Joey Bonacci ‘25
“Take every opportunity to go overseas, because no matter what, it’ll be worth it.”
What motivated you to study abroad?
“One of the biggest reasons that drove me to be an International Studies major was the possibility of working and living abroad. I’ve always been fascinated by people who have lived in another country and I wanted to experience that for myself. Ever since I was a little kid, I remember my mother telling me all about her semester in Austria, so I was always primed to spend a semester abroad. I was also really excited to travel to different countries in Europe, like Switzerland.”
What were the biggest takeaways from your experience?
“It’s okay not to love every moment of the experience. I felt such pressure to try and enjoy every aspect, but I realized that it’s okay to learn that you dislike some aspects. I also really learned how much I value being home. I would do the experience again in a heartbeat.”
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Calling my professors by their first names was a weird feeling that I could never get used to. Also, it was a big adjustment to the British academic culture: the assignments, the grading, and the way classes worked.
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I was involved with some International Student things and the First Aid Society, but mostly I spent my time taking the train into London.
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I still talk to my best friend from the semester all the time; she goes to college in Mexico.
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Epic.
