After making a deal with her parents to attend Northwest, a student had the opportunity to study abroad.
Marketing and Management major, Amanda Scott spent half of her senior year studying abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the fall of 2007.
"My top choices were northern Ireland and Scotland," Scott said. "I wanted to go to Ireland because I had always heard how beautiful the country was and how it had so much history."
As a participant with the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), choices of where to study abroad are ranked and then the ISEP choose where a student goes, Scott said.
Scott came back and had fallen in love with Ireland, college friend Brent Pankau said.
While being gone for about five months, staying in touch with calling cards over such a great distance and sometimes getting access to the Internet can be hard, depending on where the student is can be hard, Pankau said.
"I was able to call my parents and talk to my friends online so I was not nearly as homesick as I thought I might be," Scott said.
Kate Shea from Bethel, Conn. lived with Scott for the semester.
Only talking a few times through a Facebook group, Scott fulfilled the expectations of a roommate by being open minded and calm becoming friends quickly, Shea said.
"I thought she was well prepared and smart," Shea said. "While I was craving Dunkin Donuts coffee our first weeks in Belfast, Amanda had brought over a stash of American candies because she knew she would miss them. She seriously was ready for anything," Shea said.
A chance to make new friends while staying in touch back in the United States was not the only reason for studying abroad.
The United States culture is completely different from the European culture, Scott said.
"I learned how much other countries follow American politics," Scott said. "I had friends from Switzerland who knew more about who is doing what in Washington than I did."
The university consisted of two buildings. One building was only for engineering students and the other building was for everyone else. Each building had six floors and 12 wings, Scott said.
"A pub and dance club were located right next to the cafeteria and was open until 1 a.m.," Scott said.
While experiencing a new world, she was thought of frequently at home.
"I missed being able to talk about what was going on in our lives," Pankau said. "What she did day to day, just the typical conversations you have with someone you see every day and are close to."
While enjoying her study abroad experience, she made many different friends from different countries, Scott said.
"I would do it again in a heartbeat," Scott said. "I am actually planning a trip back this spring or summer so I can visit my friends."
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