Hi new Bruins! My name is Sarah Wang and I’m a fourth-year Communications student at UCLA from Arcadia, CA. First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to UCLA!

Growing up just 35 minutes away, I was grateful when I committed to UCLA that I didn’t have to leave behind the gorgeous sunny SoCal weather, but a small part of me had been hoping for a new adventure somewhere farther away from home. Would UCLA be able to provide unique, exciting experiences that could challenge even local students to grow and step out of their comfort zone? “If I really ended up that bored, I could always study abroad,” I’d promised myself.

Fast forward to my senior year, I’d met some of my dearest friends, served as UCLA’s student body vice president, worked four on-campus jobs, joined a handful of clubs, interned at my dream companies like TikTok, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Microsoft, and even got to help teach my favorite class at UCLA Anderson. In a little over three years, I’d fallen so deeply in love with UCLA’s beautiful campus and vibrant community that I could barely convince myself to leave for even just a quarter to study abroad like I’d planned back then. Still, I knew I’d probably never have another chance to live abroad with the convenience and affordability of the UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), so I knew I had to give it a try before I graduated.

With over 170 programs across 40+ countries to choose from, the first step was to narrow down my top choices by filtering for the duration, region, experience type (immersion, themed, UC, etc.) and field of study I was interested in on the UCEAP website. After consulting my academic adviser, it soon became clear that the Winter Quarter 2023 Business and Entrepreneurship program in the U.K. was the best fit for me, between the guaranteed unit transfer given that the program’s classes were based on the UC curriculum and the exciting opportunity to live in a global hub of business and culture like London. I sent in my application in February, heard back that I was accepted in August, was soon introduced to my assigned team of UCEAP advisers, and then we hit the ground running planning for my departure to London in January!

It was definitely intimidating to think about packing up my life for three months and moving to a new country I didn’t know anyone in, not to mention the logistical headache that figuring out transportation, housing, credit cards, and visas could be. But with the support of the UCEAP team and my peers abroad, the process was as seamless as could be!

Soon enough, I settled into my flat in Bloomsbury, a perfect location in the heart of central London right next to the British Museum, SoHo, and a short walk from my classes in the historic Bedford Square.

I chose to take three classes to satisfy my upper-division unit requirements: Digital Technology and Work, International Economics, and Brand Management: Perceptions, Power, and Persuasion. I loved getting to meet business students from outside of UCLA, take small classes in an intimate setting, and explore the city of London on weekly class field trips, from iconic red bus tours to a free viewing of Wicked: The Musical. The highlight of my academic experience abroad was getting to do my final paper on a topic I’m deeply passionate about, responsible use of artificial intelligence, and investigating how technology left unchecked can exacerbate algorithmic discrimination and reinforce socioeconomic stratification, as particularly prominent in London’s gig economy. Another rewarding experience was partnering with a Cambridge University student to write a proposal on the overhauling of the birth registration system in England and Wales to be more gender-inclusive of non-traditional family structures — we even got published in the UCLA Undergraduate Law Journal!

Outside of class, I kept busy by traveling to different countries almost every week during my 12 weeks in Europe: Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, and Portugal. Although so much travel sounds expensive, it was actually much more affordable than you’d think to travel during off-season! Plus, all your financial aid from a typical quarter at UCLA will transfer over to your tuition abroad. Additionally, there are plenty of scholarships available to students abroad, especially if you do research or an internship overseas, and I was fortunate enough to receive the UCEAP Global Scholarship to help fund my time abroad.

As cheesy as it sounds, my time studying abroad was truly life-changing. It opened my eyes to so many new cultures, cuisines, traditions, and more. I met so many fascinating people, made lifelong friends, and have incredible memories to cherish forever. Although I’ll always have the chance to travel abroad as a tourist in the future, it doesn’t compare to truly getting to settle into a foreign country and experience their typical rhythms of life for an extended period of time — now I think I can say I’ve mastered the art of navigating London’s public transportation, or “the tube” as they call it.

That’s all to say that whatever you’re dreaming of doing during your time at UCLA, you can do it! Whether you spend all of your time in Westwood or want to try somewhere new for a while is up to you, but I promise whatever you decide, you’ll have the time of your life doing it with your new Bruin family.

I’m so excited for where your next adventure takes you. Congrats again and go Bruins!