student profiles

Andrea Moreno's Study Abroad Experience

"In many respects, I feel like I’ve been traveling all my life. When I was seven years old, my family and I moved to Champaign, IL from Monterrey, México—a move that marked the beginning of my fascination with travel. Every sight and sound was so novel to me that it was as if I were seeing the world for the first time. Since then, I’ve moved countless times and traveled much of the world, but perhaps the most formative experience I’ve had traveling was my junior spring abroad through a multi-country program.

My time abroad was the most challenging yet rewarding journey I’ve ever embarked on. The idea is simple: a group of twenty-five college students go on a four month journey to three different countries around the world to study cities. But one thing that I learned while abroad is that ideas are often vastly different from realities, and this case was no different.   

Trying to articulate my experience, and, more importantly, what it meant to me, has proven to be a difficult, if not impossible task. It was, in every respect, one of those experiences that are so out of the realm of ordinary life that it borders on the imaginary. I couldn’t have possibly dreamt up the things that I saw or the people I met, so far removed were they from my day-to-day reality at Harvard.  Along my journey I learned about globalization, urban poverty, sustainable development, kinship and family networks, and a slew of other issues that impact the development of our world’s cities. More importantly, however, I began to see with some clarity our common humanity and common fate as a species. If there are people living in settlements made entirely out of trash in waste picker colonies outside of Delhi then they aren't the only ones who suffer; it’s all of us, too. This realization weighed heavily on me throughout my travels, but ultimately made me a more responsible and conscious human being. 

Although my journey wasn’t always pleasant, it has shaped and continues to shape who I am in innumerable ways. Any Harvard student who is even remotely interested in studying abroad should talk to one of the advisers at the Office of International Education because there are so many opportunities for learning and growth outside of the Yard. I look forward to talking to you. Happy exploring!"

Email: aimoreno12 [at] college.harvard.edu