Thoughts While Abroad…

Studying abroad is an experience everyone should try to do throughout your four years in college. I knew that even before coming to Greece. But now that I am actually 3 weeks into my study abroad program, everyday is a constant confirmation that I have made the right choice of leaving my wonderful Bentley home for a semester.

Bentley taught me a lot of things before going abroad but I have also learned so much just the little time I have been here. I wish what I have learned so far was more tangible to put into words but all I can say is:

Every abroad experience enlightens you as a person to the different things the world has to offer. I have met so many amazing people with such different cultures, backgrounds, values and experiences. You really do get so comfortable in your everyday life that you sometimes forget that there is a whole world out there with breathtaking lessons just waiting to be learned.

Knowing what I know now and what Bentley has to offer to prepare you, here are three tips:

1. It’s never too early to start researching where you want to go BUT also be flexible. Ever since Freshman year I had a vision that I was going to go to Santiago, Chile for my study abroad experience. But after researching a lot and seeing that their academic year was a lot different, the dates didn’t really match up well for me. It’s always important to have an open mind about the programs. We are lucky to go to a school where there are SO many programs offered everywhere around the world – so don’t limit yourself to just one!

2. Research the Study abroad program very well (including the school):

Even though you are probably excited about traveling and seeing a lot of different places you have to remember that there’s a “study” in “study abroad”.

Look into: The courses they offer, how big the campus is, what are the dining options, extracurricular activities, the academic set up of classes, and so on. Every last detail counts!

3. Talk to other people who have gone abroad and hear about their experiences! Obviously you probably won’t have the exact same experience as them, but most of the time people who have experienced it can give you a better look at certain details about a program. I had a lot of friends that had gone to Greece prior to me arriving and they gave me some amazing tips on where to go and how to handle certain differences. Plus people LOVE talking about their abroad experience!  Take advantage of that.

I hope some of these tips helped a little!  I also wanted to share a few pictures of Greece to get you excited about your abroad experience, whether it’s in 4 years or next year!

Preparing to go Abroad

Hello, Hola, or should I say:

γεια σας (Hello in Greek)

I remember little freshman me dreaming of going abroad for a Semester. Now, here I am, a Junior, counting down the days until I leave for Greece (10 days to be exact). This is my time to step out of my comfort zone even more and challenge myself. People always tell me that you're never going to have another chance to travel like you do when you study abroad, and I believe them. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My whole semester abroad will be filled with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. It hasn't really hit me that I am leaving in less than a week, even with all the packing and people asking you if you're excited. I am so blessed to be traveling to a country that most people go for honeymoons or vacations. 

You learn a lot throughout your years at Bentley and I really think that I am as prepared as I possibly could be to go abroad. Ever since I was little I had a dream (like most people) to travel the world and see different people and cultures. Now I have the opportunity to do so. And it's all thanks to Bentley. Bentley gives you endless opportunities to go abroad because they know how much of a learning experience it is. You might see colors you never knew existed, traditions you might have only seen on TV or in movies, or smells that you could have never imagined. But that's the point. You expand your knowledge of everything. Bentley knows how valuable this experience is. Please stay tuned for my constant updates while I am in Greece!!! You will get a sneak preview of life abroad! 

Until next time! 
Esperanza

 

Reflection on my Freshman Year

You know those people that tell you that college goes by in the blink of an eye? BELIEVE them. My friends and family throughout high school used to tell me that high school was nothing compared to how fast college goes by…I never believed them, until now. I swear I was JUST a freshman. Now that I am a junior I like to reflect a lot on my Freshman year experience and how it’s gotten me to where I am now. So here it is:

My freshman year experience started at Freshman orientation:

Orientation was great! This is where I met a lot of cool people and my fellow classmates. It didn’t really hit me until that day when I was walking into our Student Center to register with my future roommate that I was actually going to Bentley. You’re surrounded by all these new people in this new environment. Everything kind of hits you, but as soon as you start getting to know your way around campus (which you will after orientation) you can’t even imagine how campus will feel with all the rest of the students on campus.

