Elizabeth Oduro
Seoul, Korea
What country and program did you go to?
Seoul National University - Business Administration, Seoul, Korea.
Why would you recommend students study abroad?
Studying abroad is an experience every student should desire to have. Not only does it open up your eyes to the global world around us, but it expands our perspectives on how we should think and cope with others in today's society.
What did you get out of your experience?
So much—I gained so many new amazing friends from all over the world: Korea, Indonesia, Belgium, Russia, Spain, to name a few, got to explore a culture entirely different from my own speaking their language, eating their amazing food, and visiting truly gorgeous places, learned to lived independently, and got to experience learning business from a totally different perspective than America's western perspective.
What was one of your favorite moments from studying abroad?
Favorite moment abroad is a hard question. If I have to choose I would say my favorite moment was walking up the steep Itaewon hills with my friends and discovering a landmark - totally accidentally - that looked out to Namsan Tower during the sunset. Top 5 experience of my life.
What was the most interesting course you took abroad?
An interesting class that I took abroad was History and Memory of Southeast Asia which was a seminar fulfilling one of my minor requirements. The class went into a deep dive of every southeast Asian nation, where we learned about key points in their history, how events were commemorated and the tactics of reconciliation used after disruption occurred. There I learned more about global relations, governmental structures, and how the West and other Eastern countries affected the livelihoods and structures of the people groups there to this day.
How was it a good experience academically?
I loved studying at SNU. There, I took business classes, language classes, and classes in the humanities, giving me a broad understanding on how they conducted their courses. Though I went during covid and during their second semester, my classmates and professors made it easy to want to go to class despite being abroad. Most of my classes were high-touch in terms of class discussions and group work, allowing me to meet many other students during class and after class with study groups. The classes there were vigorous at times, but there was a clear balance within each class and TAs as well as the professor were responsive in adding us in understanding and completing assignments.Â