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Description of the video:

The thing I’m most proud of is my ability to refuse to give up.

[Words appear: alex]

[Video: Alex rides a bicycle]

Alex speaks: You have to challenge yourself to find out what you’re capable of. If you spend your life just being comfortable, you’re not going to grow as a person.

I decided to go to Greece to student teach kind of on a whim. I had always wanted to study abroad. This was just an awesome opportunity to student teach in a different culture. I met so many cool people that I never would have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

[Words appear: aysha]

[Video: Aysha and two friends walk on the courthouse square in Bloomington]

Aysha speaks: Being in Bloomington has enriched my life because there’s just so much to do. Like, I’ve had a lot of first time experiences just hanging out in Bloomington that I haven’t had anywhere else. I’m only one person, but to share my experience might encourage someone else.

The world is not from California to South Carolina, it’s one end of the world to the other end of the world and everything in between. My study abroad program was unique because it was two weeks and it was also literally on the other side of the world. I spent a few days in China, I spent a few days in South Korea, and also a few days in Japan. So to go on the other side of the world for my first experience abroad was amazing. I was actually somewhere I could only dream of being.

[Words appear: allison]

[Video: We see Allison’s eyes in the rearview mirror as she drives a car]

Allison speaks: I definitely want my future to be full of learning and traveling and meeting new people. I think I’m most proud of the community that I’ve developed here and the support system that I’ve developed with my friends and my professors and my internship opportunities that I’ve had and they’ve all had a deep impact on what I’m doing.

I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I got to work directly with one of the human rights organizations that brought down the dictatorship and a lot of study abroad programs I’ve heard don’t let you have that up close and personal contact.

I always wanted a school that I knew had a good reputation for foreign languages and opportunities for study abroad. I was really worried about studying abroad for an entire year, but I ended up graduating with three majors and a certificate.

[Video: A mother and father greet their son with a hug]

Mother speaks: It is an experience my husband and I will never forget.

Father speaks: We sent a boy over to Greece and within no time we saw a man develop through this program.

Mother speaks: I mean just a huge change in him.

Father speaks: Would I recommend it? In a heartbeat. We actually, during our visit, got to sit in on one of the classes that he taught and that was very inspiring to see what he had developed. To live it with your child? Wow.

Aysha speaks: I know this is cliche but it’s life changing. You’ll never have any experience like it. So I would say go for it. IU provides tons and tons and tons of resources that you need to go for it.

Allison speaks: Life does not let you choose, so when you get to choose, you take advantage of it and do it. It’s the way everything has come together and had the opportunity to meet the right people at the right time who encouraged me to do the right thing and choose the right opportunities.

Alex speaks: You can’t believe how much you’re going to grow just by challenging your limits and seeing what you’re capable of. Anything that you’re interested in, you can find it here at IU. You just have to go looking

for them.

[Words appear: Expand your world]

[Words appear: overseas.iu.edu]

[END OF TRANSCRIPT]