As a current second-year student with about 138 units completed, I am completely in the thick of my mathematics education. With coronavirus’ presence throughout the entirety of my college career, I have faced anxieties about my education and my approaching graduation date. Like what career will be out there for me when I finally graduate? When I found the CEA Prague summer program, it made me realize that I didn’t have to take classes abroad, I could intern abroad and gain technical mathematic experience in a real hands on way.
This past summer, I wanted to gain more cultural experience, so I volunteered through Learning Enterprises to help strengthen Polish children’s English language skills. I was supposed to travel abroad, but unfortunately it was transferred to a Zoom/video essay format. Talking with these children in Office Hours made me realize my scope of the human experience is vastly limited. I now value the opportunity to experience cultural exchange to such a high degree, so it only made the aforementioned slightly-difficult study abroad application process, a necessary obstacle that I was thrilled to overcome.
In the discomfort that I’ve experienced due to impending graduation anxiety, I’ve had a difficult time understanding that college is not simply a means to an end (aka a degree). College is a journey where experiences with failure and discomfort go hand-in-hand. Though I know that adjusting to an unfamiliar environment, like Prague (that I only know so much about through my grandmother’s stories of living there for a summer), will take time, the I am so excited for new experiences that will help me grow and understand what I want to do with my education.
With the presence of coronavirus throughout my entire college career, I've faced anxieties about my education and approaching graduation date. Would a career be there when I finally graduate? As a result of my study abroad experience, I realize that college is more than a means to an end; it's a journey where failure and discomfort go hand-in-hand. Now I know I can adjust to an unfamiliar environment, and I'm excited for new experiences to help me grow and understand what I want to do with my education.