Katie Irwin, director of study abroad and special programs at Berklee’s campus in Valencia, Spain, offers a window into the power of studying abroad and the unique experience of living and studying in Valencia.
As director of study abroad and special programs at Berklee Valencia, I have the pleasure of working with 150 undergraduate students each semester who decide to take a leap of faith and study abroad in Spain. Some of my favorite moments are during orientation when I get to meet all the new students and hear about why they chose to study abroad. Many can’t pinpoint the exact reason but they knew they needed to do it. Others were looking forward to a smaller community and taking a breath and a break away from Boston. And for others this was a life-long dream that they had always wanted to do since high school. Regardless of what their reasons are, I can almost guarantee that what they thought their experience was going to be and what they thought would get out of it, was very different than the actual experience.