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"When I first entered Â鶹×îгöÆ·, I never dreamed that I would be able to study abroad. As a low-income student who struggled to pay the bare minimum, the concept of spending thousands of dollars on a single affair seemed out of reach. By visiting the Office of Fellowships and receiving valuable essay-writing help, I applied for and received two different scholarships: The Gilman Scholarship and the Freeman-ASIA Scholarship. With these scholarships, I was able to travel to Hakodate, Japan for two months while I studied at an intensive Japanese language program."

"Sometimes the bliss of study abroad was interrupted with the stark truth that I couldn’t afford some things that the other students could. More than a few times, I wanted to hang out with other students but decided not to since they were going to fancy restaurants to eat, or I decided to walk back home rather than pay the extra fee for the tram ride back. Although sometimes I felt discouraged, I discovered so many new things about Japan that I had never known existed, and I became even more infatuated. I didn’t want my lack of money to weigh me down, and I realized that spending only a few months in Japan would never be enough; I wanted to learn about ways to spend my future in Japan."

"While the cost of study abroad programs can be scary for low-income students, I encourage those who are interested to seek out opportunities where they can. Studying abroad can expand your horizons by exposing you to different cultures and ideologies as well as by helping you determine what you want to do with your future. Being low-income is a barrier that can be overcome; it’s something that you can use as motivation to push yourself towards your goals and what you want to become."