Senior International business major Elizabeth Ruvalcaba had the opportunity to study abroad at Yonsei University, South Korea in the fall of 2023. With lots of encouragement and support from family, friends, and faculty at (EKU), Ruvalcaba thrived during her time in South Korea.
Many students vie for the chance to study abroad with the expectation of learning more in depth about their major through different types of learning experiences. Ruvalcaba is an honors student at EKU and also uses that as a driver for her determination to succeed.
“I’ve always wanted to go visit a different country and just get to know about its culture and the way that education runs over there,” Ruvalcaba said. “So I was like, ‘this is a perfect opportunity to just go and do that’ and also since I’m an International Business major, it was required for me, so I kind of like that I was more or less forced to do it.”
When studying abroad in South Korea, Ruvalcaba said that not only are the classes contrasting in structure itself, but so is the culture and environment in an economical aspect.
“The culture in South Korea is very different from the one in the U.S. … I’m always going to talk about the transportation because it’s so clean and it’s so easy to access and it doesn’t even cost that much. Another thing I really liked over there was like, oh my gosh, all the food and it didn’t cost that much either,” she said.
One of the most crucial assets to South Korea for Ruvalcaba was the safety measures that were in place and the fact that she never had to feel cautious of her surroundings.
“It was safe over there. It’s because they had a lot of security cameras. So, if I went into a restaurant or went somewhere by myself to get something to drink, I could leave my stuff alone at a seat and no one would touch it,” said Ruvalcaba.
The most difficult part for Ruvalcaba while in South Korea was the fact that she was in a whole other country by herself without the close proximity of family and friends. This is common for students who study abroad, but hits closer to home for her.
“I don’t know anyone else that’s going there. So it was a little bit hard, especially since my parents are immigrants. So, I was used to just always being by their side and just going like, ‘Oh, you need me to translate and interpret for them’,” Ruvalcaba said. “So I did feel like I needed my parents a little bit because I was always there for them. I felt like I needed someone there for me at the same time.”
One of the challenges that Ruvalcaba faced was the arduous school work and the need to feel more involved academically.
“It was just a lot of group presentations and then tests … It was just a little bit more different because it felt more intense in a way. I would always notice like, after classes and stuff, the students would go to eat or something and then they would go immediately to the library,” said Ruvalcaba.
Asian countries are known for their stricter academic standards and life standards in the way of living, so that was one of the larger differences that Ruvalcaba experienced in her time abroad.
“You know one of the issues that’s often talked about in Seoul is that it’s so hard for teenagers to live in that culture, right? They’re under such pressure to be excellent,” said EKU’s Honors Program Executive Director and History professor David Coleman.
Coleman was a huge part of the support process for Ruvalcaba as he took consideration of her personality, intellect, and goals for the future. He helped give her tons of encouragement and reassurance of how successfully she’d apply herself in South Korea.
“Elizabeth is a graduating senior in the EKU Honors, and she has been a wonderful student and has done a great deal with us. She’s traveled a lot. I knew that even before she came to EKU, she’s kind of a Korea-phile, right,” said Coleman. “She’s somebody that’s been into Korean culture and Korean TV shows and Korean movies and so I knew that she’d always wanted to go there.”
Coleman’s advice for students who aim to study abroad is to acknowledge the possibilities of growth in their mindsets and ways of adulthood as well as learning a great depth of cultural experiences.
“ … It improves your life. It can open up professional doors, it can open up intellectual doors to new realities. I myself, look back at my life and I think of the 1993 or ‘94 academic year. I was a graduate student at the University of Illinois and that was the year when I had a Fulbright fellowship to study in Spain, and I actually lived in Spain for a year,” said Coleman. “That’s kind of the defining time of my life in terms of transforming from what I was before to what I was after in terms of a person that’s very comfortable moving in different circles, right?”
Students interested in study abroad opportunities can visit the EKU Study Abroad office in Crabbe Library, Room 225.