Episodes are released weekly on Fridays and will be added below. You can also subscribe on iTunes or Spotify to ensure you don’t miss an episode and get regular notifications.
Thank you for listening to Season 1 of the BeyoND Study Abroad podcast! Season 2 coming Fall 2021.
Season 1
Due to the pandemic, all episodes are either recorded via zoom or following the University’s guidelines of physical distancing and mask wearing.
Spring 2021
Episode 22: Language Immersion in Germany with Robbie Frei
In this week’s episode, Sam sits down with Robbie Frei, junior mechanical engineering major, to discuss the German summer immersion program. With a passion for German culture and language, Robbie describes how this program helped him become fluent and confident in a new language as well as aware of diverse perspectives and life experiences.
BeyoND Season 1: Meet your new host, Sam Eppich
In Sofia's last episode as host of the BeyoND Study Abroad Podcast, join us as we all welcome our brand new host, Sam Eppich. Sam is a junior psychology and FTT major with a passion for international education and sharing a variety of student stories. Get to know a little bit more about Sam in this episode as well as what to look forward to from season 2 of the BeyoND Study Abroad Podcast.
Episode 20: Research, Travel Safety, and Marriage Proposals in Jerusalem
In this episode, Sofia sits down with Elsa Barron, senior biology and peace studies major, to discuss the Notre Dame Jerusalem program. With a research interest in the intersection of faith and science, Elsa says there’s “no place quite like Jerusalem” where she was able to further explore her research through the eight months she spent in Jerusalem. Listen as Elsa details her travels through the middle east as well as the safety and cultural differences she experienced as a young woman.
Episode 19: International Virtual Summer Course Opportunities
If you're still looking for something to do over summer 2021 and are interested in an international academic opportunity, join us this week as Sofia talks about the handful of virtual courses being offered this summer through Notre Dame's Global Gateways in Dublin, Rome, London, and more. We also hear from Connor Patrick, a sophomore history major, who took one of these virtual courses last summer and offers his perspective on the course structure, time commitment, and topics discussed.
Episode 18: Abroad Through Music with Joe Andrews
Join us this week as Sofia sits down with Joe Andrews to hear how he turned his unique abroad experience into an original song called Every Street, available on Spotify at: open.spotify.com/track/1B8ZAQYNrT…jPQoKYKaUXfctu3g
Episode 17: Alumni Abroad: A Semester in Rome with EJ Borg
Join us in the second episode of our Alumni Abroad series! In this episode, Sofia sits down with 2014 ND grad EJ Borg who studied finance and spent a semester in Rome. EJ shares stories and advice about his time in Rome exploring the city to its fullest and his time spent as an intern at a private equity firm in Rome.
Episode 16: COVID Safety Abroad
With the university's decision this week to cancel the summer 2021 study abroad programs, this episode aims to focus on the hard work and reasoning that went into making that decision. Listen as Sofia sits down with Jaime Signoracci, Associate Director of International Travel & Safety, to discuss the safety and risks that were accessed for this summer and a glimpse into what Fall 2021 study abroad may look like.
Episode 15: Study Abroad Scholarships
Notre Dame offers an immense amount of resources for students to combat the daunting idea of finances involved in studying abroad. Listen to this episode with a pen and paper in hand ready to write down the dozens of study abroad scholarship and grant opportunities offered! In this episode, Elise Rudt, National Fellowships Senior Program Manager at the Notre Dame Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, explains the resources available at Notre Dame to assist students in finding and applying for study abroad scholarships. We also hear from Tia Wilson, a current Notre Dame senior, on how the Gilman Scholarship assisted her along her study abroad programs in South Africa and Dublin in 2019.
Contact Information: erudt@nd.edu
cuse.nd.edu/fellowships/fellowships/
Episode 14: Study Away Locally Program - Beijing, China
As a continuation of last week’s focus on the study away locally program, this week’s episode continues to highlight this international program and the personal stories of two students who studied in Beijing. Join us today as Sofia talks to Issy Chen who studied at Peking University (PKU) and Joyce Fu who studied at the Beijing Center last fall. Both students explore their educational and cultural experiences while abroad and their personal growth from this international opportunity!
Episode 13: Study Away Locally Program - Rome, Italy
Imagine finding yourself in Rome, Italy as the only Notre Dame student for your very first semester of college! Well, that's exactly what the Fall semester looked like for Nicole Marinho Vieira Weiss after COVID prevented her from obtaining her US Visa to come to South Bend from her hometown of Rio, Brazil. Join us on this episode as Sofia talks with Nicole about her Rome study away locally program and what it is like to be on campus now after her semester in Rome!
Episode 12: London Internships
Networking, International business experience, and a free trip to Slovakia! What do all of these things have in common? These are all just a few of the benefits available to Notre Dame students who participate in one of the many internship opportunities in the London study abroad program! Join us in today’s episode as Sofia talks about her Catholic School internship, Liam McPhillips discusses his internship at Cleveland Clinic London, and we hear from Nick Brill the associate director of the London internships!
