Happy New Year and welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break. With today being the last official day of winter break, for my first blog post of the new semester, I’d love to reflect back and share with you all about what I had on my winter break agenda!

This winter break, I had the opportunity to take part in the BMGT “Europe and the US: Accounting’s Future, Present, and Past” study abroad program. The places visited during the program include: Amsterdam, Netherlands – Brussels, Belgium – London, United Kingdom – New York, United States – Washington, D. C., United States.

Overall, the great part about participating in this program was being able to have a balance of developing professional skills while also having fun and immersing myself in new cultures. The organizations I was able to visit and the prominent people I was able to network with are incredibly valuable to my professional career. As I hope to participate in global client engagements once I start my career in public accounting, the experience allowed me to become more acclimated with the business climate in each of these cities. At the same time, I was able to make new friends, explore new countries, and develop my cultural competency even further.

When I first started college, I did not think that I would have had the opportunity to study abroad. I didn’t think I would have the time or the money to take advantages of these programs that the University of Maryland offers. However, the short-term programs are great because they don’t interrupt the regular semester and they are cheaper than full-semester or full year programs. The school also offers some scholarships for studying abroad, including a $600 scholarship for your first study abroad program. These programs allow students to get experience beyond the traditional classroom setting.  College is a unique time in your life. When you look back at your time in college, you might not remember all the times you stayed up to study for those difficult exams, but you will never forget the memories you shared with other students while in a foreign country. 

Learn more about the program here!