Meet Kevin McMahon, UB Study Abroad Alumnus, and hear him speak about how he thought he would never study abroad as an Engineering major and how participating in the ENSEA-FAME Program in Cergy, France in Spring 2016 was “the best decision of his college career.” Kevin earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and took all of his study abroad courses in English, which fit in perfectly with his major and helped him graduate the following year as planned. Kevin reminiscences about all of the countries he was able to travel to while living in France and how he learned to become resourceful and comfortable in unfamiliar places and how he gained new perspectives about different countries and cultures, which ultimately helped him secure a Systems Engineer position at Lockheed Martin. Kevin’s advice to UB students is to take advantage of studying abroad while you can because you don’t know what the future holds!

Meet Alexandria Colling, UB Study Abroad Alumna, and hear her speak about how participating in three study abroad programs (SUNY Brockport – Antarctica Winter 2013 Program, UB – Denmark: Technical University of Denmark Fall 2013 Program, and SUNY Albany – Finland: Field Course in Terrestrial Animals Summer 2014 Program) helped not only expose her to a career in Environmental Science, but prepared her to pursue her M.S. in Ecology and Biodiversity at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. Alexandria earned a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a B.A. in Psychology from UB. Not having met many people from different countries before, she values her study abroad programs for giving her another point of view from which to draw and has been able to use her study abroad experiences to help her stand out in job interviews. As a biologist, Alexandria highlighted her international experiences by creating a section on her résumé titled Field Experience and Fieldwork to include the projects she worked on while studying abroad in Antarctica and Finland. Alexandria is now a NEPA Specialist in Denver, Colorado and credits her study abroad programs to making her a better person!

Meet Chelsea Reinhardt, UB Study Abroad Alumna, and hear her speak about how participating in UB’s United Kingdom: UB Semester in London Program helped prepare her for her future career as a lawyer. Chelsea was a recipient of several study abroad scholarships, the President’s Circle Scholarship, Honors College International Study Scholarship, UB Department of Sociology Scholarship for Study Abroad, and a CAPA Study Abroad Scholarship, and was also able to use her UB-based Provost Scholarship, for her Spring 2014 semester in London. Chelsea graduated with Summa Cum Laude as a University Honors Scholar and was on the Dean’s List every semester on her way to earning a B.A. in English and Health and Human Services/Community Mental Health with minors in Teaching Education, Counseling and Sociology. She went on to earn an Ed.M. in Higher Education Administration and is set to graduate from UB Law School this spring. As an Executive Production Editor (EPE) of the prestigious Buffalo Law Review, Chelsea looks back on how valuable her time abroad was and how helpful it has been to set her apart from other candidates, as she continues to make advancements in her academic and professional career!

Meet Lyon Lascu, UB Study Abroad Alumnus, and hear him speak about how participating in UB’s Singapore: Asian Business & The Global Economy Summer Program helped shape his career as an entrepreneur. Lyon was selected for the School of Management Undergraduate Honors Program and used his study abroad courses to help complete requirements for this program, as well as the UB Curriculum Global Pathway and degree requirements. Lyon earned a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Operations & Supply Chain Management from UB. As the Founder of Dimple Products LLC, Lyon looks back on how his study abroad program gave him the confidence, motivation and reassurance to pursue his dream of introducing a family traditional dish to the city of Buffalo!