Episode 11: Identities Abroad: Being a Gay Student in Puebla, Mexico
As the second episode in our “Identities Abroad” series, today Sofia sits down with Tim Jacklich. This series of BeyoND Study Abroad aims to highlight diversity among Notre Dame students as they discuss their study abroad stories. This week we hear Tim’s story, who studied abroad in Puebla, Mexico and explored his identity as a gay student in a more global context. From meeting other LGBT native Mexicans through his Mexican cinema class to living with a host family and an LGBT host sister, Tim found opportunities everywhere to explore his identity! Stay tuned for more episodes in our “Identities Abroad” series in the coming months!
Episode 10: Virtual Internships Abroad
BeyoND Study Abroad is back!! Join us in this episode to hear what NDI was up to over winter break with our virtual Global Professional Experience (vGPE) program. We hear from two students, Andreas Vlahos and Stella Cho who participated in the vGPE program and had the opportunity to virtually intern at Xiaomei in China and Cooper Hospital in India. More information about the vGPE program can be found here.
Fall 2020
Episode 9: Abroad as an ROTC Student
Join us in the last episode of 2020 as we highlight more student abroad experiences made unique by their background and interests! This episode features Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) students Nora Fenton and Chris Beirne as they share their stories from abroad and how this opportunity complements the skills and experiences valued by the Notre Dame Army ROTC program.
Episode 8: Abroad during the Hong Kong protests
Join us on this episode as we continue to highlight unique study abroad experiences across the world! Imagine being the only Notre Dame student in a country you’ve never been to in the middle of political conflict and protests! That pretty much summarizes the 2019 Fall semester in Hong Kong for ND senior Danny Liggio. This week, Sofia sits down to talk with Danny all about his time abroad at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology during the 2019 Hong Kong protests.
Episode 7: Alumni Abroad: Making the most of your time abroad
From current students to alumni who studied abroad decades ago, international experiences abroad can impact us for years to come. Join us in this first episode of our “Alumni Series” where we’ll be featuring different Notre Dame alumni each episode! This week Sofia talks with Patrick Quinn (2020 graduate) who studied in Angers in the Spring of 2019. Patrick tells us all about his time in Angers including how he made his own “French bucket list” and sought out many excellent opportunities to make the most of his time abroad!
Episode 6 - Holidays Abroad
This week Sofia Perez sits down with sisters Annie and Maria Ritten who studied abroad in Dublin and Rome! Coming from two parents who studied abroad during their time at Notre Dame, Maria and Annie grew up always knowing they wanted to study abroad and could not wait to make memories of their own. Join us as we hear about the unique and contrasting aspects of their time abroad, as well as their experiences during Christmas with the rest of the Ritten family, who traveled out to Europe to spend the holiday season abroad as a family!
Episode 5 - Identities Abroad: Being a First-Generation, Black Woman
The study abroad experience is made unique by various aspects. This includes students’ identities as well as their participation in opportunities available to them abroad. This is the first episode in a series we’re calling “Identities Abroad.” This series of BeyoND Study Abroad aims to highlight diversity among Notre Dame students as they discuss their study abroad stories. This week we hear from Jaime Spencer, who shares her experience as a first-generation college student and Black woman as she studied abroad in London and Jerusalem. She also discusses her participation in a research lab abroad. Stay tuned for more episodes in our “Identities Abroad” series in the coming months!
Episode 4 - Abroad During a Pandemic
During these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, we certainly know that study abroad looks very different this year. Join us in this episode where Sofia sits down with two students, Katie and Enzo, who were both studying abroad in Europe during the beginnings of the pandemic. Highlighting two vastly different experiences during this process, we hear the variety of student stories regarding leaving their host countries, finishing the semester virtually, and their advice to students looking to study abroad in the future.
Episode 3 - All About Applications
Don’t know much about the ND study abroad application process? Trying to write your application right now but don’t know where to start? Come join us in this episode as Sofia sits down with two NDI staff members to talk all about information and advice when it comes to writing study abroad applications. And a special segment on debunking common study abroad rumors!
Episode 2 - Summer Study Abroad
With the recent announcement of the suspension of Spring 2021 study abroad programs, the Summer 2021 abroad application deadline has been extended to November 15th. So join us in this episode as we explore these summer programs and hear from 4 different students who did summer programs in Jerusalem, London, Brazil, and Rome and about all of the amazing experiences, both cultural and academic that they had there!
Episode 1 - Study Abroad? Why Not!
In this episode, we interview Katie Feehan about her abroad story. As a student who was very apprehensive about studying abroad and almost didn’t go, we hear Katie’s story of her time in Dublin and what made it so special and ended up being her best college experience yet! Join us as we look at the most common fears and best experiences from study abroad.
Introduction Episode - Kicking it off with Dr. Michael Pippenger
In this mini-episode, our host, Sofia Perez, a senior Biochemistry major, interviews NDI's vice president and associate provost for internationalization, Dr. Michael Pippenger, about his time abroad and the vision and goals for the podcast.