Cara Williams

I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain for approximately 3 months, between January and April of 2025. While abroad, I traveled to many different countries – Morocco, Denmark, the UK, Italy, Croatia, and the Netherlands. I took classes in Spanish, earth science, and many political science classes. I volunteered at a small NGO called Fundación para la Ciudadanía Global – Boreal in which I learned about the inner workings of the Spanish government, particularly in small municipalities across the country. I most enjoyed my travels in which I was able to experience with all of my senses the places I had learned about in class. Being able to be somewhere in person is vastly different than through the computer, and I loved being grounded in the all the places I visited.

Something I think many Honors students can relate to is a fear of failure – this was something I had to confront while abroad. Although I had taken two semesters of Spanish classes prior to my departure for Madrid, my Spanish was still greatly lacking (especially in the accent/pronunciation department). I had a difficult time when I initially arrived in Spain trying to communicate with locals in Spanish, which I didn’t expect, as I thought my Spanish sounded better than it actually did and anticipated speaking a lot of English. Learning to accept embarrassment or “failure” from speaking incorrectly was crucial to my growth as a person and student in Spain.

Prior to this semester abroad, I had never traveled outside of the US. As an international relations major, my time in Spain confirmed my academic and career path. I loved talking to people in the cities I visited and becoming familiar with the day-to-day lives of Europeans (and for one weekend, Moroccans). Traveling also confirmed that I would like to focus on international politics rather than domestic politics after I graduate, which narrowed a career path that has often felt overwhelming before getting the chance to see other parts of the world.

I fell in love with traveling from my semester abroad and am currently in Wroclaw, Poland for the fall via the Syracuse Exploring Central Europe Program! My semester in Madrid gave me a great introduction to international travel, which I intend to do for my career post-grad and gave me the confidence to go to Poland, a country where I speak none of the language.

My Honors Academic Enhancement Award allowed me to fully immerse myself in my travel without worrying about cutting corners or not seeing somewhere I have dreamed about going. The plane ride from the US to Europe alone is incredibly expensive, and Honors was a great help in providing me the funds to travel and explore. I also appreciated knowing that I had the support of the Honors staff behind me, who I was able to meet with/email with any questions or concerns while away from campus to ensure I stayed on track with my studies.