My name is Emely. I am about to go into my fourth year as a Global Studies and Spanish major. This will be the fourth year I navigate higher education without guidance from my family, as I am the first to have the opportunity to take this path. I am Mexican, I am American, and I am a woman. My identities are on my mind at home, and even more so abroad as I navigate social expectations and attempt to respectfully conform to the norm in Japan.
Hello! My name is Andrea Rivera, and I am a first-generation student at the University of Oregon. One of the biggest reasons I chose the University of Oregon was because of the opportunity to study abroad. Even though I was excited, I was also nervous because I am the first person in my family to have an experience like this. Spending two months away from my family is something I have never done before, so choosing Barcelona, Spain, felt like the right decision.
When I chose the Psychology in Kyoto program through UO GEO, I had two goals in mind. Academically, I wanted to earn psychology credits that will help me pursue physical therapy at school. Personally, I wanted to spend time in Japan, a country that is deeply connected to my future goals and identity. As someone who is half Japanese and half White, I've always wanted to strengthen my connection to Japan, especially because I hope to one day play professional basketball here.
At a young age, I was never interested in geography. I remember playing with the world globe
and never bothering to learn the names of the countries, as I told myself, "You're never going to
leave the USA." Now I'm in Singapore, exploring areas where my physical appearance is unique.
Hi, my name is Jesus, and this is my story about being LGBT and Hispanic within Singapore,
which has been proven to be the melting pot of Asia. As someone who is always pushing for
growth educationally and interpersonally, this opportunity was exciting to me. Doing an
Hello, my name is Emma. I transferred to the University of Oregon at the beginning of the 2024-
2025 academic year from a small college in Kansas. The opportunities for my major and to
connect with people who shared similar experiences to I was limited – coming to UO opened a
gateway of new opportunities. One of them being GEO’s programs. Last summer, I traveled to
Taiwan and Japan for the first time through a GEO month long study abroad. I loved the
experience of being abroad and wanted to challenge myself further. I applied to a GlobalWorks
Hello! My name is Adri Jolie, and I’m a junior studying General Social Sciences and 3 PM,
with a minor in Spanish. I chose this program to understand the Spanish language
and Mexican culture better, as my goal is to one day work with Latina women in providing
necessary reproductive care. More personally, I want to become fluent in Spanish to
communicate with my family, and to better understand my own roots.
Hello! My name is Ruby, and I use the pronouns they/them in English and elle in
Spanish. I wanted to document my experience as an out and proud trans person living
abroad and also someone who uses the emerging pronoun: “elle.” Many Spanish speakers
similarly use the pronoun in the same way many English speakers use “they,” to signify that
one’s gender identity is non-conforming or outside of the binary.
Now that my time in London has officially ended, I’ve been reflecting on how much happened in what felt like such a short amount of time. Before leaving, I thought this experience would mainly be about gaining professional experience through my internship—but it became so much more than that.
