As I mentioned in my post last week, I had my first one-on-one meeting with Neva Barker to discuss off-campus study options last Tuesday. As studying abroad is a pretty significant financial, academic, and emotional commitment, I want to make sure that I make the most of my time and have new experiences. So before my meeting, I laid out some firm goals that I wanted to accomplish while abroad.

1. Complete an internship abroad, either in the art world or field of finance. Professional experience abroad as a college student might make it easier for me to consider a permanent position in a foreign country as an adult—meaning future workplace flexibility.
2. Study art history and visit world-class museums and galleries. I have loved art history since taking the AP course in high school (taught by Scripps alum Debra Hunt); I’m dying to see in real life artwork that up until now I’ve only ever seen in textbooks and on slides.
3. Be somewhere quintessentially urban, preferably the capital city of a country. I grew up twenty miles outside of San Francisco and have lived in the same house my entire life; living, working, and studying in a big city would be an exciting transition for a suburb girl like me.
4. Have the opportunity to experience other countries in addition to the primary location. Call me old-fashioned, but I want to go to Europe. I have a friend studying abroad in Italy right now, and her Instagram feed is full of pictures from sidewalk cafes in France and weekend trips to the Mediterranean.

After discussing these points together, Neva pointed me to several programs. One offered an internship and a large-city experience, but was still in America. Others were in England and Italy, but didn’t integrate an internship into the coursework. And then Neva introduced me to the Boston University London Internship Program. [Cue trumpets, clapping, and cheers] Although there are very strong Scripps-approved programs in London offering fields of study in art history and economics, I was drawn to the BU program because it integrates professional work experience with complementary coursework. The program is unapproved, but I honestly felt like I’d found the perfect combination of everything I wanted—no sacrifices or compromises.

Fingers crossed that I’ll end up here next spring!

We started to discuss deadlines and the process of applying. However, when I mentioned I was interested in the Robert Day School Scholars program, which involves six additional courses and workshop participation requirements, Neva told me about an older student who had had to give up studying abroad to become an RDS scholar. As the website explains, submitting an application constitutes a statement of ability and commitment to complete the program requirements; I would not be able to make this commitment if I planned to study abroad during the traditional time frame.

Fortunately, the next thing Neva told me was that the Office of Off-Campus Study was still receiving petitions for study abroad this coming spring. The next meeting of the Committee on Study Abroad would be on the 26^th; the application deadline for the program itself is October 1^st. To make a long story short, I’m now petitioning to apply for an unapproved program as a second-semester sophomore. Moving my study abroad plans to this year was the logical step, but I’m still a bit stunned to find myself going through the process so quickly. Over the past week, I’ve counted credits, mapped my courses, and ran all over campus to meet professors and get signatures.

If you’re wondering how to find a major or minor advisor, I don’t know if there’s an official, proper way to ask a professor—I basically waylaid Professor Bruce Coats as he was walking to his office. It was pure coincidence that he happened to pass by at the exact moment I was holding my form and realized I needed an art history advisor. He seemed a little surprised, but he verbally agreed to be my minor advisor and signed my form in the time it took us to walk from the Humanities Building to the Williamson Gallery. (Granted, I’d gotten to know him over the summer while I was interning on campus, so don’t everyone go out at once and ambush your professors.)

I have the sense that this blog post doesn’t read as smoothly as my previous ones; simply remembering my experience this week leaves me feeling a little anxious and tight chested. But for those of you researching study abroad opportunities right now, here are a few helpful pieces of advice:

• If you don’t know where to go, the OCS office has binders full of information from students’ previous experiences abroad that are sorted by location. They’re definitely worth a look! Also, you might have seen those little tags on students’ doors that say something like “I studied abroad, ask me about England!” Reach out to them. If you know them, great; if you don’t, leave your name and number and ask them to text you.
• If you don’t know when to go, print out major and minor requirements and map out your courses on a blank sheet of paper, paying attention to pre-requisites and limited offerings (the Foundations of Neuroscience course I want to take to satisfy the Natural Science requirement is only offered in the spring). Make as many of these maps as you need to help you visualize all your options (studying abroad in the fall versus the spring) and process the nit-picky details. I included summer and post-grad ideas, and I tried to include deadlines for applications when possible.
• Sometimes, half the problem is not knowing what questions to ask. If you don’t know what to consider when evaluating a program, go to the Off-Campus Study office and ask for the yellow “Interview Sheet Required for Unapproved Programs”. (Part of the petitioning process for unapproved programs is interviewing a student who recently completed it) Even if the program is approved, this sheet gives you a good sense of the information you’ll want to know.

