My semester abroad begins this February! I can’t believe that starting this process in September would lead me overseas just a few months later. This all started when I received an email that said, “Enjoy 300+ days of sunshine a year in Australia!”. The photos linked in the message were of the University of Queensland located in Brisbane, Australia. It …
Turning Expectations Into Reality (Why USC)
In the past, I’ve written a blog about the five factors that led me to attending USC. Check it out if you haven’t already! This time around I want to talk about the goals and expectations I set for myself prior to my first day as an undergrad and whether I was able to meet them during my four years …
Why the Viterbi Summer Abroad Program is What Dreams Are Made Of
The view down the street from my apartment This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Florence, Italy as a part of the Viterbi Summer Abroad program. Even though I didn’t end up becoming an Italian popstar, I definitely still had the summer of a lifetime. Abroad, I made tons new friends, traveled to places I never had even …
My Viterbi Summer Abroad
For seven weeks this summer, I was lucky enough to be one of about 40 students in the Viterbi Summer Abroad program, which takes a handful of USC students and professors to a city in Europe. This year, it was held in Florence, Italy, where we took classes and engaged in relevant cultural experiences. As usual, four classes were offered: …
Five Factors that led me to USC!
USC was not my dream school; in fact, I didn’t have a dream school. At the beginning of the college application season, I was not entirely sold on engineering being my future, let alone biomedical engineering. But as the decisions started arriving in the month of April, I started visiting college campuses and interacting with students who lived there, trying …
USC iPodia: A “classroom without borders”
Hi guys! Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far!! I can’t believe it’s already (basically) December, this semester went by so fast. I absolutely love Christmas, so you know I’ve been blasting Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey for the last few weeks straight (also fun fact, Sia dropped a Christmas album?! wHAT?!). LA has a lot of …
My classmates are all over the world: USC iPodia!
From surfing and yoga, to improv, to ballroom dancing, USC has a lot of really cool classes. But one of my favorite classes this semester is one that is truly unique. It’s called iPodia! What exactly is iPodia, you ask? Well, its a class at USC called Principles and Practices of Global Innovation, but that’s not all. It’s actually part …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 8: The End Already????
Wow this blog is really overdue, but the end of my semester til now has been INSANE. HKUST’s exam period took place over 2 weeks, and luckily all of mine were near the end so I was able to knock off two more countries from my travel list, Vietnam and Cambodia. My roommate and I spent three days each in …
A Day in my (Italian) Summer
Hey guys!! Spring semester ended about 10 weeks ago, but summer has already been absolutely crazy!! As some of you may know, I was lucky enough to spend the last eight weeks abroad, taking classes through the Viterbi Overseas Program. A friend and I flew in early and traveled around London and Amsterdam, then we proceeded to spend the next seven weeks …
Roaming Around Rome: My Summer Abroad in Italy!
Ciao Ragazzi! This summer has absolutely flown by, and I can’t believe there’s only about a month we all head back to USC! I’ve just had the most amazing 7 weeks studying abroad in Rome, Italy! As you might already know, I had the opportunity to do this as one of 42 USC students participating in the Viterbi Summer Overseas …
My 10 Favorite Memories from Rome
Yesterday was my last day studying abroad in Rome with the Viterbi Overseas Program. The program has flown by far too fast but I’ve had an incredible past 7 weeks experiencing new cultures, making amazing friends, taking classes for my major and eating excessive amounts of pizza. This has been a summer of so many wonderful memories, and here are just …
The Five Staples of Rome
My six and a half week study abroad trip in Rome, Italy has come to an end. It all flew by! I walk away with a profound respect for Roman culture and traditions and a myriad of experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Living in Rome for over a month has given me unique insights …
Romeing around – Viterbi Summer Abroad
The summer is half way over and I am currently sitting at the Rome Ciampino airport waiting for my (delayed) flight to start boarding. After 7 weeks in Rome, I am off to Greece and Croatia with friends and family. Even though I am extremely excited to be traveling for almost a whole month, I am so sad that the …
A Picture a Day Keeps the Boredom Away!
Hey Everyone!! I am currently writing this blog post finishing up my Viterbi Study Abroad in Rome. I am definitely feeling a mixture of emotions right now as I pack my stuff in this place I called home for seven weeks. During this trip, I decided to start a project during my trip in Rome of taking a picture once a …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 7: Why Hong Kong
I think the number one question I’ve been asked since deciding to study abroad is why I chose to come to Hong Kong. And, as with most decisions in my life (like why I chose USC, or why I chose to major in electrical engineering), I’ve realized the reasons I decided on Hong Kong and the reasons why I’ve loved …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 5: Sista Sista
The last week of March, my older sister came to visit! She spent four days in Hong Kong, and I got to be part tour guide, showing her around my stomping grounds, and part tourist, hitting up some of the main sites I hadn’t been to yet (including the cultural center of Disneyland Hong Kong). It was great to feel …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 4: Entering Midterm Szn
The past few weekends have been a blur: I went to Philippines for some ~fun in the sun~; was backstage at Hong Kong’s premier (read: only) music festival, Dragonland, where all my middle school favs were gathered (Mike Posner, Carly Rae Jepson, Iggy Azalea, and the Black Eyed Peas); and celebrated my 21st birthday! All in all, not a bad few …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 3: School/Travel Balance
The best part about taking a lighter course load in Hong Kong than I normally do at USC is using that free time to travel. My first two weekends of actually being in school here, I left Hong Kong. My first trip was to Macau, aka the Vegas of Asia. Half cobblestone streets and Portuguese style buildings, and half giant themed …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 2: New Year, New Me
It’s so weird to say, but I have officially been in Hong Kong for 9 days! It’s been a crazy nine days; with adjusting to jet lag (I’m 16 hours ahead of LA, hello from the ~future~), learning my way around a new campus and a new city, and meeting so many new people, but it’s also been so much …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 1: T-3 Days Until I Go
When I was looking at colleges, one of the few things I knew I wanted to during my four years was study abroad, and a huge thing that drew me to USC was the commitment to getting anyone, even engineers, who wanted to study abroad, abroad. And I am so excited to say that in just a few days, I …