Hi, I'm Jennifer, and I am excited to share a new chapter in my life story with you. I'm currently studying international relations in Switzerland, focusing on how to help refugee families.
Before I came to Switzerland, I lived in a small Idaho town with more cows than people! I worked as a DJ and helped throw parties for local customers. One wedding had a bride from Iran and a groom from Iraq. They were celebrating where I lived and where the bride’s family resettled as refugees when she was a child. The two helped me prepare for the party by sharing Iraqi and Persian music and describing some cultural observances we would share during the evening. The wedding was a colorful kaleidoscope of culture and dancing. There were guests from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Mexico, Bosnia, Nepal, and several African countries. All of them met as refugees and resettled in Idaho.
I am studying abroad now because I want to know more about what causes people to flee their home country, how the process works, and how citizens can help welcome them “home.” I am also a mom with three kids, and I decided to go back to college now that they are all grown up because learning can be a lifelong adventure!
Want to know more about how you can study or intern abroad when you are a college student? The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Learn more about the scholarship by clicking here!
