Personal Statement

Ever since I began my undergraduate years at Chapman, I knew I wanted to study abroad. I had always had a fascination with other cultures and after studying art history for three years as an undergrad, Italy was going to be the place I would travel to. Thankfully, I had supportive parents and nurturing professors who all encouraged me to apply to a summer program that would provide opportunities to immerse myself into the Italian culture and be open to a new way of life. It made sense that my mentors advocated for me to participate in activities that connected with my strengths and as demonstrated in Snyder’s article on hope theory (2002) and in connection with Buckingham and Clifton (2001), they wrote that “education should assign people to

While staying in Cortona, Italy for 2 ½ months I had no idea what to expect. I literally went beyond my comfort zone of applying for a program not connected with Chapman University and was accepted to attend the University of Georgia’s art program the summer before my senior year. Out of 80 students I was the only attendee from California and this period of exploration, commonly experienced during emerging adulthood, provided profound moments of change that contributed to my growth and development. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett (2000) has studied the development of 18-25 year olds and assesses this period of fluidity where people in their late teens to mid-twenties encounter questions about their identity and significant change does occur. Traveling alone to Italy, being the new person with no friends, living with new roommates, and trying to soak up as much of the Italian culture as possible were challenges that I was ready to accept and from these high hopes I was able to enhance my personal agency and planning. By making the choice to study abroad, I set out clear objectives for myself in arriving to my destination safely, developing new friendships, communicating effectively with new roommates, and having a memorable trip. I was motivated to conquer these goals because my hope was embedded in encouragement and