From Romania to South Africa and Australia
Emily Heiser went from homebody to global explorer her junior year at the Long Island Campus, when she accepted the opportunity to study abroad through a faculty-led trip to Romania.
After graduating from St. Joseph’s in 2019 with degrees in psychology and criminal justice, she was inspired by her global studies to conduct two internships abroad to help her decide what she wanted to major in for graduate school. Heiser conducted a human rights internship in South Africa and a social work internship in Australia.
Favorite part of each trip abroad: The people.
“I didn’t realize I could bond with people that much. I still talk to and see some of the people from St. Joseph’s who went on the Romania trip. My two roommates in South Africa became my absolute best friends. Even though one lives in Charleston and one lives in LA, we always see each other every year. We celebrate our birthdays together, we celebrate holidays. And I got really close with my co-workers in Australia, especially the warehouse manager. So just those connections again, that was really big for me.”
Biggest takeaway from studying abroad: Opening her worldview.
“I was a homebody before. I tried going away for school, and it wasn’t for me, so I ended up coming here. And I was just kind of like in my own little bubble here. So then going abroad and seeing that, wow, there’s actually this whole other world out here — different people, different cultures — it really intrigued me. So I think that just kind of opened up my world view. I realized there’s so much more out there than just what’s in my home, and I really wanted to figure out more about it.”
Biggest takeaway from interning abroad: Landing on a focus for her master’s degree.
“I loved both of the internships I did, but it helped me decide that social work specifically was not for me and that I wanted to pursue counseling instead. And that’s what I’m doing now for my master’s, as well as criminal justice. So even though I enjoyed it, I was able to realize that it wasn’t for me. Even though all my friends were doing it, I didn’t have to do that as well.”
