{"id":1116,"date":"2024-11-19T14:46:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T14:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2024-12-01T03:48:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T03:48:31","slug":"vitoria-vieira-expands-her-little-corner-at-westconn-to-include-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/2024\/11\/19\/vitoria-vieira-expands-her-little-corner-at-westconn-to-include-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitoria Vieira expands her \u2018little corner\u2019 at WestConn to include the world"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Vitoria

Vitoria Vieira in South Tyrol, Italy<\/p><\/div>\n

At Western Connecticut State University,<\/a> Vitoria Vieira said she has \u201cfound my place, my little corner.\u201d The Anthropology\/Sociology<\/a> major who expects to graduate in 2025, soon expanded her \u201clittle corner\u201d to include Murcia, Spain, and some of southern Europe once she participated in the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP)<\/a> through WestConn\u2019s Office of International Services.<\/p>\n

Vieira, who grew up in Bethel, calls herself a \u201cpandemic graduate,\u201d because she finished high school in 2020. \u201cI was overwhelmed by the college process after finishing high school remotely,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew I needed to go somewhere that was close, local and affordable so I could commute. My cousin had gone to WestConn, so I applied.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took Vieira a little while to get settled, but after taking some time off to decide if she had chosen the right major for her, she found her stride as an Anthropology\/Sociology major with a minor in Political Science. \u201cI love it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of reading, writing and cultural reflection. It heightened my interest in travel and cross-cultural communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vitoria

Vitoria Vieira at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain<\/p><\/div>\n

Vieira has been active on campus as a Kathwari Honors Program<\/a> Scholar and as vice president of WCSU Beyond Borders and the Social Sciences Club. She has become close to several of her professors \u2014 among them Social Sciences faculty Dr. Christine Hegel-Cantarella and Dr. Carina Bandhauer \u2014 and found a paid internship with the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants coordinated by Dr. Averell Manes. \u201cI’ve always been passionate about immigration,\u201d Vieira said, “and this internship allowed me to delve deeper into this subject area.”<\/p>\n

By the time she reached her junior year, Vieira decided that the next logical step in her journey would be to study abroad. \u201cI had seen information about the ISEP program at a Clubs Carnival previously and followed up by attending two information sessions with International Services Coordinator Donna Warner as my interest grew. \u201cA week before the final deadline to apply, I realized it was \u2018now or never\u2019 since it was the second semester of my junior year,\u201d Vieira said. \u201cDonna Warner helped me gain a placement before it was too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vieira, who is Brazilian and speaks Portuguese, felt it was important to her to study abroad in a place where she could experience total language immersion and leave speaking the native language of the country in which she would study. \u201cIt was too late for me to get a French evaluation by the time I applied,\u201d she said, \u201cso it was going to be a Spanish-speaking country. There were opportunities in Latin America, but they only offered housing in people\u2019s homes. I wanted to experience more independence and apartment-style living \u2014 especially since this was going to be my first time away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vitoria

Vitoria Vieira (right) in Morocco<\/p><\/div>\n

Vieira also didn\u2019t want to study in a major tourist hub like Madrid or Barcelona because she wanted to experience a more native population. So, she chose Murcia, near the coast, where Spanish would be the predominant language in public situations and she would not be able to rely on English as easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping to find an apartment there in a building inhabited by mostly local people,\u201d Vieira said, \u201cbut I ended up in apartment-style housing with a lot of other students who were studying abroad, like I was. I thought I would be around mostly local college students, but ended up meeting students from places far away from Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The advantage to meeting students from all over turned out to be that the friendships she built led her to be invited to some of her new friends\u2019 home countries. Between these opportunities and visiting family friends who lived abroad, Vieira had the opportunity to travel to Italy, Portugal, Morocco, England and France. \u201cThis was super budget traveling,\u201d Vieira revealed. \u201cIt\u2019s a different way to navigate life and it was amazing since it was my first time away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vieira said she\u2019s very family-oriented and thought she\u2019d be more scared and shy while studying in Spain, but realized it was \u201cvery doable.\u201d She added, \u201cFor anyone hesitant about ISEP, going during your junior year like I did is perfect. You are already rooted at WestConn having been here for two years and are likely to be less shy and more ready to try something like this on your own. It really depends on your personality, but I\u2019m glad I went when I did. I feel like there is a sweet spot to study abroad for a second-semester sophomore or during your junior year. That way, you still have time to return to campus and get back to preparing for your degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vieira continued, \u201cI love language, culture, and people who want to learn and explore. You find a lot of people in the same situation when you study abroad. I was definitely inspired by the places I have been and it will expand my horizons when considering where I\u2019m going to study for my graduate degree. I love that I had this opportunity at WestConn.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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At Western Connecticut State University, Vitoria Vieira said she has \u201cfound my place, my little corner.\u201d The Anthropology\/Sociology major who expects to graduate in 2025, soon expanded her \u201clittle corner\u201d to include Murcia, Spain, and some of southern Europe once …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":1115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37,51],"class_list":["post-1116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anthropology-sociology","tag-success-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/success-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}