Kummen studied at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) during the Spring 2016 semester. She started the semester with a two-week “crash Spanish language course” on January 15, and finished her last exam on June 19.

"Academically, my study abroad experience taught me how to learn from a new perspective," she says. "I changed the way I take notes entirely. I also learned the best way for me to learn is by branching out and learning with other students, instead of alone."

But Kummen feels she gained much more than just academics.

"The experiences I had throughout my study abroad experience -- the easy, the frustrating, the incredible, the little -- as a whole are indescribable," she says. She took a full load of 12 hours and all of her classes were in English except for one lab. Previously she had only taken two semesters of Spanish at Purdue.

She travelled somewhere new almost every weekend, including trips to Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and many places in Spain. Communication and navigating were challenges.

"I was used to relying on Internet research and WiFi to find my way around, but in Spain, it was a different story," she says. "I needed to physically go around and find my way places using Spanish that I wasn't very good at."

And leaving was also hard, in part because of the people she met and got to know.

"It has been a life-changer! I cannot speak highly enough about the past six months. It has been a dream," Kummen says. "I left wanting to grow and experience so much more!"

Kummen has two words for anyone considering a Study Abroad opportunity: "Do it!"

Purdue IE offers study abroad programs at 11+ universities, and short-term programs in more than five countries. Possible programs are offered by Global Engineering Programs, Global Engineering Alliance for Research and Education (GEARE), and Purdue University Study Abroad offers study abroad opportunities in 400+ programs in 60+ countries. From fall 2015 to summer 2016, a record 2,198 Purdue undergraduate students studied abroad (read http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2016/Q3/another-record-year-for-purdue-study-abroad.html).

For more information, attend two upcoming fairs:

• Global Engineering Experiences Fair, August 24 from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Purdue Engineering Fountain
• Study Abroad Fair, August 31, from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., 3rd floor Stewart Center

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu