Study abroad propels careers of graduating seniors

Every year, around 2,000 Cornell students say a temporary goodbye to their lives in Ithaca - in pursuit of international experiences outside their comfort zone.

Their time studying abroad gave graduating seniors Kevin Chang and Ana Hoffman Sole knowledge of new places, new skills and rich new communities. Now they're looking ahead to career paths that build on what they learned.

Kevin Chang: National University of Singapore

Kevin Chang '26 is the first of his family to live or study outside of his home country Taiwan. His first experience with international education was coming to Cornell as an information science student. His second was spending the spring of his junior year in Singapore.

"A lot of my personal growth came from being in an unfamiliar environment and building my community [at Cornell]," he said. "The first semester was not the easiest for me, trying to figure out my place."

But in those first months on campus, he made lasting friends, both international and domestic. He joined the Taiwanese Student Association, bonded with a roommate from New York and found an academic home in the College of Arts and Sciences and Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

"I started realizing that it really isn't about where you're from that creates common interests and relationships. It's curiosity for each other that brought us together."

After two years at Cornell, he began to consider exploring another new place. Many of his friends were planning to study abroad as a way to reflect on their academic experiences and try something new. For Chang, it was an extension of what brought him to Cornell in the first place.

"For me, going abroad is a training ground and experimental space to push myself and see how much I can develop," he said. "I thought of Singapore with more ease and comfort going in this time, because I already had the experience of blending into the American environment."

The study abroad program he chose is based at a Cornell Global Hubs partner - the National University of Singapore (NUS). Chang was integrated into classes with local students, immersed into local life and curated his own experience based on his personal goals.

He did this by exploring classes outside of his major and doing research with Brian Lim, a computer science professor at NUS.

In his project, Chang interviewed people to understand how they use AI, if they trust AI tools and how much they understand how AI generates output. The experience built his empathy for the human side of technology use and changed his career goals. Instead of pursuing a technology role, he's aiming for a career that's more focused on social impact.

After graduating this month, Chang will spend the summer working at a startup focused on anxiety support software that uses haptics to help lower stress levels. In the fall, he starts a new job as a business analyst in New York City. Research, data analysis and problem-solving skills he learned at Cornell will help him influence industries like healthcare, technology, finance and the social sector to "make decisions that are thoughtful about the people they affect."

In New York, he'll share an apartment with one of the friends he made in Singapore.

"These relationships are one of the most meaningful things I've taken from my study abroad experience," he said.

Ana Hoffman Sole: SEA Semester

On a small boat in the Atlantic, Ana Hoffman Sole '26 also found her study abroad community in the program SEA Semester: Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.

The group of students spent six weeks crossing from New Zealand to French Polynesia - a journey, she said, where "you don't see land."

The program couldn't have been a better fit for Sole, a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences student who majors in biological sciences and earth and atmospheric sciences, with concentrations in marine biology and oceanography.

Beginning on land in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the group spent almost six weeks completing coursework requirements, learning how to be crew members and practicing DNA analysis of ocean animals.

"Living on a boat is a strange experience," she said. "You're living in really close quarters and the only people you have to rely on are the people around you. You have to get good at working together."

Sole and her fellow students contributed to a research project about the Portuguese man o' war - a hydrozoan animal closely related to jellyfish. Their work adds to growing data pointing to several different species of Portuguese man o' war, challenging previous assumptions.

The group collected and analyzed DNA samples aboard the boat to identify species type. They also logged oceanographic factors like temperature and wind speed to look for correlations between environmental factors and speciation.

Their work won them an Award for Academic Achievement Abroad from the Forum on Education Abroad.

Living on a boat was important experience for Sole's future career. "Whatever I do next, if I'm on a boat again, will be easier than what I've already done," she said. "That gives me confidence. And as I'm looking for jobs, I can point to my experience on a boat."

In August and September, that experience will pay off during her internship on a deep sea research boat. Sole will drive and maintain one of the underwater vehicles and spend about six weeks at sea in the waters between Guam and Hawaii.

She is considering graduate school in the future - potentially a PhD in biological or marine science.

"My experience was really valuable. I meet people who have done my study abroad program all over the marine world, and they're always excited to hear I also did a SEA program."

Applications Open to Study Abroad

Applications are open now for spring 2027 study abroad opportunities. Applications for fall and full academic year programs close on June 1.

Interested students should explore study abroad programs and meet with an Education Abroad advisor.