During summer semester 2016 I was fortunate enough to participate in FIU's study abroad program, Multi-Level Governance in Europe. As a student of International Relations and with a multi-cultural family background I joined the program aiming to increase my knowledge of diplomacy and to see first-hand how international organizations work. Right from the beginning the program surpassed all my expectations. FIU has over fifty thousand students, so it's not unusual that my classmates and I started as relatively strangers to each other, but since the program started on campus we had a chance to meet each other and exchange questions, doubts and ideas while still on a setting that usual and natural to us, FIU's campus.
A few days after arriving to Vienna, our first stop, I quickly realized that the program was going to be much more than a regular vacation trip, an experience of invaluable worth for both my personal and professional development. Our group of 14 students had the chance to talk to officials of 11 different international organizations, governmental and non-governmental ones. Each organization gave us a tour of their facilities, a brief history of the organization and its purpose and moreover the representatives gave us insightful advice of how their career had led them to their current position. Visiting institutions like the UN, OSCE, U.S mission in the EU, European Commission, and EEAS was a dream come true. Furthermore, talking to professionals from the aforementioned institutions, listening to their stories and advice, and being able to ask them questions, turned the idea of being a part of an organization like those, from what once seemed like a distant dream into a real and attainable goal.
The program took us from FIU's main campus to five countries: Austria, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Belgium. As the program advanced I was pleased to share those experiences with my classmates, a group of amazing young individuals that just like me had a desired to learn more about the world and how it works. Back in Florida, we all have busy and different schedules, the program placed us in a scenario where the constraints of our daily routine and obligations had disappeared. The program wouldn't have been the same without them; I'm extremely thankful to FIU for building a bridge connecting what one time were strangers and now are good friends.
I could write pages of the million anecdotes that we went through but somethings have to be personally experienced. I would like to encourage any student that has stumbled upon my blog and might be thinking about joining a study abroad program, to do it, you won't regret it. Take opportunities whenever you can because they might not present themselves again, tomorrow is now.