Greetings from Mexico!

By Lisa Brancheau and Lindsey Ryan

Westhampton College '06

Greetings from south of the border! We're here to send a big "HOLA" to all the University of Richmond students who have already been abroad, are going again, are living or working abroad now or those who are just starting to think about their first international experience. We just have one piece of advice for that last group: DO IT!!!

Stop wondering whether it will be different than what you expect, too hard to do alone or just not worth the hassle ... you're wrong, we promise. Going abroad will be a life-changing experience that you will not be able to regret, even if you try. This doesn't mean that everyone falls in love with international experiences as much as we have (we're very aware of that fact.) But, what it does mean is even if it wasn't what you expected, even if it's the hardest thing you've ever done and even if you think maybe you should have gone to a different country, that experience will change you. And you know what? You can just go again and again and again until you find your "perfect" experience.

All social, personal and life-changing aspects aside, as you leave Richmond and begin to look for jobs, having an international experience on your resume is no longer just a good idea, it's almost (and hopefully one day will be) a requirement for any type of professional success. Any job area -- marketing, law, medicine, academia, non-profit work, business administration, and the list goes on and on -- is benefited by a person with international experience. Nowadays, employers look upon students who study abroad as good candidates who are able to look outside the box, be flexible and offer different perspectives -- not to mention the great professional and personal contacts you can make in another country that can help you later on.

As alumnae of Richmond, we were able to take advantage of all the academic and extracurricular opportunities the campus had to offer, including the chance to study abroad for a summer, semester or year. As many of you are doing right now, we saw things and met people that changed our lives during those four years at Richmond. All of that brought us to where we are right now: working as coordinators of International Programs in the Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Zacatecas in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Zacatecas is a beautiful, colonial, historic city in central Mexico. Considered a "hidden gem" among historians and tourists alike, we have fallen madly in love with the history, art, social life, cultural events and warm people that make up this small city. Between the two of us, before moving here, our experiences included studying abroad in Mexico and Ecuador, doing Peace Corps in Costa Rica and spending a lot of time trying to answer the question: "What do I do now?" All we can say is for personal, social and professional reasons, we are more than happy to have ended up where we are now (not to mention with amazing resume builders, fluency in Spanish and a real appreciation for some mean salsas).

Living abroad after graduation isn't for everyone, but if you think that studying abroad could be something you'd like to try, don't hesitate to shoot us an e-mail. And, if you are interested in studying abroad at ITESM Campus Zacatecas, check out our Web site or let us know (lindsey.ryan@itesm.mx, lisa.brancheau@itesm.mx).

There is nothing that would make us happier than to see more Richmond students on our rockin' campus.

Abrazos desde Zac,

The two (obviously) gringas in Mexico