Sarah Allevato, a Wake Tech Community College Student, earned a scholarship from the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) and is using it to study on the Arcadia in London Summer Program. Below, she writes about how she made that happen and what she hopes for this coming Summer term.
"I learned about the Arcadia in London Summer Program by sifting through the website looking for the best fit program for me. When I read the description about the program I was immediately drawn to it because of it offered so many of the things on my ideal study abroad checklist. It had cultural immersion that went beyond the classroom and allowed students to learn through “hands on” exploration of London.
Other programs just kept students huddled in a classroom while they were in one of the most diverse and influential cities in the world, I didn’t want that. I wanted a program that let the city itself be the classroom, through absorbing the sights and sounds of London by walking through the streets of London. Arcadia seemed like the best fit for the experience. I loved the excursions offered from Arcadia there were diverse and interesting and promised to showcase the diversity of London and all it has to offer.
Studying abroad has always been a dream of mine. However, I am struggling to pay my general college tuition so I knew that studying abroad was a far and nearly impossible opportunity. After applying for several scholarships on a scholarship listings website I stumbled across the Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship. I decided to attempt to apply and I wrote honestly about the hardships I had faced growing up, and how I had overcome them.
Also, I wrote about how I believe that studying abroad offers learning experiences that cannot be acquired in any other way and that I would consider my college career incomplete without it. By some unfathomable miracle, I received an email stating that I won! I will cherish my time in London this summer so greatly because just being there is a privilege. I just feel so lucky to be studying abroad at all and everything else is just extra."