As a student who had never done a study abroad program before, but always wanted to, St Petersburg College really came through for me when I was awarded a study abroad scholarship. The scholarship helped fund my trip to Thailand to work with elephants at a wild life sanctuary. It was a trip that I likely would not have been able to afford on my own, and I’m very grateful that I had this opportunity. Many of my classmates had wanted to go on the trip as well, but were unable to afford it. I feel lucky to be one of the recipients of the scholarship so that I could go. I think that if more students knew about the scholarship, they may have applied for the trip.

I used the Study Abroad scholarship money to pay for my flight and about half of the costs of the volunteer program that I participated in. Traveling is not cheap and having the funds to make it happen really made a difference. I knew that since I was graduating it would be my last chance to study abroad and so I am really glad I applied.

A lot of student face financial hardships both during and after they finish school. Scholarships like the one I got can make a huge difference in your college experience. Having the trip to look forward to helped me stay on track and finish my last semester. I think that students should take advantage of all the great scholarships SPC has to offer. I had a great time traveling with my friends and instructors. I got to visit a foreign country that I had never expected to go to and I got to get up close and personal with many elephants while I was there. I also have this experience to add to my resume, which is also a great thing.

Click here to read student stories from the SPC Thailand Study Abroad program.