Study Abroad Peer Advisors
2018-2019
Contact these students to find out more about their study abroad experiences!
Our Peer Advisor Coordinator has been selected to coordinate any volunteers and create programming for our Peer Advisors. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact them. Our selected PA Coordinator for 2018-2019 is Sarah Barsch.
Are you interested in becoming a Peer Advisor?
Program | |
| Australia | Bond University |
| China | Alliance in Shanghai |
| France | NEOMA Business School |
| Hong Kong | University of Hong Kong |
| Hungary | Corvinus University |
| Ireland | University College of Dublin |
| Italy | |
| Japan | CIEE Japan |
| Netherlands | Leiden University |
| South Africa | University of Cape Town |
| South Korea | SolBridge International School of Business |
| Spain | Universidad Pontificia Comillas
|
| Bond University, Australia | |
Kyle DiBurro, 2019 Email: <DIBURRO_KYLE@bentley.edu> Studied at: Bond University, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Corporate Finance and Accounting What was one of your most meaningful experiences and why? One of the most meaningful experiences I had during my time abroad was the friendships I made with non-Americans. Prior to traveling abroad, one of my main goals was to break outside of my American friend group and create friendships with people from around the world, and I was able to do just that. Upon arrival, my roommates and I quickly befriended the neighbors of our villa that were from countries such as Sweden, China, Italy, England, and of course, Australia. Creating these friendships opened up numerous experiences and opportunities for us, as these friends exposed us to true Australian experiences, and knew many of the great hidden places to travel to around our home. Back to Top | |
| Alliance Shanghai, China | |
Email: handler_ben@bentley.edu Studied at: Alliance in Shanghai, Fall 2017 Major/Minor: Managerial Economics/ Chinese Why Bentley students should study abroad? Study abroad opens up your mind and your heart. It chops away at some of the ignorance and biases that you may have (and don't even know that you have). You see, along with hear, smell, taste and touch things that you did not even know existed. Bentley students will meet different people in all walks of life and hear their stories. Combine the cultural experience with the international business education from the host university, and you get not only a better Bentley student coming back to campus, but you get a more knowledgeable person in the workforce and in society. Back to Top | |
| NEOMA Business School, France | |
Email: novak_alex@bentley.edu Studied at: NEOMA BUSINESS School, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Marketing and Global Perspectives What was one of your most meaningful experiences and why? I had countless meaningful experiences abroad but I think a major one was the overall experience of being an exchange student. The excitement and seemingly endless possibilities of an unfamiliar environment made me feel like a freshman again. Navigating a new city, learning social norms, and communicating in a foreign language gave me immense admiration for international students. Even though I was at a school that I think is relatively similar to Bentley, there were astounding differences in the way classes were conducted and how students lived. By the end of it all, I didn’t want to leave and could truly see myself as a member of the community. Back to Top | |
| University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong | |
Email: tam_chri@bentley.edu Studied at: HKU, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Information System Audit and Control What was one of your most meaningful experiences and why? On my first day of class, I quickly realized that I was the only exchange student in one of my classes. The professor told everyone to find a group for the semester and I sat there, knowing that I was alone and out of the loop. Seconds later, a local student asked me to join her group and I was so surprised because she already had friends in the class. The group happily took me in and by the end of the semester, we had become such great friends. The first day of classes was very intimidating but the friendliness of the HKU students made my transition so much easier.Back to Top | |
| Corvinus University, Hungary | |
Email: davi1_laur@bentley.edu Studied at: Corivinus University, Fall 2017 Major/Minor: Managerial Economics #1 piece of advice for students studying abroad: Go into it without any expectations and don't compare their experience with anyone else's. Each student will have their own unique experience abroad and if they go in with expectations of how it will go it will most likely be different from what they thought and that is where some disappointment and heartache may lie. I think that it is best to go into it with an open mind and remember to take things as they come. Back to Top | |
| University College of Dublin, Ireland | |
 Cameron Fahey, 2019 Email: Fahey_came@bentley.edu Studied at: University College of Dublin, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Accountancy Why should Bentley students study abroad? Bentley students should study abroad because there are endless opportunities to pursue, people to meet, and experiences to be made outside of the little bubble in Waltham that we live in. Bentley students already have a great reputation of being prepared for the future and positive leaders in society, however I would encourage students to push themselves a little more and step outside of their comfort zones. The more globalized the world becomes, the more ready we have to be as employees to face diverse and global working conditions. There is no greater first step for students to take in meeting this challenge than by entering a foreign country and learning the ways of other cultures. Back to Top | |
| IES Abroad Milan, Italy | |
Email: fiorava_chri@bentley.edu Studied at: Corivinus University, Fall 2017 Major/Minor: Finance/Global Perspectives #1 piece of advice for students studying abroad: The advice I tell any of my friends embarking on their semester abroad is to stay in your home city for at least two weekends. When students go abroad especially in Europe, they try to get to see as many European countries as possible. Although this is a wonderful goal, the most fun or excitement of any city is to experience it during the weekend. There is going to be a plethora of fairs, exhibits, shows, nightlife to do during the weekend compared to the workweek. Back to Top | |
Lorenzo de'Medici, Italy | |
