Name: Kelsey Admire
Preferred e-mail: kcadmire@gus.pittstate.edu
Expected graduation date: May of 2014
Study Abroad Program and dates: Dominican Republic, Spring Break of 2011
Why do you want to serve as a Study Abroad E-bassador at Pittsburg State University?
I would like to share my experiences with other who are interested. I want everyone to know how rewarding and incredible a study abroad trip can be. I like to think that I would be a very open person that would be willing to help fellow students with any questions they may have.
What were the deciding factors in choosing your study abroad program-location?
I chose the Dominican Republic trip because it was a service type trip and not just touring around somewhere I had never been before. It was rewarding because I got to live next to an orphanage, see what their life was like, eat what they ate, travel the same roads they do to get to school. It was an amazing thing to be completely out of my element and not in my comfortable every day routine.
Describe a defining moment in your abroad experience and how that experience(s) has affected you personally, intellectually, vocational, spiritually, or academically.
I think I was academically inspired while I was there. It was crazy to go help out in the schools because the quality of their schools was so low. It made me so thankful for what I have here at Pitt State and at home. The kids in school there usually drop out by the time their 15 or even younger. Even the kids that are at school have teachers that just don't care to be there. They are rowdy and loud and I do not see how they are able to learn anything. I'm so blessed to be somewhere that my teacher wants to come in and teach me something; where my teacher is willing to stay after to answer my questions.
What advice, recommendations would you give to prospective study abroad students? In retrospect, how would you prepare differently to maximize the study abroad experience?
I would recommend that they go into their trip with a complete open mind. It is never like you see on TV or in the movies. You need to be prepared to be surprised and understand that anything can be thrown at you. To prepare differently, I think I would have come more prepared for teaching the kids that we were teaching. We were the first ever to teach in the high schools so we were all a little unprepared because we were all expecting to be working with younger children.