Inroad Towards Empathy

I take pride in identifying as a first-generation student. It means so much to me to carry the torch for my family and break new ground for my younger sisters. I have always been the person in my family to venture out of my comfort zone and it showed in my willingness to study abroad. I found extraordinary strength stepping out of my small-town bubble when I left for college across the state alone and I matured as a man flying across the globe. This change didn’t occur just because I changed geographical location though, it occurred by being open to new ideas and jumping on opportunities. Finding myself among different people and cultures was anxiety-inducing but overcoming your own personal fear and realizing what lies in front of you is empowering. I believe it’s important for first-generation students to study abroad because you are setting the tone for friends, family, and your community to break down boundaries among people and create understanding.

My personal background is one of many obstacles but even more triumphs. Growing up with a single teenage mother helped me mature quickly. My family has very little formal education to speak of, my mom’s generation being the first to complete high school in my family, so achieving a higher education seemed a bit out of reach. Above all else, the most difficult task was for me first to believe I could go to college before I even attempted to. I remember a teacher asking me one day what college I was thinking about going to and I responded with "I wasn't thinking about going to college." Nobody in my family ever had and I didn't even know how to even begin a process like that. But I always had an undying optimism and wonder about the world. I knew I loved people, cultures, and knowledge. Once I decided college was for me, I began to focus on how to make it happen instead of whether or not it was possible for me to do and that is where I saw the change in my life.

Thinking about studying abroad can be a very similar process to how many students like me were viewing the college process, “out of reach." However if you are adaptable, open, and curious, then studying abroad is for you. Once you make that decision all that is left for you to do is to make it happen. I recommend first-generation students hustle their tail off getting scholarships or financial aid to make this dream become a reality. I don't come from a family with money and I am paying for most of my own education, so I definitely understand the barriers and excuses. In order for me to make my study abroad happen, I had to plan ahead and work hard to earn scholarships; competing in scholarship competitions, and applying for financial aid money. The easiest study abroad scholarships I applied for were funds directly provided from my school, that’s a great place to check first.

Often times you may think “I wish I could do this” or “if only I could do this” when money is tight but eventually you realize that if you truly want something to happen you will work to make it so. That is the mindset I have taken into fighting for my education and it’s the attitude I used to make my dream of travelling and studying abroad happen. A pro tip, besides scholarships, is to figure out if the course you want to take abroad is for your degree and whether or not you are eligible for or are currently receiving financial aid because if so, you are more than likely able to use that financial aid for your program abroad. Convincing my mother to allow me to do a study abroad program was so much easier having received appropriate funding. She was still worried but it was one less matter to stress about and in the grand scheme, she knew I was mature enough to do this. That’s ultimately what you have to show the people you need to persuade.

You should prepare for this life-changing experience with a decent amount of planning and budgeting but still maintaining an open mind. Unexpected costs and challenges are bound to come up, but by keeping yourself organized from the beginning and taking care of important matters, such as having your passport and a working phone for emergencies, you will be flexible enough to adapt to the circumstances that come your way. Watching YouTube videos giving advice on how and what to pack, reading articles or blogs like this, and reaching out to someone who has studied abroad before are the best ways to prepare in my opinion. Using checklists for clothes, items, and must-do tasks were also key in my experience. An unexpected cost I was surprised at was flights and baggage fees when flying with multiple airlines! I thought flying with different airlines would save me money but, in all honesty, it created more stress, hassle, and time trying to drag my luggage from place to place. Visas for studying abroad can often be costly, but I did not need a visa, as my stay was only five to six weeks for each of my study abroad experiences. That might be something to ask about, in advance. Fortunately, passport costs were not too hefty and I’ve heard some schools even do free passport drives on campus.

I believe so many more students could study abroad! I have been in the Quad of my own school attempting to tell people about studying abroad and have gotten shut down so quickly with "I'm too poor." I wish they would have been open enough for me to tell them how I made it happen so they could go too! I’ll leave you with this, many times people ask me how I get so many tasks done and accomplish so much. I always respond by saying, “I just do it." If I am interested in or want something that will improve my life, instead of wasting time thinking about “should I do it,” I just go for it and start focusing on what I need to do to make it happen. My college has a slogan for studying abroad, “You Won’t Know Until You Go."  After visiting two continents, six countries, and living a whole summer outside the U.S., I realized I now know. I know that studying abroad has changed my life forever.

Alex Barbosa is a CEA Alumni Ambassador who studied abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica. He is an alumnus of Texas State University.