Liberal Arts Major(s): Criminology, Master of Public Policy
Minor: Spanish
Hometown: Douglas, Massachusetts

What was the best part of your experience?

While the whole program was amazing, and we visited amazing cities all over central Mexico, the best part of my experience was living with a local host family. Living with a Mexican family truly allowed me to immerse myself in the language and culture. My host mom cooked authentic Mexican dishes, helped me practice my Spanish, and made me feel at home in Puebla.

Living with a Mexican family truly allowed me to immerse myself in the language and culture

How did this experience impact you academically?

I learned more Spanish in six weeks in Mexico than I have since I started taking Spanish classes in middle school. All the students in our program signed a pledge to use Spanish the whole time we were in the program which allowed us to be immersed in the language, make mistakes, and learn how to fix them. Again, living with a host family helped my Spanish tremendously. While the classes were not easy, being able to constantly practice my Spanish outside the classroom helped inside the classroom as well.

How will this experience impact your career goals?

The improvements to my Spanish speaking skills will absolutely help me find a job. More generally than that, living in a foreign country (even for just six weeks), immersing yourself in the culture, and learning about the people and history of the country is always beneficial and helps to become more well-rounded, educated, and cultured, which will certainly help me in the field of Public Policy.