Global Ambassadors
Study Abroad
Global Ambassadors are a valuable resource for students who are researching study abroad programs. Global Ambassadors are current Salve Regina students who've completed one of the University's approved study abroad programs. They are happy to share their experiences and answer questions. It's a great way to get the student perspective and ask questions that only those who've been there can answer.

Joe Bergeon
Major: Global business and economics, minor in Spanish
Study abroad location: API Salamanca (Universidad de Salamanca)
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
The most meaningful experience I had while abroad was a conversation by chance. On a weekend excursion along the Camino de Santiago, our group stopped for the night in the small town of Astorga in the far northeast of Castile. During a few free hours we had upon arriving, I went for a coffee and a walk along the old medieval walls. After sitting for a few minutes on a bench overlooking the countryside, an elderly woman stopped to sit next to me. We conversed for nearly half an hour, talking about life, about God, about Spain and about America. She betrayed her age to be 90, told me of her life in the Basque Country under Franco and exuded an extreme pride when telling me of her three sons in the Spanish Army. While it had nothing to do with school or the cultural excursion itself, this is the memory I will most cherish from my time in Spain. It will be these small moments that a student studying abroad will find to be the most enriching.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
One of the most central things I learned was that we're all the same but everything is a little bit different. That means that while we have our good and bad here in America, there is also good and bad everywhere else, and even though we may have differences at the surface, we all want the same things: family, prosperity, social dignity and security. It is important to surrender yourself to the surface-level cultural customs and characteristics, but enough time in one country will help you begin to learn about the worldview of the native people. Although daily routines and practices may look very different, there is a fundamental humanity among all of us that will remain the same whether you’re in Newport or Madrid or anywhere else.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
I emphatically recommend studying abroad to all Salve Regina students. You will learn more about life just by getting on and off a plane than you will in a classroom at any university; furthermore, these lessons will be of far greater utility than any fact or method you might have gotten from an academic course. Learning how to interact with people unlike you, how to handle cultural misunderstandings, how to navigate foreign airports and train stations, and how to properly appreciate things like art, architecture, food and wine will all contribute to a supreme opportunity for self-development. On those counts, there is nothing that can serve as a substitute for studying abroad.

Emily Good
Major: Cultural and historic preservation
Study abroad location: St. Clare's Oxford, England, fall 2021
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
Being able to study in a historic city surrounded by beautiful architecture was super special.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
If you're considering study abroad, you should. See as much as you can and experience the place you choose to study.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
Salve Regina students should study abroad because it's such an amazing opportunity and experience to be able to study in a unique, global city different from campus life in Newport.

Livi Fisher
Major: Global studies, minor in global business and economics
Study abroad location: API Florence (Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici), spring 2022
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
I enjoyed being able to immerse myself into Italian culture, learning how to cook Italian dishes and practicing language.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
I learned how to backpack/travel on a budget to other countries in Europe and would love to share the tips and tricks that I learned abroad.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
It’s a way to expand your world view and immerse yourself in another culture. It’s a once in a lifetime experience to study in another country, meet new friends and make the best memories.

Sarah Kraus
Major: History, minor in cultural and historic preservation
Study abroad location: University College Cork, fall 2022
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet my extended family in County Mayo, Ireland. It was incredible to see where my family came from and to learn about my heritage.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
It is one of the most fulfilling learning experiences you can possibly have. Not only do you learn a great deal about your host country and the world in general, but you learn so much about yourself as well.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
Studying abroad is an incredible way to broaden your horizons and make your world seem a bit smaller. Being able to connect with your peers from around the world is such an enriching experience and I would highly recommend it.