Email: leotta_fran@bentley.edu Studied at: LDM, Fall 2017 Major/Minor: Economics & Finance/ Psychology What was a typical day in the life while studying abroad? A typical day started early, around 7:00am when I would wake up, shower and head out the door for the equally famous and delicious News Cafe. The barista, Marco, would give me my cappuccino and cornetto and we'd talk about the news of the day while I'd play with his dog, Gordon. From here, it was off to Italian class where I'd learn new vocabulary to practice at lunch in the Mercato Centrale with my LdM friends. At around 1pm we would all walk past Il Duomo di San Lorenzo to Via Faenza where we would then have class. After a few hours of class it was back to my apartment where I would try to make a classic Italian dish and do some homework, before heading to bed to start again. Back to Top | |
| CIEE at Sophia University, Japan | |
Email: wu_keji@bentley.edu Studied at: CIEE at Sophia, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Finance/Liberal Studies (Media Arts and Society)/Japanese/CIS What was one of your most meaningful experiences and why? My most meaningful experience there was joining the student circle Humans of Sophia which is a school version of Humans of New York, unveiling the stories behind the faces of Sophians. At Bentley, I also helped to run the similar kind of social media account called Bentley_you featuring Bentley students and faculties. It is interesting to see how these two same kind of accounts work in two different school, two different countries. I was more than happy to offer my experience on gaining more followers on social media and I also absorbed a lot of their amazing ideas that we have never tried in Bentley. I truly treasure the peers I met there and I enjoy having new thoughts generated in my head.Back to Top | |
| CIEE at Sophia University, Japan | |
Email: wong_ziwe@bentley.edu Studied at: CIEE at Sophia, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Marketing/ Japanese Minor What was a typical day in the life while studying abroad? The first couple of weeks, I was with other CIEE students exploring the city and the campus. After the initial, orientation weeks, I signed up for a basketball club at Sophia University. I was the only foreigner who signed up for their club. As expected, barely anyone knew English but that did not deter me away from my decision to join. I had two classes every day, which would begin at 11 am and finish at around 3pm. After that I would go to a coffee shop to grab a coffee and finish my homework before basketball practice, which started at around 6pm. After practice, depending on the seniors on the team, we would either go to a restaurant to eat or go home. Back to Top | |
Leiden University, Netherlands
Email: wilczek_eliz@bentley.edu Studied at: Leiden University, Fall 2017 Major: Global Studies What was a typical day in the life while studying abroad? | |
| University of Cape Town, South Africa | |
Email: vanhoof_rebe@bentley.edu Studied at: University of Cape Town, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Economics-Finance / Modern Languages Spanish Why should Bentley students study abroad? Study abroad is an opportunity for personal growth that you can’t gain by doing anything else. Personally, I believe that I am a more confident and independent individual after studying abroad, and I believe it is especially because I went to South Africa. Going somewhere so unique really allowed me to grow as a person; I had to think on my feet, be resourceful, and learn how to adapt to a very different culture. I truly believe that the skills I have gained abroad will help me throughout the rest of my life -- at work and beyond -- and every Bentley student should study abroad because it is an asset to one’s education and development. Back to Top | |
| SolBridge International School of Business, South Korea | |
Email: moliere_cend@bentley.edu Studied at: SolBridge International School of Business, Spring 2018 Major/Minor: Management/Marketing #1 piece of advice for students studying abroad:My one piece of advice would be to talk to people. In the beginning of my program I was very timid and shy because I was the only person from the US in the entire program and I was intimidated by that. After two weeks or so I started to come out my shell more and met people from all over. Being open to all people is what really helped me blossom. There were people who were curious about my culture, my life and even my hair. Back to Top | |
| ESADE, Spain | |
Email: moschel_eliz@bentley.edu Studied at: ESADE, Fall 2017 Major/Minor: Accounting/ Spanish What do you wish you had done differently? | |
| Universidad de Navarra, Spain | |
Email: barsch_sara@bentley.edu Studied at: Universidad de Navarra, Spring 2017 Major/Minor: Marketing, LSM MAS/ IDCC What do you wish you had done differently? I wish that I spent more time getting to know the full-time students at the university. In my final few weeks, I grew extremely close to a few full-time students who I learned so much from. As an exchange student, I felt the need to surround myself to other exchange students like me because they were also traveling and exploring cities, but leaving that bubble and interacting with local students changed a lot my views of the city in the last few weeks and showed me an entire new side of Pamplona I would have never knew existed. Back to Top | |
| Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain | |
 Sydney Harding, 2019 Email: harding_sydn@bentley.edu Studied at: Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spring 2018 Major: Global Studies/ Business Studies Why should Bentley students study abroad? Bentley students should study abroad because you get to not only discover new things about yourself but discover a new culture and way of life. Studying abroad puts you outside your comfort zone in ways you never have experienced before unless you have lived abroad. It is mentally taxing and pushes you to your limits. It can be scary but getting past those fears and that sense of discomfort yield the most amazing rewards and self-discoveries. In addition to the personal growth aspect from having your boundaries tested, you also get to experience and embrace a foreign country and all its amazing facets: its people, food, culture, and so forth. This sort of cultural immersion and global education is not something that can be taught at school or read in a textbook, thus it is truly invaluable.. Back to Top |
Benjamin Handler, 2019
Alexander Novak, 2019
Christine Tam, 2019
Lauren Davis, 2019
Chris Fioravanti, 2019
Frank Leotta, 2019
Candice Wu, Spring 2019
Bryan Wong, 2019
Eliza Wilczek, 2019
Rebecca Van Hoof, 2019
Cendy Moliere, 2019
Elizabeth Moschella, 2019
Sarah Barsch, 2019