Now, I have been an Orientation leader for two summers in a row and it’s been an even greater experience then when I was participating in orientation (if that’s even possible). It was such an amazing opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and meet some amazing people. Orientation is an experience on it’s own… It’s made me such an amazing leader and has helped me in so many more different ways. I’ve been on both ends of Orientation and it’s definitely made me realize how much I have grown since my first year here at Bentley.

My next experience was the ALANA experience:

ALANA stands for African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American. Although it emphasizes participation for minorities this is a program for everyone! The ALANA experience starts a few days before first week for freshman starts. You get to move in early and make a lot of friendships and networking connections. But most important of all, these people truly become your family. This is where I met some of my best friends. Four out of the seven people pictured above (not including myself) are still my BEST friends. The ALANA experience helped continue everything that Orientation started and more.

Next was First Week:

First week is when you truly get to see ALL of the freshman class. You really don’t realize how big your freshman class is until you see everyone during first week. This week is when all the freshman get to know each other even more and get to do some introductory work to get their year started. We got out laptops, met some professors, went to commencement, and got to sleep in our freshman year dorms. After first week EVERYTHING gets jumpstarted. You get to meet all of the upperclassmen, join clubs, and really start shaping what you want your four years to look like. It’s amazing to reflect on how my different years at Bentley have gone and I could write infinite blogs about all the things that I learned and experienced my freshman year. And don’t worry, a “Lessons I learned my freshman year” post will come soon! All this reflecting has me teary eyed to think I’m almost a senior! WOAH. I can never get over it. No matter how many times I say it or type it. Anyways, you will all hear from me soon!

Signing off,

Esperanza

Warm Welcome

I think I stared at my computer screen for a good 20 minutes trying to figure out how to start my first introduction entry. I typed in so many introduction sentences and none of them seemed perfect or witty enough to make the cut. I didn’t want to start off with my name because duh, that’s too cliche and I didn’t want to start off with something too corny because as corny as I am, you’ll get to see more of that through all of my other blog posts. So then I thought to myself, why are you here? Why are you reading this rant that seems to be about what goes through most peoples’ head before starting any kind of paper or writing assignment. You’re here to learn about me and my everyday life here at Bentley. I wish there was one blog post that could describe my experience here at Bentley and how much I love my school, but the problem with that is the blog post would be a million pages long because my experiences that happen here at Bentley deserve their own blog posts. You’re going to be following my life from THIS POINT ON, through all of my experiences that help shape my time here at Bentley.

Now lets finally get to a little bit of background of who I am because well, this isn’t an anonymous blog. My name is Esperanza Silva but most of my friends call me Espie for short. Spell it however you want, Espie, Espy, Espe, Espi…I’ve seen them all. But professionally I like to use my full name, Esperanza. For those of you Spanish-speaking people, it means hope in Spanish. So yes, I am Hispanic. I am 100% Mexican, I was born in Mexico and both of my parents were too, i’m the whole shebang. I lived in California for most of my life but eventually moved to Massachusetts around the beginning of middle school. I am a first generation child in my family so being at Bentley is a huge deal for me. I am a junior and a passionate, creative seeking Marketing major here at Bentley. I love life and everything in it. I am the type of person that as a junior, still walks around constantly thinking of how amazing my school is.

So for my first post I want to talk about my amazing weekend I just had. I am a part of the women’s group on campus and this weekend we went away to a retreat in Maine. It was such an inspiring weekend. We all got together as women and got to share our experiences with others. Sometimes you don’t realize how much support you can get from people who might be going through the same thing you are. This was a Bentley sponsored event. We as women are very powerful and can give a lot of insight to one another based off each others experiences. We had sessions about what it is to be a woman and different problems that we may face in the business world. The whole weekend had everyone feeling empowered and ready to take on anything that crossed their path. There were about 20 girls and 3 advisors that attended the trip. It’s experiences like this that I am blessed to receive and be a part of. Not only was the house in Maine beautiful but the landscape outside of it was breathtaking. Which could define the whole weekend: breathtaking and beautiful.