Going to college can be an exciting time, full of new opportunities to learn, grow, meet new people, and make lifelong friends. This new stage in your life also means that you may suddenly find yourself in a position where you’re faced with making important decisions, such as choosing what you want to study, and how that will prepare you for your future career.
University is a time to take chances, explore new things, and find the subjects you’re truly passionate about, and one of the best ways you can do that is by going abroad. Studying in a different country can expose you to new cultures and inspiring ideas that can help you find your true calling in life—you may even make a few friends and build your professional network along the way!
Interested in finding out what you can learn at an American university abroad? Here are a few reasons why studying in Italy may be the next destination in your learning journey.
In America, a university education once meant that you had specialized training and knowledge that made you the best fit for a job in one particular industry. While that can still be true today, many companies instead consider an undergraduate degree to be more of a prerequisite rather than something that proves your qualifications for one specific professional field.
In fact, it is not uncommon for many American students to work in a career that is entirely different than their major. Why? Simply put, it’s because they have the right skills that make it easy for them to transfer their talents across many different industries.
These skills aren’t always something you can learn in a classroom, and firsthand experience can often be the best teacher. Studying at an American university in Italy means you may have to learn how to navigate a new and different environment, including communicating with people who may not speak English or your native language and working together with your fellow students and professors from around the world. No matter your major, attending university in a different country can help you develop skills which will be of use to you in many different careers—in a way, it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
One of the most exciting parts of attending university in Italy is that you get to experience a culture which has unique customs, traditions, language, and people that may be entirely different than anything you have seen before. This, combined with the added benefit of experiencing an American education abroad, can introduce you to a variety of exciting and enriching opportunities.
Life has a way of providing us with opportunities we neither expected nor prepared for. These opportunities give us a chance to learn more about ourselves, who we are, and what we want to become. Steve Jobs, for example, once said that the unique typography of the Mac would never have happened if he had not decided to attend a calligraphy class on a whim. Travelling to a new country lets you indulge in your sense of adventure, explore new possibilities, and tap into the potential of what you may discover tomorrow.
You may be wondering what this all has to do with deciding a major or settling on what career you see yourself in. The truth is, it’s all right not to know what you want to do at the beginning of your studies—chances are, the experiences you have along the way will help you find out!
Are you interested in opening yourself to new experiences while you study at an American university in Rome? Find out what the students at JCU are learning in and out of the classroom at our English language university in Italy.