Through the internship that I had a chance to participate in through this study abroad (SOC 4980), my career goals were only further enhanced. By working in two refugee camps on the island, Moria and Kara Tepe, I came to recognize a deeper understanding of myself and how much social work really is the right profession for me. Through activities such as: bedroom painting with the unaccompanied minors, fence painting, helping host Eid Mubarak parties, and playing soccer and basketball with the boys, I was able to solidify the idea that I would like my specialization in my Master’s degree and future social work career to be focused on working with children and minors. 

Although this study abroad was academically and mentally challenging, it was the best experience I could have asked for from MSU as my last undergraduate experience and memory. I wanted my last year at state to go out on a bang, and this study abroad really provided that for me. I never had expectations that this study abroad would be a “vacation” with free weekends or ample time off, because that was never advertised. In the beginning I thought that would have been nice, but the internship was what intrigued me the most and I understood that it required time, dedication, and effort from everyone to make it a success. I believe that with a different group, my experience in and outside of the refugee camps would have been completely different, and I wouldn’t want to change that for the world. During the six weeks of the program, my peers and I were challenged academically through our classes and internship, but also emotionally because we overcame a lot of obstacles to make this program work for ourselves in the way that worked best for us individually and as a group. I have not gotten closer to a group of people faster than in the first week of the program, and while some may view that as a negative consequence, I know it was the leading contributor to my successful study abroad experience. I will be forever grateful to the students I met during this program and to the memories made in class, in the camps, and during excursions. I highly recommend this study abroad program because it has given me so much more than just a few credits or GPA; it has given me 20+ new friends, amazing memories, and a home to go back to in Lesvos, Greece. 

NOTE ABOUT FINANCES
I always had the notion that study abroad experiences were both expensive and not affordable for most students. While that is true for some, for me as a student coming from a low-income family, I did not believe this statement as true at the end of my program. Through the various scholarships I received through my college and through the education abroad scholarships, the cost of my program significantly decreased and that had a huge impact on how much I was able to enjoy my time during the program. Additionally, I always had the notion that I would spend enormous amounts of money throughout the program on items such as meals, gifts, excursions, and on other expenses that would allow me to keep up with the other students who might have more money than me. But I found this to be completely untrue pretty early on in the program. Many of the students had the same notion as I did going into this program, but we realized that it was easy to not spend so much money if there was no need for it. Many of us found cost effective ways to still eat out or go on fun excursions while doing the most we could to save our money. 

For example, during a few days that we had to ourselves in Santorini, many of us went to the beach for the day to relax and have fun. Some students decided to take a taxi down to the beach because it was faster than the bus, but it was also almost twice as expensive. By opting to take the public bus and have it take twice as long to get to the destination, but have it be less expensive, many of us not only saved money, but we got to experience how the local population in the area traveled around their island. Through this experience I was fortunate enough to learn more about the local culture in Santorini, was able to see a tourist island in a different light, and was able to be smart with my money. It was a win-win situation where I had fun and was able to be more relaxed in knowing that I had found cost-effective ways to still experience the island!

Name: Cecilia Galvan
Status: Senior
Major: RCAH
Hometown: Lansing, Michigan
Program: Contemporary Culture, Politics, and Society in Greece