Meet Yoon-Jae Yi, a junior at Wright State majoring in psychology with a behavioral neuroscience concentration. He is on the premed track and also minoring in French. Below he shares his thoughts on studying abroad and provides good advice for other students seeking to add this type of experience to their student resume.
"I was abroad for 6 months to take classes for my French minor, there’s nothing like learning French in France". He continues, "I also took business classes that I used to satisify my electives even though they do not relate to my major at all". He found the classes in France to be much longer and he needed to adjust to the weekly changes in his schedule. However it was nice when the change allowed him to enjoy a long weekend!
He learned so much about his French minor, about the culture, the language, and about the people first hand which is more than most people in the United States studying a foreign language get the opportunity to do. He said it was an invaluable experience. "My biggest take aways are the life long friends that I made and the lessons I learned". Some of the lessons included international travel, trying to communicate with people who didn’t speak the same language, and the importance of planning ahead!
Yoon-Jae is an undergraduate researcher with the United States Air Force in the division of nanotechnology and material science. When he is not at school or work, you can find him volunteering at the Soin Medical Center’s emergency department or working with the Sunday school at his church. He also serves as a member of the College of Science and Mathematics Dean's Circle, a student advisory group who meet with the Dean once a month during fall and spring semesters to discuss college-related issues that are high on the minds of College of Science and Mathematics students. He commented on future plans, "after completing my undergraduate degree, I plan on attending medical school and becoming a surgeon".
"My advice for others wanting to study abroad would definitely be to plan ahead! Planning ahead made my study abroad experience so smooth and when I ran into problems, which every foreign exchange student does, it was nice to always have a back up plan".
