February marked the launch of API’s new series, #TravelTuesdays, where every Tuesday we share personal photos and experiences from API alumni on the @apiabroad Instagram account. Each week API Alumni will share how their time abroad impacted their lives, and also a few offer travel tips to students considering their own global experience. Read on to see the experiences Alumni share with us in February!
Our first #TravelTuesday feature was Kenzie, a 2016 Dublin student whose time abroad led her to her career as a flight attendant. When we asked her about her favorite memories during her experience, she shared, “Too many favorite memories to name! But the one that keeps on giving is the friendships I made. We still have a group text that we talk in weekly! And that is going on five years! Studying abroad sparked my love for travel and ultimately led to me finding my dream job as a flight attendant!”
Seville student Skye reminisces on her time abroad with API dancing in the streets of Puente de Los Remedios, Seville. “I studied in Sevilla in 2016, and it absolutely changed my life. My advice is to allow yourself the freedom to go against your plans and just say yes!!! My best adventures came from the times where my plans fell through, and I ended up doing something unexpected!”
We also heard from a few API Gap students in honor of February being Gap Exploration Month!. Lexi Alm studied abroad in Grenoble, France. “I found my way in college much more easily than many of my peers. I found my interests and chose my majors strategically because I had learned so much about myself. My gap year solidified a need to study abroad again in college, and it made that experience so much more valuable for me than if I hadn’t gone abroad for my gap year. I learned my second language (German) faster — not because it resembles French in any way but the alphabet, but because I wasn’t afraid to go for it. I embraced all the experiences of my study abroad semester differently than had I never been abroad before. When I returned, I knew what to do with those experiences. I had a cohort of worldly, well-traveled peers to discuss experiences with and an incredible group of mentors on campus who helped me leverage those experiences after graduation. To this day, I cite my gap year as the most transformational year of my life.”⠀⠀
Our final #TravelTuesday post of February was from another Gap student Hannah Eubanks who shared her time in Paris, France. “I am so glad I found API when I was searching for gap year programs. They are so supportive and helpful throughout the whole process. The staff was happy to answer all my questions and assist me prior to my trip to Paris, and the API Paris staff is wonderful! I appreciate all the measures API takes to make sure each student has a good experience, like the orientation at the beginning of the program and the evaluation(s) of your experience throughout. The API-organized excursions are always great, and I get to discover things I would never have found on my own, like the trip to Aix-en-Provence. They also do a great job of making sure my time at my host university goes as smoothly as possible and are able to help me sort out any problems that may come up. Choosing to study in Paris through API’s gap year program was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”⠀⠀⠀⠀
We want to hear from you!
If you studied abroad with API and have a memory, experience, favorite restaurant/food you tried, travel tip, or anything else you would like to share with the Instagram world, please reach out! You can DM us through our Instagram account @apiabroard or email Sophie at [email protected]. We would love to share your story and get you featured!
Want to reach out to an API Alumni personally? Sign up here; we’ll get you connected!
