Ryan Higgins - University of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Study USA Programme, 2012/22

"By participating in Study USA, I have learned that, in life you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone constantly to be able to grow, to use every experience as a learning opportunity and that self-acceptance , confidence and self-improvement are the keys to success."

Once in a lifetime opportunity

Study USA was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wouldn't change anything that happened, I enjoyed it so much and would go back if I could. The combination of academic skills, lifelong friendships and meaningful experiences have positively impacted my life. I studied at the University of Indianapolis, Indiana in 2021/22.

Making friends

At first, I was nervous about making friends before I went but everyone was extremely approachable. I made my first friends because they just approached me and my roommate while we were throwing a frisbee outside and we ended up going for lunch. I made loads of friends while there and everyone loves an Irish person. The campus was a lot smaller meaning you could easily walk to all of your classes, the campus was surrounded by accommodation and most students lived on campus until they were 21, which was different to university life at Ulster.

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges was being away from home and not being able to see my friends and family, however this is something that I am accustomed to now with the many lockdowns throughout 2020-2021. Another challenge was the workload in college. The curriculum is not necessarily more difficult however there is more of it that what I am used to at Ulster.

Travelling

In the academic year I travelled to Chicago 3 times, Miami, and Nashville. At Christmas, I took a Miami Bahamas cruise which cost $400 for 4 days but was completely worth it. Also, before I came home in the summer, I spent a week in Cancun which was also amazing.

Advice

My advice for student who are interested in study abroad would be to take full advantage of study abroad programmes. There are so many benefits getting out of your comfort zone and will be one of the best years of your life.