Embrace your Type-A tendencies. Highlight, color-code, and make indecipherable notes to yourself.

What else would be helpful to know as a student just starting to think about study abroad? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

When I was in fourth grade, my elementary school held a spelling bee. I won on the word “chromosome” and passed the subsequent written exam by a hair (25/50 words correct with a cutoff of 24/50), which landed me in the oral part of the competition. This section was in the conference room of some large building in San Francisco, a twenty-minute drive from my little school. I remember feeling cold in the air conditioning and noticing there were no windows; the whole setup felt intimidating, suffocating, and impersonal, all at once. After I walked up to the microphone and spelled “A-R-S-O-N-I-C”, my chest felt tight, and I knew even before the judges rang the bell that I was going to be eliminated on the very first round.

And that is how I learned to spell “arsenic”.

I don’t mean for this story to sound depressing; in fact, I find it reassuring. Though fourth grade was more than a decade ago, remembering the spelling bee gives me strength and comfort. It reminds me of a time when I learned from a mistake and reassures me I will do so with each new one I make.

I turned to this “arsenic” story most recently when I applied—or should I say, failed to apply—to the Rose Institute. (Read about the beginning of the story here) The application deadline was not given in the information session, on the website announcing the job openings, or on the application itself. And so I had just finished my application and cover letter when I found out that group interviews had already been scheduled.

As would any good Scrippsie who has read Ask For It by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever and taken Professors Sean Flynn and Nancy Macko’s CORE III class, “Economics of Gender and Choice”, I decided to try and negotiate. I went to the Rose Institute the next morning with a hard copy of my application and asked one of the staff members I had met during the information session to pass it along to the hiring manager. I also sent the hiring manager a follow-up email with my application in soft copy. Here’s how I phrased it:

“I am writing to follow up regarding my late application submission to be a research assistant at the Rose Institute. I didn’t hear about a deadline either at the information session or online (I ultimately found out from David on Tuesday night), and sincerely apologize for making the mistake of assuming it was rolling.

 I went by the office Wednesday morning and gave a hard copy of my application to [name]; I am also attaching a soft copy to this message. Would you please confirm receipt?  I will understand if you refuse to review my application, but if you are willing, I am still very interested in the position and would appreciate the chance to discuss my qualifications with a member of your hiring committee. Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.”

(Please note that I am including this excerpt only for illustrative purposes; sensitive career-related situations call for the expertise of Career Planning & Resources!)

As you might have guessed, the Rose ultimately didn’t accept my application. I would like to explicitly state that it is not at all my intention to make excuses or blame others. It was strictly my fault for making the elementary mistake of assuming there wasn’t a deadline. I was really frustrated at myself for letting such a great opportunity slip through my fingers. But then I read this article titled, Can a thirst for revenge help your career? It talked about “channeling anger into superior performance” and closed with the following quotation: “You need great allies but it also helps to have a good enemy, someone you want to prove things to.” I don’t have the sense that anyone has wronged me, and I certainly don’t feel vengeful; but reflecting on the spelling bee and this incident with the Rose Institute makes me think that I have a “good enemy” in myself. Like I said earlier, I blame myself for not checking the deadline; and I will definitely make more mistakes in my professional journey. The best thing I can do, now and in the future, is to learn from them and make them valuable experiences.

Upcoming this week: I have a one-on-one meeting with Neva from the Office of Off-Campus Study to start researching programs. I’m also seeing my advisor to discuss my major and credit requirements. And I’ve finally scheduled a pre-session meeting with CP&R to take a personality assessment. So I’ll have lots to share next week!