in place if I ever needed anything. I would recommend to anybody that the study abroad experience is worth it, even if it’s just a short summer program. Trust me, it’s an experience you’ll never forget.
Contact: mherna43@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Cultural Immersion, First time abroad, Fitting study abroad into your home campus experience, Living with a host family, Meeting locals, Selecting a program option
Name: Caylin Davids ‘26
Major: International relations, Geography
Semester Abroad: Fall 2024
What was your most valuable experience abroad? I traveled to Patagonia as a part of the program’s signature seminar, and it was amazing to see the region’s stunning landscapes through a boat tour and other activities. Patagonia had been on my bucket list for years, so I loved that I was finally able to go. The region is important to Chile’s economy and geopolitics due to its unique geography, and its glaciers are quickly melting as a result of climate change. Therefore, the trip was a valuable learning experience to see these processes firsthand and reinforce man of the subjects we had been learning about in class. I had also become very close with many of the other students in the program, so any chance to travel together was a lot of fun.
Contact: cedavids@syr.edu
Topics I’m comfortable discussing: Staying in touch with friends & family, Adjusting to a foreign language, Cultural Immersion, Culture shock / Homesickness, First time abroad, Living with a host family, Meeting locals, Preparing for departure