TEN  WAYS  TO  MAKE  THE  MOST  OF YOUR  EXPERIENCE  ABROAD  NOW THAT  YOU’RE  HOME

1) Contact the OSA to talk about re-entry process and re-adjusting. The OSA is here to help you in this process.

2) Visit the University Career Center

Your international experience is incredibly valuable to employers. Learn to identify newly-developed skills and to incorporate international experience into job interviews. Include your experiences abroad on your resume.

3) Maintain language skills

Join a conversation group, audit a language course, or volunteer in the community to keep language skills strong.

4) Network with study abroad alumni

Feel like people in your life don’t quite “get” your experience? Other study abroad returnees will. Join our discussion forum on Facebook to connect with other study abroad returnees.

5) Give Feedback to the OSA

Give back to your KU community by serving as a resource for future study abroad students. Volunteer for Office of Study Abroad events. Login to your study abroad portal again and you will be able fill out your study abroad evaluation as well as “Manage your Alumni information”.

6) Write about your re-entry experiences

Re-entry can mean a host of emotional experiences that may be difficult but important. Write those experiences down; someone may identify with them someday and really benefit from your wisdom, and it will be fun to look back and remember how you felt. Use the journal on your study abroad portal, a blog or write an article for the Jayhawks Abroad to write about your experiences.

7) Challenge yourself to try something new every day

Many study abroad alumni report feeling a sense of boredom once they return, and it’s true that the familiar happens at a slower pace. Life doesn’t have to slow down, though. Get involved with something new.

8) Keep in touch with the people you met while abroad

Friendships made abroad are often some of the closest and most meaningful in your life. Stay connected. Skype and send emails. Talk on the phone. Mail letters. Visit one another.

9) Connect with the international students at KU.

Did a local step in and lend a helping hand or a friendly face while you were abroad? Pay it forward by becoming a Jayhawk Exchange Friend.

10) Go abroad again!

For many students, once is not enough! Be a lifelong traveler. Many opportunities exist for future study, internships, or work abroad. Explore the possibilities.