When Samantha Gross-Galindo did a search for the things she wanted in her university—special majors, study abroad, good wireless, snow—UB popped right up. To a girl who’d spent most of her life in Florida, this school screamed “adventure.” Add one full-tuition Daniel Acker scholarship, and she was on a plane to the Northeast.
She didn’t have a chance to visit before getting on that plane. So when she arrived, she says, “I was amazed at the architecture. Where I’m from in South Florida, everything is new. I was totally amazed to see the houses. It was beautiful.”
Samantha planned to study genetics, but the global scope of UB and of Buffalo itself changed her direction to international studies and Spanish. “When I saw Buffalo and how internationally rich it was, I figured, ‘This is what I like: international studies.’”
Since then, she has done five study abroad sessions in Latin America—that’s right; five—thanks to all the options available through the SUNY system, as well as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
Samantha with other UB students at Niagara Falls during their Alternative Spring Break.
While studying in Monterrey, Mexico, she also did an internship with the Nuevo León State Commission on Human Rights, helping with its human rights promotion campaigns as well as with training neighborhood human rights promoters. “It was eye-opening. I got to see the professional environment, which was very different.”
Samantha with her host grandmother during her study abroad experience in Nicaragua.
Learning about the histories and cultures of Latin America has deeply enriched her educational experience, she says. She also learned a lot from her fellow student travelers, whose home countries ranged from New Zealand to South Korea to Bulgaria.
After graduation, she’ll follow her path through City Year, AmeriCorps NCCC and the Peace Corps. She still has many interests—sustainability; education; international development. Whichever she chooses, the wealth of opportunities she found at UB will have guided her there.
“At UB, there’s a chance to do internships, a chance to do research, many study abroad options and an option to do a special major you could design yourself. It’s in a very internationally rich area. We have everything.”
Last updated: September 12, 2011 9:10 am EST
