Alumna goes global, gains perspective

Only when I arrived at the train station in Lyon, France did I realize how underprepared I was. 

I knew the tram number to take to my school, INSA-Lyon, but I could not find it in the sprawling transportation center. If I did find it, I did not know where to get off. 

Once I got off the tram, I didn't know where to go. I was burdened with my bicycle in a cardboard box and an enormous rolling suitcase. I couldn't read the signs or understand anyone. 

As an engineering student, studying abroad is not encouraged and is not easy, perhaps due to the curricular constraint indigenous to this and other intensive majors. 

However, to bring an expansive perspective to the global economy, studying abroad is vital, and arguably essential, in today's competitive job market.

I am currently gainfully employed by the government at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, and there is no doubt my international résumé played a key role in my selection.

My Estonian friend, who currently works in Paris and knows three languages, admonished me that engineering is an international profession.

This opinion is shared with much of the professional community, evidenced by the fact that INSA Lyon is 25 percent international. In many job descriptions concerning work abroad, at least one semester of foreign study is required. Fluency in another language is encouraged and almost always required.

Going to France enabled me to improve my French, learn new programs, apply theoretical knowledge in a different manner and meet people of many cultures. 

I learned the CATIA engineering program, the proprietary French version of Solidworks, used both the ANSYS engineering simulation software

 and VSA, a gear power transfer calculation software.

I was able to tour and learn about the modeling of an endoprosthetic, a stent used to rectify aortic abdominal aneurysm happening at ANSYS- France. 

An integral part of being an exchange student is the natural friendships found among the other exchange students. I ate lunch and traveled with Belgians, Koreans, Italians, Polish, Germans and Estonians. Generous Polish hosts in Gdynia forced me to eat until I could eat no more and gregarious Spaniards in Valencia invited me in for fresh squeezed orange juice. 

The stunning vistas of the Swiss Alps and the roaming vineyards of Lausanne blended with ski trips to the French Alps and a visit to the Bavarian peaks of Germany.

Traveling to the oldest church in the world in Istanbul, Turkey or experiencing the thematic music of an anonymous organ in Germany was the most amazing part of my experience. 

I voyaged across France to the small town of Pontchateau, near one of the landing points for American troops during World War Two.

The stationmaster expressed his favorable opinion of Americans and drove me to my hotel, a good 20 minutes away at 10 p.m.

I eventually did get to my dorm room and had a memorable study abroad experience, with a little help.

The most help came from the Gilman Fellow Scholarship Program, open to U.S. citizens who receive Pell grants from the government and whose mission is to promote mutual understanding between Americans and other people of the world. 

My transformative experience would not have been possible without the staff at the office on international education and Marnie Owen, from student services at the College of Engineering. 

Scheduling a semester abroad involves meeting with your academic adviser or your school's student services to determine requirements. The next step to studying abroad is going to the financial aid office and dissecting your aid package in terms of transferable and non-transferable sources. 

Go to www.iee.org/gilman to determine eligibility and apply. Finally, go to the office of international education to investigate specific programs in the countries you are interested in. The time to start is now.