Bergen Community College

A.A.

Sometimes we end up in places we least expect. While I was growing up, the people around me told me not to rush to grow up. Despite these words, I did rush and so far, college has been a great experience. I grew up in a moderate- sized town with a moderate- sized group of friends. At Bergen I have found new friends, new ‘family’, and a new sense of self. I am studying in Nanjing, China during my fall semester of 2006 and in Buenos Aries, Argentina during my spring semester 2007.

Being at a two-year community college has been a wonderful experience for me. Having graduated from high school at the age of sixteen, I was able to attend college in order accelerate my education while living at home. I chose Bergen because it has so many opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. With some of the top professors in their area, small classes, diverse cultural activities and excursions, and an affordable tuition fee, it was a good choice to come to Bergen.

The mind is a malleable object. In contemporary society, it is those who refuse to learn that become the social bigots. However, those who choose to explore that which is outside of their comfort zone become the cultured cosmopolitan elite. Learning from the past only serves to better the future.

I believe that coming in contact with other cultures allows one to learn more about the people through first- hand experience, rather than from a textbook. By exploring the culture on a one-to-one basis, it gives a person insight to how one’s own culture is made up. Living in such a diverse country as the U.S.A., allows one to be influenced by so many cultures at once. However, by living in a chosen society abroad, it allows for an in-depth analysis of all aspects of that country’s cultural and socio-economic views. I feel that getting closer to individuals of another country is important in order to understand its people. Consequently, I have by far enjoyed studying abroad the most during my time at Bergen.