Abbey Willliams
Over 4,500 miles away, students from all around the globe, including those at Florida Southern College, take the trip to study abroad in London at Regent’s University of London.
Every semester, Florida Southern provides students the opportunity to study abroad in London for either the fall or spring term.
This year, four FSC students decided to take the trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the college.
Studying in London for five months, each student takes around four or five classes for the semester and learns about the diverse culture and surroundings of London.
Junior Tulsi Patel is taking four classes at Regent’s. She is studying business administration along with economics and finance. Patel is taking classes that focus more on the economics and finance side while in London.
“The classes here are completely different,” Patel said. “We don’t have a lot of assignments or exams. Instead, we have two main assignments or papers that make up our grade. The grading is also different here because no one makes higher than an 80, which is an A.”
Regent’s University provides opportunities for students who are studying Business and Management, Film, Media, and Performance, Politics and International Relations, Fashion and Design, Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Psychotherapy and Psychology.
Junior Anna Burns is currently taking five classes at Regent’s University, including Cross Culture Prospective in Management, Corporate and Management Law, International Marketing, Brand Strategy and Psychology of Child and Adult Development.
Burns said the most interesting class so far is Cross Cultural because she is learning about different cultures around the world, but in a business setting.
“The biggest difference between Florida Southern and Regent’s is the amount of diversity,” Burns said. “Regent’s is about 75 percent international students and has a very diverse population, whereas FSC has very little international population.”
Burns is a member of Kappa Delta sorority on campus and is studying Business Administration.
Burns said being a member of Kappa Delta has brought her many friendships, and she is excited to have made new ones at Regent’s as well.
“The people I have met in the processes of moving my life for five months to a new country has really impacted this experience and my love for it a lot,” Burns said. “Traveling throughout Europe with girls that I met only a month and a half ago and allowing them to become amazing friends and love me has made the experience like no other.”
Burns and Patel have traveled to France, Scotland and England. The two said they have made plans to visit at least eight other countries together along with other Regent’s students before their time is over in London. However, the two are not the only Florida Southern students studying abroad a the University this semester.
Junior Brooke Bezdek also took the leap to study abroad with Burns and Patel at Regent’s.
“The best part about getting to study abroad in London is how easy it is to travel to other countries and see their different cultures,” Bezdek said. “After my time in London, I will have visited more than ten countries.”
“The people I have met in the
processes of moving my life for five
months to a new country has really
impacted this experience and my
love for it a lot”-Anna burns
student at regent’s
Bezdek has visited family in Manchester, Barcelona, Kingston, Cambridge and Paris. During her time in Paris, she went skiing in the mountains.
She said the best part about Regent’s is not only being in Europe but the freedom to be able to visit other countries and learn about new cultures and that coming back to Florida Southern will be quite the change.
Bezdek said the application process was much like applying for Florida Southern except there were no essays needed for the application.
Regent’s asked what major she was interested in and what classes she would be taking. Bezdek said the process was quick and easy.
She also said the travel office at school was helpful in her decision to go to London by providing all the key information to study abroad.
“Since I will have been gone eight months from Florida Southern, it’s going to be a little interesting coming back because I have friends graduating this semester,” Bezdek said. “I hope that I am able to jump back into life at Florida Southern, but Lakeland is definitely nothing compared to London.”
The students have been studying abroad for about three months now and have two months until they have to pack their bags and return to the United States in the third week of May.
