To be honest, I didnt believe in academic exchange. I always thought that traveling should be an investment that helps you grow as a person in every aspect (being a better student, child, friend, and giving something useful back to society), but this did not seem like that type of experience to me before. However, after five months of attending San Diego State University as an exchange student, I think that academic mobility should be a mandatory experience for all students of all nationalities.

During my academic exchange I learned a lot more than I had foreseen in the beginning. For example, I feel that this experience was a brief introduction to independent life, where I was alone with myself, my future, and my life goals. This process helped me mature, face my fears, appreciate my family, and define my future projects a little bit better. On the other side, I loved being around people who were so different form me, and being able to learn from their values and ideas. I had the opportunity to make great friends with people from different parts of the world, and this helped me widen my horizons and led me to adopt new and maybe better life strategies.

*Excerpt from the original testimonial