One has many ideas about how college is going to be: classes, and life in general. But when it comes to leaving your country and experiencing a different culture, you don’t know what to expect.

As an international student majoring in biology, I must say that from the moment I arrived at UE, my expectations were exceeded, especially in regard to my major. Classes are challenging, and professors are involved in your education inside and outside the classroom starting from the first day of classes. Even though this is my first semester here, I feel that being away from home during this time has helped me grow as a person, and I’m really looking forward to continuing my college experience at UE for the next four years.

My experience at UE has definitely shaped both my career path and who I am now. Not only did I meet my husband at UE, but I was also able to grow personally through the different experiences I had. After graduating from UE, I moved to Texas where I taught 1st grade for two years. When my daughter was born, I decided to stop teaching to become a stay-at-home mom. My whole experience as an international student at UE was so impactful, that when it came time for me to go back to work, I decided that I wanted to work with international students instead. When I was in undergrad at UE, I was very involved with anything international. I was always very thankful for the staff and all the help they were to me and I wanted to be able to do the same for other international students. So, I decided to go back to school and pursue my Master's in International Studies from the University of Connecticut. While there, I was fortunate to work in the International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) office on campus where I helped international students and scholars. After graduating from UConn, we moved to Tennessee where I worked as the Study Abroad Coordinator at East Tennessee State University for about 2.5 years. Although I loved working with domestic students helping them go abroad, I missed working more closely with international students. Therefore, I recently took a job as the Senior Coordinator of the ISSS office at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

University of Evansville was a world of experiences! Starting from the huge international community to challenging lectures and great professors, I enjoyed every piece of my time spent at campus pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentration in Finance. First and for most, the Schroeder School of Business offers a strong and competitive degree, the program encouraged me to get involved in real-world business projects, such as the Global Assistance Project, also known as GAP (currently Change Lab). This was a hands-on class where we worked closely with the Global Marketing Research team of a top company in the plastics industry to identify strategic emerging markets to enter based on economic, social, and market factors and statistics. But, I also enjoyed my Art class! We were required to choose liberal art and science classes, too. And, UE was fun. Campus life is great, very easy to make friends and get involved in common-interest activities with other students. I met great friends at these events!

The University of Evansville's Health Services Administration program allowed me to develop all of the skills needed and provided all of the knowledge for a career in Health Care. The program focuses on a variety of important aspects of Health Care and does a great job at connecting all of them together. From learning about the business aspect of the field with classes such as Health Care Finance and Health Care Marketing, to relating to patients and coworkers with Patient Care and Management, and all of the tools needed to successfully analyze data at work with Health Information Technology and Health Statistics. The professors are professionals in the field with great experience and can relate to the students and also the material that they are teaching.

I was introduced to UE three years before I decided to join as a freshman. At the time, while been 15 years old, I could have never imagined that UE would become my second home. My experience at UE has enabled me to mature and grow to be the person I am today. During my four years I was able to create a family with people from all over the world and to whom I am still connected despite the distance. Also, I have received the best welcome from the university staff and professors. Their guidance and recommendations are the key to my development as a student and person. Studying at UE has given me the opportunity to be surrounded by wonderful people and provided me with the tools to be ready for life after graduation.

My name is Gabi Tom and I am originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I graduated from UE in May of 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies and Political Science. My experience at UE was nothing but fantastic. The University has exceeded my expectations in every aspect of my college experience. I found at UE a place to call home, people to call friends, and a faculty and staff to call family. During my four years at UE I had the opportunity to intern in different parts of the country such as Washington DC and North Carolina, I had the opportunity to bring the largest humanitarian organization to campus, the UNICEF Campus Initiative, amongst other opportunities. UE not only provided me with high-quality education and fabulous professional experiences, but it also enabled me to grow as a human being and become a thoughtful caring global citizen. The University of Evansville will always be my home away from home.