Becoming a world traveler means paying attention to how you interact with other people and cultures. Your values, goals, reactions — your identity — will affect your experience. To explain what that means, listen to an honest conversation between two friends: Rabiah, a Nigerian American and Muslim woman, and Thomas, an openly gay Puerto Rican man. These USAC Alicante alumni offer tips for energizing your identity.

Have an idea for a future episode or just want to learn more about study abroad? Email us at studyabroad@usac.edu.

One of the biggest concerns for students who want to study abroad is the cost. This episode, hosted by USAC Italy alumni Sophia DeYoung and Danny Rhodes, reveals several insider tips on how you can minimize travel and living costs while maximizing your experience abroad. They cover everything from setting a budget, avoiding overlooked costs, and leveraging all the ways to make a term abroad just as affordable as one at home.

Listeners will hear essay writing advice from USAC Thailand alumnus Ricardo Estrada-Davila – a California State University, Chico student who earned not one, not two, but three study abroad scholarships. Plus, we’ll get a behind the scenes look at how to make your essay stand out from the rest from Ryder Hankins, a USAC Italy Alumnus and a former University of Nevada, Las Vegas, scholarship essay evaluator.

Have an idea for a future episode or just want to learn more about study abroad? Email us at studyabroad@usac.edu.

It helps to be a part of a deep-rooted Italian community if you’re looking to be taught how to cook pasta the “right” way. Accepting new ways of doing things can also help you build the confidence to teach others about your own values as well. University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduate Ryder Hankins will walk us through the lasting impact of making good food and finding a friendly community as a queer person during his time in both the USAC Viterbo and USAC Torino programs. In this episode, we will also feature a segment of “You Belong,” a video presentation by USAC Chiang Mai alumnus Ami King, about his experience finding community as a queer person abroad. "You Belong" in it's entirety can be found on our YouTube channel.

Have an idea for a future episode or just want to learn more about study abroad? Email us at studyabroad@usac.edu.