Shannon Clemons is a senior Biology major at Howard University from Chicago Il. Clemons had the opportunity to study abroad in Sydney, Australia during the fall 2007. Clemons had a lot to say about her experiences and how it changed not only her Howard experience but life. Clemons said “On July 17th, 2007, I kissed my parents goodbye to board a twenty-three hour plane ride to the Land Down Under. Arriving in Sydney was like arriving in paradise. The water was crystal blue, but on occasions where the blue bottle jellyfish were in attendance, we couldn’t get into the water at the beach due to thousands of the poisonous creatures that would be in the water and washed up on shore.”
Going abroad you have to step outside your comfort zone. There are various living conditions that you have to adapt to, some students stay in home stays with natives of that specific country, and some people live with other students in similar situations. “I lived in a house with fourteen other people. Our home was exactly five minutes walking from the beach and ten from our uni (uni is short for university, it is Aussie slang). The biggest adjustment of all was being the one of few Black people that reside in Australia. For instance, here at Howard I am used to being surrounded by people of color in my classrooms, my living accommodations and at the local grocery store. I’m used to classes with a maximum of sixty people, not a minimum of one hundred or so and being the only student of color in a class of one hundred was awkward.” Shannon said.
While abroad in any location you learn who you really are, without outside influences. Shannon was often asked by people if she knew anyone in Sydney before I arrived and she replied “No, but that was the best part! I truly had to become independent and rely on myself. I studied at the University of New South Wales and one of the classes I took was Greek Mythology. Before this class, I never had a course that required me to share how I personally felt about ideas that challenged my to write about my own philosophy, which for me started out as a challenge. As time went on, this class along with my “Thinking About Reasoning” philosophy class forced me to open up my mind and encouraged me to embrace my own philosophies. These courses also helped me to have more confidence when expressing myself, which overall, helped me to gain something that I never really possessed, faith in myself. In addition to the course work, I was very fortunate to participate in a research project that focused on neuromuscular fatigue. Working on this research project was very interesting and helped to give me a better understanding of the motor learning systems of the body. While working n the research project I was also taking Motor Learning, Growth Development and Physical Activity and Human Anatomy which all helped to make the learning experience even greater.”
When asked what her favourite memory and best feelings were about study abroad Clemons had a lot to say and replied “One of the best parts of my study abroad experience was being able to have site of others experiences who surrounded me. One of my best friends in Sydney was a young man named Cade from Lubbock TX and he too had never been out of the United States and didn’t have many African American friends back home. Cade grew up line dancing and I grew up doing the electric slide, neither of which would ever be seen in Australia. Just like I had my own experiences down under, Cade did too, but our experiences were vastly different as far as how we were dealing with our time in Sydney. Because we were close, this gave me the opportunity to understand and see what he was going through in addition to myself. So not only do I now have my perspective on living in Sydney from my point of view, but I have also seen first hand the perspective of another individual, which caused me to have an even broader experience. Overall, studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life. While in Australia, I was able to explore the Great Barrier, hike through the oldest rainforest in the world “The Daintree Rainforest”, swim with sea turtles, dolphins and sharks, cuddle with koalas and kangaroos, and to top things off, I went bunjee jumping, THREE TIMES!!! Because of all of my experiences, junior year has been my favorite collegiate year thus far and I know the best is yet to come.”
Clemons remains an advocate for study abroad, will graduate this May from Howard University, and will attend Medical School in the Fall; Shannon Clemons is a true example of how study abroad can holistically impact your life.
Going abroad you have to step outside your comfort zone. There are various living conditions that you have to adapt to, some students stay in home stays with natives of that specific country, and some people live with other students in similar situations. “I lived in a house with fourteen other people. Our home was exactly five minutes walking from the beach and ten from our uni (uni is short for university, it is Aussie slang). The biggest adjustment of all was being the one of few Black people that reside in Australia. For instance, here at Howard I am used to being surrounded by people of color in my classrooms, my living accommodations and at the local grocery store. I’m used to classes with a maximum of sixty people, not a minimum of one hundred or so and being the only student of color in a class of one hundred was awkward.” Shannon said.
While abroad in any location you learn who you really are, without outside influences. Shannon was often asked by people if she knew anyone in Sydney before I arrived and she replied “No, but that was the best part! I truly had to become independent and rely on myself. I studied at the University of New South Wales and one of the classes I took was Greek Mythology. Before this class, I never had a course that required me to share how I personally felt about ideas that challenged my to write about my own philosophy, which for me started out as a challenge. As time went on, this class along with my “Thinking About Reasoning” philosophy class forced me to open up my mind and encouraged me to embrace my own philosophies. These courses also helped me to have more confidence when expressing myself, which overall, helped me to gain something that I never really possessed, faith in myself. In addition to the course work, I was very fortunate to participate in a research project that focused on neuromuscular fatigue. Working on this research project was very interesting and helped to give me a better understanding of the motor learning systems of the body. While working n the research project I was also taking Motor Learning, Growth Development and Physical Activity and Human Anatomy which all helped to make the learning experience even greater.”
When asked what her favourite memory and best feelings were about study abroad Clemons had a lot to say and replied “One of the best parts of my study abroad experience was being able to have site of others experiences who surrounded me. One of my best friends in Sydney was a young man named Cade from Lubbock TX and he too had never been out of the United States and didn’t have many African American friends back home. Cade grew up line dancing and I grew up doing the electric slide, neither of which would ever be seen in Australia. Just like I had my own experiences down under, Cade did too, but our experiences were vastly different as far as how we were dealing with our time in Sydney. Because we were close, this gave me the opportunity to understand and see what he was going through in addition to myself. So not only do I now have my perspective on living in Sydney from my point of view, but I have also seen first hand the perspective of another individual, which caused me to have an even broader experience. Overall, studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life. While in Australia, I was able to explore the Great Barrier, hike through the oldest rainforest in the world “The Daintree Rainforest”, swim with sea turtles, dolphins and sharks, cuddle with koalas and kangaroos, and to top things off, I went bunjee jumping, THREE TIMES!!! Because of all of my experiences, junior year has been my favorite collegiate year thus far and I know the best is yet to come.”
Clemons remains an advocate for study abroad, will graduate this May from Howard University, and will attend Medical School in the Fall; Shannon Clemons is a true example of how study abroad can holistically impact your life.
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