Hello! I'm Kyler (he/they) and I am currently participating in the GlobalWorks Internship program in Hong Kong doing software consulting! I am a first generation sophomore at UO majoring in data science. I'm also a Pell Grant recipient. Because of my requirement of financial aid to help me through school, I was unsure if I would be able to afford to go abroad. That said, I was relieved to be able to apply my financial aid to the GlobalWorks program, making it much more realistic to be able to go, especially with the estimated cost breakdowns provided by GEO.

Hello! My name is Valeria Manzano Ballesteros, and I am a first gen Latina/Hispanic student at the University of Oregon. This is my last year at UO, and I am ready and excited to see what the future holds for me! I'm looking forward to highlighting my experience abroad through my identities as a first-time traveler, female, and my ethnic identity.

Hello blog!  

Where do I begin! I believe my last post was a bit fire and brimstone, because I was not really feeling great here on my internship experience, honestly. 

The first semester of my year in Svalbard has finished, and I simply cannot believe how fast it has gone by. It feels like I blinked and suddenly the sun set and polar night started, the sky lighting up with the moon and northern lights rather than the sun. But time truly doesn't go by any faster than when you are having the time of your life. I am so excited that the semester ending doesn't mean the end of my time in Svalbard, because I am studying at UNIS until June.

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Hi everyone!

So, frankly, my perspective has changed quite a bit since my last blog post. My time in Japan previously both traveling and as a student did not prepare me for the Japanese workplace in the way I thought it would. This was to be expected, but here I am. There's been a lot of challenges for me in terms of feeling like I can't be myself at all and very much attempting to put myself into the typical office worker box in order to 'conform' because otherwise I feel like I will be scolded or something bad will happen to me.

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I am just over my three month mark livi

From advising at my desk to a personal experience: How an advisor visit to a GEO Center Transformed my study abroad advising

Traveling abroad for the first time is exciting—but it can also feel overwhelming. As someone who recently returned from Costa Rica with the GEO Staff Grant program, I want to share a few insights and tips to help future students feel confident, prepared, and ready to embrace the adventure ahead.