What Laurier students are saying about their exchange experiences

Every year, dozens of Laurier students spend a semester or a year on exchange, studying and living in a new country, developing greater intercultural skills and building international friendships.

Read more about the amazing experiences our #hawksabroad have had while on exchange all over the world!

Exchange and COVID-19

Morgan Lauzon, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany: "Despite it ending early and so abruptly I don't look back on it with anything but positivity."

Bailey Ward, Western Sydney University, Australia: "My term abroad, though cut short, was one of the most incredible experiences of my life."

Personal Growth

Klevisa Berberi, Kedge Business School, France: "Exchange has shown me how to have fun. I hope to find myself lost in Europe again someday."

Chelsea Gordon, Akita International University, Japan: "The lack of distractions and external activities has forced me to look inwards and find things that I want to focus my energy on."

Marissa Knight, Université Paris-Dauphine, France: "There were times when I cried, wanted to come home, and felt like I couldn't do it on my own. But looking back, I am able to see how strong I had been and I surprise myself with all I have accomplished."

Benjamin MacMillan, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria: "After being on exchange I can tell you that you will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere due to the connections you create."

Sasha Peirera, Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao), Spain: "It's true, I didn't have the chance to travel to every European city on my bucket list, but I gained something more personally valuable instead."

Hannah Weaver, Université de Tours (formerly Université François-Rabelais), France: "While living abroad for four months, I developed skills that allowed me to balance work and play. I learned skills that I will benefit greatly from in the workplace and my life continuing forward, including paying rent, bills, buying groceries, and cleaning independently."

Adrian Wong, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting & Finance, China: "I was not going to allow this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be cut short by fear and uncertainty, so I decided to submerge myself into the culture as much as I possibly could."

Intercultural Learning

Crystal Li, Ewha Womans University, South Korea: "Any opportunity to travel is great, but the opportunity to live and learn in a foreign language is priceless."

Maggie Roth, University of Macau, Macau: "I am so grateful for the people and places that touched my heart and the lessons learned along the way."

Kezia Ramalho, Neoma Business School (Rouen), France: "Living and studying in France was definitely a large adjustment, as I had to get used to the cultural differences, food and language."

Stephanie Tse, Akita International University, Japan: "Studying in another country and travelling around the world helped me to develop compassion."

Johnie Van Happen, Western Sydney University, Australia: "The thing I missed most about home was pizza. The pizza was good there but it certainly couldn't compare to Canadian pizza."

The Academic Experience

Kayla Spielmacher, University of Limerick, Ireland: "With a student exchange comes the actual “being a student” part; therefore, another key, albeit challenging, part of my exchange was learning how to adapt to a brand-new school environment."

International Travel

Amy Dang, Neoma Business School (Rouen), France: "Going on exchange is about broadening your experiences and learning more about yourself. Pick the school or country you want to study in."

Kayla Dinsmore, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Spain: "I met so many new friends, tried new food, experienced new cultures and added 16 countries to my list."

Anthony Hill, Beijing Jiaotong University, China: "One thing I really loved about being in Beijing was how easy it was to travel around the city."

Eliana Rose, Western Sydney University, Australia: "I was able to use the experiences I had travelling Australia as a new kind of textbook - a global classroom that surpassed what I could have learned from a PowerPoint presentation."

Nicole Sorkin, Università Carlo Cattaneo, Italy: "It's important to understand what you want from exchange and to follow your heart."

Preparing for Exchange

Emma Ruetz, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong: "I really wanted to have an authentic and immersive cultural experience in a country that is considerably different from my own."

Donnique Williams, Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao), Spain: "Carrying less means avoiding the baggage carousel after a long flight or dragging a suitcase down cobblestone streets to the chagrin of everyone you pass."

Photo Essays

Kim Dietsche, Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao), Spain

Mealca Gebreselassie, Neoma Business School, France

Sarah Hwozdyk, Kedge Business School, France

Chanelle McLeod, Universidad de Navarra, Spain

Rachel Paul, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany

Elaheh Sajadi, Istanbul Sehir University, Turkey

Justin Verbraeken, Università Carlo Cattaneo, Italy

Luke West, Nagoya University of Commerce & Business, Japan

Samki Yung, Seoul National University, Korea