Testimonials from Rowan University Students Who Have Studied Abroad

Department of Geography, Planning, & Sustainability

Program: Urbanization of the East, Spring 2025

• Student Testimonial #1
• Student Testimonial #2
• Student Testimonial #3

Student Testimonials on the Impact of Study Abroad

Blake Lott
Graduate Student (Certificate in Public Health and Emergency Preparedness)

AND Alejandro Velasquez
Graduate student (Master of Social Work)

• Alejandro explains the importance of study abroad for diversity (1:12) and that many people study abroad in Europe, but he thinks it’s important to also focus on other areas of the world, especially if you will be working with diverse people in a future career.
• Blake describes how this program linked to her future career aspirations (2:10). Blake wants to work in international relations, especially with countries and people in the East.
• Listen to Alejandro describe how everyone became friends on the trip (4:00), and how the group became a community (5:45).
• Find out what Blake and Alejandro liked the most about their time in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand (6:30).
• Both students describe the effect of “americanization” within the countries (7:30).
• Alejandro acknowledges that he was nervous to go on the trip but now wants to go back (17:05).
• Blake offers advice to future students about the value of study abroad: “have fun, embrace the new experiences, make a lot of friends, and learn a lot” (22:30).

Tayliyah Truong
Graduate Student (MS Emergency Management and Threat Response)

AND Tanish Jain
Graduate Student (School of Osteopathic Medicine) 

• Graduate student Tayliyah Truong explains (2:00) that she chose the SE Asia study abroad program because it was “out of the box” and unlike the usual trips to Europe.
• For Tanish Jain this program offered him the opportunity to grow as a person (4:10), while Tayliyah said it was “life changing” (5:15).
• Hear a review of what it was like in each country, including the similarities and differences of each place (7:40).
• At 11:20 Tanish describes how you learn about a country and its history by being there, not by what’s in a book.
• Both students explain that this program made them realize the “bubble” they lived in as Americans (15:45) and helped them learn how to become a “good human being.”
• The program impacted these students’ future careers. For Tanish (20:25), the program is helping him become a “more competent student doctor” while Tayliyah (21:45) realized how to apply her studies and “bring solutions” to communities that need them.

Andrew Mullis
Undergraduate major in Psychology also achieving a certificate in Queer Theory

Listen to student Andrew Mullis explain how this program was “life changing” and that it enriched his understanding of other people, but also of his own major here at Rowan.  In the video, he states that “being in another country added a lot to my understanding of how other people live, and it taught me a lot about how I see flaws in how America does Psychology.”

More information about the Urbanization of the East Study Abroad Program can be found on the Program’s web site, available here: departments/geography/academics/study-abroad-2025.

You may also email Dr. Keenan directly at keenankp@rowan.edu.