Aoife Rouse
Major: History and secondary education
Study abroad location: CEA Prague, Czech Republic, spring 2022
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
I did not realize how close I would become with the friends I met in class at university and through my CEA program. I went to Prague not knowing a single person and am walking away with lifelong friends. My friends from study abroad and I have traveled the world and been there for each other in times when you are vulnerable and in another country alone. I never would have thought that the friendships I would make would be so close but I think that having friends from around the country and the world is such a valuable aspect of study abroad. The memories that the five of us shared are countless and will stay with me forever. I would encourage other people to make connections and fully throw themselves into getting to know the people they meet as they travel.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
How fast it goes! I feel like I finished my application, got my visa and by the time I was sitting on the plane to go I had a "this is really happening" moment. Being there for four months was the longest I have been away from home. I was worried about missing my family and just daily life without American luxuries. However, once you get there, you are immersed in a new culture that's totally different than the one you have experienced before. I was so glad I was there for four months because if I hadn't been there so long, I wouldn't have been able to have the feel for the city that I had. I became a regular at the cafe down the street, the florist on the corner knew I would get flowers for weeks when we weren't traveling, and I could get anywhere on the city using a combination of any or all three forms of public transit. All these things are experiences that seem mundane but they are things that really make you feel like you are living in another country.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
People should know that they are never going to have the opportunity to study abroad like when they are studying in college. Being able to experience a new country while being able to take classes in a new environment and teaching style is such a cool thing. College is a time for exploring and being able to enter an environment so different and for a period of time where you truly begin to feel like a local is so special. The saddest part of study abroad is the ending because you know you have experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think applications for programs, visas and the logistics can sometimes scare people from studying abroad but even though there are some applications it is so worth it. Salve Regina has great resources and it was not a crazy process, especially with support so I really think that there is no reason not to study abroad.

Jackie Tierney
Major: English communications, minor in film
Study abroad location: API Florence (Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici), spring 2022
What was the most meaningful experience you had abroad?
The most meaningful experience I had abroad is a tough one to pick. I would say it is tied between the friendships I had formed and the opportunities I had for solo travel. I made many close friends during my semester abroad, whom I still see often and without them, I would have had a much different experience. Solo travel was also an amazing experience for me because this was my first time leaving the country and being able to navigate myself on trips all alone helped build my independence and passion for travel in a new way.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
I wish more people knew about the self-growth many people experience during their time abroad. Taking a few months away from your day-to-day life and embedding yourself into new cultures and practices truly does help in developing your identity as a young adult.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
I think Salve Regina students should study abroad so that they have the chance to grow in much larger ways. Salve Regina is an amazing school, and I love the size of the university, but by leaving this smaller school and traveling the world, and joining a new program, you gain the opportunity to see new perspectives that you may not have had by spending four consecutive years at the same small school.

Rachael Tyner
Major: Psychology, minors in marketing and women, gender and sexuality studies
Study abroad location: API Florence (Istituto Lorenzo de' Medici), spring 2022
What was the most memorable experience you had abroad?
The most memorable experience I had abroad was during a trip to Marrakech, Morocco. I traveled there during Ramadan, so the local people were mostly fasting. In a taxi on the way back to the city from the desert, at 7 p.m. when it was time to break their fasting, our taxi driver rolled down his window and started handing out nuts to cyclists and other drivers in the cars around us. Our driver had made the effort to get the nuts from a street vendor just 15 minutes prior while we were in the car. This simple act of compassion, kindness and empathy really spoke to me and taught me a lesson about caring for others, especially strangers. It also taught me to really start paying attention to small details around us everyday, because some of the most beautiful moments happen really unexpectedly.
What do you wish more people knew about the study abroad experience?
I wish more people knew that the way of living in America is not the only/best way to live. We have been fed information our entire lives about America being the greatest country in the world, and I think that really discourages Americans from traveling and experiencing other cultures and traditions. I wish people knew that life abroad is so beautiful, and much slower and much less focused on consumerism, and that way of life may be really appealing to someone who might not know about that experience. I also wish people knew that studying abroad allows for an even more important life education, as well as a scholarly one.
Why do you think Salve Regina students should study abroad?
Salve Regina students should study abroad because it gives them an education not possible through even the greatest textbooks and greatest professors. It also gives students a chance to meet more like-minded people from different schools and make more amazing friends who you will share incredible forever memories with.