This is the second installment of BOLD - A University of St. Thomas Podcast, a series that creates dialogue and aims to inspire, encourage and aid students—current and prospective— to "Be Your Bold Self." New episodes will be published bi-weekly and. If you have an idea for a potential podcast guest or topic send them to Darnell Miller at dmiller@stthom.edu.

Students Elizabeth Luna and Caitlyn Carpenter talk with Alex Yemeck about Freshman Year Experience Study Abroad. They talk about traveling through Rome, seeing Pope Francis, and working with refugees in the heart of Rome. They share their favorite moments of the trip and tell us how Study Abroad has changed their outlook on life. Finally, Luna shares why students should consider studying abroad while Caitlyn shares how to raise the funds to participate in a study abroad trip.

To watch a video version of this podcast click here.

Overview:

00:01:20 - Getting to Know Caitlyn and Elizabeth

00:06:00 - The decision to study abroad

00:07:02 - The Roman Experience

00:11:15 - Service Work and Study Abroad

00:12:00 - Favorite Moments in Rome

00:15:35 - Study Abroad Changes Outlook on Life

00:17:30 - Study Abroad and Spirituality

00:22:45 - Where Will They Visit Next

00:24:05 - Why You Should Study Abroad

00:26:10 - How to Save Money for Study Abroad

Additionally, Elizabeth offered 3 reasons why everyone should study abroad.

1. You Get to Experience New Things
   Experiencing new things develops you as a person. It helps you remove what lens or filters you have where you normally are in your day to day life. It allows you to remove those filters and experience something completely different and completely new. It is really refreshing for the mind to know that life is not this rigid experience that you have but that it is a rich a fluid experience of the world.
    
2. Just Travel
   Getting an opportunity to travel! How cool is that!?
    

3. You never know what connections you will end up making!
   Even though Caitlyn and I were already best friends going on this trip, it made us so much closer. In turn we also got closer to a lot of our other classmates. The connections you make stick with you
    

Finally, Caitlyn offers three tips to saving money

1. Believe You Can Do it
   If you don’t believe you wont be able to do it, then you won't be able to do it.

2. Don’t Eat Out
   I am a college student, most of you are college students. I know you eat out. Probably too much. Try to cut back on that. It adds up quickly.

3. Ask for Help
   Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Some people set up gofundme accounts, others ask friends and family. It’s not that you are begging for money, it's explaining what you are trying to accomplish and if they can help, great, if they can't, no hard feelings. Also, ask professors about scholarships. There are a lot of scholarships for students who want to study abroad and often times professors know about them, so just ask!

​For those interested in study abroad here are some important dates to remember:

Study Abroad application and deposit deadline:

Dec. 1, 2019

Scholarship application deadline 

Nov. 8, 2019

Resources from this episode.

Study abroad page:

www.stthom.edu/studyabroad

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