Rachael Rich
College of Literature, Science and the Arts
“I traveled (solo!) in 2019 to work at UMEED in India, with its broad mission to holistically implement emotional, psychological, and social wellness to children from socially and economically deprived backgrounds. I proposed an idea for the use of my time that the university funded and set off to give a great deal of myself (with my time and my work) in this unfamiliar landscape alone. But, like most other things in your 20’s, it wasn’t that cut-and-dry. Beautifully, I received about tenfold more in return — fortitude, strength in uncertainty, patience, independence, decisiveness, and heat tolerance. I left with the knowledge that the world I was accustomed to — one that seemed all-encompassing, wildly large, and equally relevant — was just a small sliver of a much, much larger diversified landscape. My recommendation to other students is to simply get uncomfortable in your study abroad experience. The world changes rapidly, so enter it upon graduation with a strong sense of self, and the knowing of your capacity to adapt, overcome, and do hard things!”
