LAS EXCHANGE

My name is Ademi Avaskanova , I am currently a sophomore at LAS, specializing in Mass Communication. In the Fall semester of 2023 I participated in an exchange program at the European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania. I was very afraid to fly abroad, and this trip was the first in my life. But on the second day in Lithuania, I realized that I was going to have a very interesting semester. And that's how it was. It was in Lithuania that I fell in love with journalism for the first time, and I think that's what I remember this semester for. I studied with students from Belarus, was friends with guys from Moldova, Germany and Italy - indeed, that was a unique experience.

Hello, everyone! I am Alina Mamatova and I am a junior student of LAS with SEDT concentration.
Last year I was selected as a finalist to fully funded program Global UGRAD and I went to exchange for fall semester of 2023. My host university was State University of New York (SUNY) in Plattsburgh, one of the famous liberal arts universities in the US.
This exchange program changed me a lot giving me new perspectives and opportunities in the sphere of academics, personal growth and future plans. It was full of new acquaintances, diverse culture exchange and amazing experiences. Firstly, classes at SUNY were both interesting and academically challenging led by well-qualified professors. Because of them, I learned so many things and opened new areas of interests for myself like sociology and politics. And my prior knowledge I got from LAS department here helped me to adjust to the system easier and quicker.
Moreover, diverse community and close people from different parts of the world were main part of my US experience. Starting from japanese, indian, nepali, mexican cuisine until attending their cultural events, I was a part of such a colorful community that I had never had before. I am so grateful to experience that and share what Kyrgyz culture looks like.
Apart from university life, I had a chance to travel to some places in Plattsburgh and far away to New York City, Washington DC and Boston. A girl who was dreaming of visiting those places which she saw only in movies finally reached her dreams.
I am happy to be chosen as a finalist for this program and immensely grateful to all of the people who supported me through this journey: my family, NGA program, my advisor Daniyar Karabaev, professor James Hart, UGRAD coordinators and all of my friends here and in the US.