Skylar’s Study Abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico!!

My name is Skylar Stevenson and I am currently a sophomore at Howard University in Washington, d.c.. This coming summer I will be studying abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico. This lifetime opportunity and dream of mine will help develop my character and thought process about my personal life and so many more lives around the world. I am hoping that my wonderful community members will help me make this trip financially possible! If you want to continue reading about why I am studying abroad feel free!

The All-In Oaxaca Experience is a 6-credit program that will help me grow closer to my academic and professional goals, as well as my personal goals. Academically, I would like to graduate with my bachelor's degree at least a semester early, if not a full year earlier than anticipated. Getting to take this opportunity of studying abroad will be so much more beneficial to me than alternatively taking online summer classes. Though I have taken previous summer classes, the experience of studying abroad will be unlike any other learning opportunity I have had throughout my life. I believe that being surrounded by a language I am trying to learn is absolutely beneficial to gaining the true understanding of said language. This will be my experience taking Spanish 3 and Spanish 4 while in Oaxaca. Not only will I have a better understanding of Spanish, I will also have a better understanding of Spanish-speaking culture. In my future, my professional goal is to be a criminal psychologist. I would love to not only help English speaking people on a personal level, but also those who speak Spanish. Since Spanish is the second largest language in the United States I feel it would be an injustice to not be able to help those who do not speak English but only speak Spanish in the United States.

I have never traveled outside of the United States. This is also a big reason as to why this will be the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I have my passport and I am so excited to see where this will take me after my time in Oaxaca. I am prepared to be an excellent academic scholar abroad in many ways. I have done research about where I am going before I even knew! I did an extensive research project in my Spanish 2 class in high school about Oaxaca and am continuing to do more research, now that I am going to study in this beautiful city! I will continue to be a good student as I am on campus by attending all my classes, checking my emails, communicating with my professors and classmates, and engaging in my learning experience by asking questions and doing research. Being able to communicate with the students at the university nearby will be an immense help to me. I will be able to study with someone who can truly help me learn and fully understand their language.

Studying abroad is an opportunity that I can not pass up. I have been told that studying abroad is something that I absolutely have to do while I am in school. Ignoring these many signs would be detrimental to my development as a person who wants to appreciate other cultures to the fullest. I hope you can support me and my education! Thank you so so much!!