People

  • Person

Paavani Arora

Contact Ask Me About… Studying at Oxford, something unique about my abroad experience was immersing myself in an intense academic culture while still wanting to make the most of everything outside the classroom. Studying abroad is most often seen as a step away from Penn’s academics, but Oxford was equally rigorous, just in a very…

  • Person

Gabriella Gusciora

Contact Ask Me About… One unique aspect of my time abroad was that I was the only student from Penn in the program, so I didn’t have a built-in support system and had to step outside my comfort zone to form connections. I lived in an apartment with complete strangers from different backgrounds, which taught…

  • Person

Victoria Hill

Contact Ask Me About… Within six months, I went from Tokyo to Dehradun, India—two places that could not be more different. Tokyo runs on precision: trains are on time to the second, schedules are followed exactly, and even rush-hour crowds move in quiet order. Dehradun is the opposite: life moves at its own pace, plans…

  • Person

Crystal Yeh

Contact Ask Me About… My first travel experiences abroad were only because of Penn. I spent my first trip abroad studying in Stockholm, Sweden. I spent my first work trip abroad in Porto, Portugal, interning at Churchill’s, a small, family-run Port wine company. When I arrived, I didn’t know a thing about wine—or how to…

  • Person

Kristina Pytko

Contact Ask Me About… If other students ask me just one thing about my experience abroad, I’d tell them about celebrating Christmas in July. Coming from the northern hemisphere, July has always meant sunscreen, iced tea, and maybe a beach trip, not scarves and Stollen. But in Australia, July is mid-winter, and the city embraces…

  • Person

Ysaach Romac Habon

Contact Ask Me About… My Penn Abroad experience through the PGS, Policy Task Force on U.S.–China Relations, was unique because it reversed the typical study-abroad path. Instead of learning a language while abroad, I advanced my Mandarin beforehand in anticipation of the trip. Taking Chinese II that semester gave me structure, but the upcoming program pushed…

  • Person

Shaomin Kee

Contact Ask Me About… During my internship in Vietnam, I wasn’t just working full-time at Nuoa.io— I was also juggling a Penn online course (Gods, Ghosts, and Monsters) and my role as Global Director of Marketing for a nonprofit. Each responsibility operated in a different time zone, and each demanded real attention and energy. With…

  • Person

Jasmine Simpson

Contact Ask Me About… A few unique aspects of my experience including: My Experience Abroad My study abroad experience perfectly aligned with my future career goals and interests in environmental justice and water sustainability. The Netherlands is the perfect case study for examining what steps are currently being taken to combat climate change-induced effects, like…

  • Person

David Zheng

Contact Ask Me About… Student accommodations. This opportunity was one of the various paths I could’ve chosen in terms of housing in the grand city of Dublin. I was stuck between a homestay, which allows me to be culturally immersed with a family that is already well settled in the neighborhoods of Dublin; or living…

  • Person

Natalie Vasquez

Contact Ask Me About… Studying abroad is undeniably life-changing, but it also brings moments that can be difficult to hear about or experience firsthand. I would like to share my answer to the question: “What is a situation that was emotionally taxing, yet ultimately changed me?” When I was in Cape Town, I witnessed the…