A Semester at Georgetown: Three International Students Share Their Experiences
Each semester, Georgetown University welcomes undergraduate students from across the globe on exchange and study abroad programs. For three such international students—Lara Smith, Lena Muhsen (SFS'26), and Ariella Raissakirana Wijayanti—the fall 2024 semester at Georgetown was not only a transformative academic, professional, and personal experience, but also an opportunity for them to learn how to create community while abroad.
Leveraging Georgetown’s Strengths
Lara, an incoming exchange student from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, was one of 27 incoming exchange students who came to Georgetown in fall 2024 through an agreement with a partner institution. Lena was one of 47 undergraduate students from Georgetown University in Qatar that studied abroad on Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus for the fall 2024 semester. Ariella, an undergraduate student from Gadja Mada University in Indonesia, was one of four undergraduate students from Indonesia who received a scholarship to study abroad in the United States as part of the Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA) program.
Reflecting on their semesters abroad, Lara, Lena, and Ariella shared how they were able to take advantage of some of Georgetown’s greatest assets—including academic excellence, service to the world, and its Washington, DC, location—to advance their academic, professional, and personal goals.
Ariella shared that her experience in a cybersecurity class at Georgetown inspired her to switch her thesis topic. Now, she is conducting a comparative study of cybersecurity in her home country of Indonesia and in the United States—a culmination of her experiences.
Meanwhile, outside of the classroom, Lena discovered that she was able to transfer her passion for gender empowerment to the Hilltop. Previously serving as the community leader for the Georgetown University in Qatar Women’s Society, she took on roles as a student assistant at the Women’s Center in the Office of Student Equity and Inclusion, as well as a fellow for the Gender+ Justice Initiative on the Hilltop Campus.
For Lara, Georgetown’s location in the vibrant and dynamic city of Washington, DC, exposed her to a new music scene and community. By joining Georgetown Radio, the university’s student-run campus radio station, she was able to meet new people who shared her passion for music. In her time outside campus, Lara fondly recalled her time with friends attending live concerts, biking around the city, and meeting new people.
Adjusting to Student Life in the United States
Making new friends and developing a community while abroad can be challenging, but Lara, Lena, and Ariella all found ways to adapt.
When reflecting on the unique experience of living in a student dorm with two roommates, Ariella said that while she was initially surprised at how much more extroverted students from the United States were compared to back home in Indonesia, she grew to enjoy dormitory living as a way to build community.
Lena emphasized the importance of student clubs and cultural events in bringing together the Arab diaspora. For Lena, finding a community that reflected various aspects of her life was a defining part of her Georgetown experience.
Lara, on the other hand, appreciated how humor can bring people together.
“I think everyone has a different sense of humor. Developing a shared sense of humor is how you know you’ve become good friends—when you can joke around with each other and be on the same page.”
A Challenging but Rewarding Experience
While their semester abroad was not without its challenges, Lara, Lena, and Ariella were quick learners. All three students acknowledged that the adjustment to differing course loads and teaching styles was challenging, but with a strong community and good advice from their peers, they persevered. In addition, they all enjoyed meeting people from various cultures and sharing their own unique perspectives and backgrounds with new classmates and professors.