Studying abroad was not something I always dreamed of. Without truly knowing the facts, I thought I would not be able to afford it and I just felt more comfortable staying in my college bubble. I thought going abroad was awesome but originally it was more of a dream rather than a reality.

Studying abroad was not a priority because I was more concentrated about the transition to college, finding friends and pursing my career goals. So what changed? Well first I became more educated. I went to study abroad fairs and heard presentations from students and faculty about going abroad. I learned all the different types of programs I could enroll in and also how it could be affordable through scholarships and grants.

So I took a step forward. The summer between sophomore and junior year I decided to undertake a two week adventure to Germany.  I was enrolled in a class called Multimedia Maymester in Germany (JOUR 463). The class was made up of 25 students and two professors. We were split into five groups to produce a video and print piece on a topic of our choosing. Within the class we originally had to pick several topics for our feature stories and from meeting with team members and getting feedback from the professors, we narrowed down our four topics to one topic. This topic focused on being a travel guide for college students and young adults in Munich and Berlin.

Before we left for Germany, I was able to learn valuable theories and concepts within the classroom that would aid me once we were out in the country working on the assignment. There were several meetings before the trip and in these meetings I was able to learn how to handle the creative and practical logistics of creating a multimedia story in an international environment. For example, in a meeting right before our departure, we presented what topics we were going to focus on in Germany. Then our professors taught us the best ways to interview and create stories on those topics. From what I learned within the classroom, I was able to see why new story-telling and communication methods are essential to create a complex convergence in journalism.

All of this was important because I needed to conduct an effective multimedia story abroad. While in Germany, I advanced beyond my comfort zone in public relations to experiment with numerous communications media like video, photography and design. This advancement was due to what I learned in the classroom. The class provided the knowledge on how to use these multimedia tools so that I could create a specific story. My global learning was enhanced because I had to interview and create stories in a sometimes challenging environment when there were language barriers. A popular phrase that was used in the class was “See it, Live it and Tell it!” and from the successful completion of the multimedia project in Germany, I was truly able to live by that phrase.

Going to Germany was an amazing experience because I learned so much about the culture and was in beautiful cities like Munich and Berlin. I explored the cities through trains and bike tours and entered castles and learned about the history of concentration camps and other amazing things. What made my time so unique was that all that I learned in the classroom, I was able to apply abroad especially when it came to multimedia. I did things I could not imagine like take pictures of the Munich markets, beer gardens, BMW factory, Berlin Wall and more while interviewing the local people of Munich and Berlin to bring their perspectives to life and capture the diverse culture of both cities.

What we learned before in class about the social, political and historical foundations of modern Germany was helpful because it provided a way to understand the German culture and incorporate it to all aspects of our multimedia pieces. All this helped when paired with the media applications in the class. For example, learning the proper techniques for an interview was beneficial when we interviewed the manager of Mike’s Bike Tours, the head chef of Weisses Brähaus and the head of communications for the Berlin Wall Documentation Center. From this we were able to enhance both multimedia pieces we created for the class.

Studying abroad was completely new to me because I am the type of person who likes to have everything planned out. Being abroad completely throws that off because I do not know what’s exactly going to happen but that’s something I have learned to embrace. Some of the best experiences I had in Germany were the ones I did not even plan and now I have embraced saying “See it, Live it and Tell it!”