Julia Borland
Class of 2008
Destination: Czech Republic
Hometown: Warrenton, Va.
Major: Fashion merchandising
» Read Julia’s award-winning ISEP essay.
For Julia Borland, studying abroad was something that she had always wanted to do. At the beginning of her college career, the Education Abroad Office was one of the first offices she visited and she researched the different study abroad options available to her.
Each year Julia filled out the study abroad application but never turned it in because she thought it would be financially impossible. During her third year, she befriended many European exchange students studying at Virginia Commonwealth University. These friendships inspired her to pursue her dream and study abroad in the Czech Republic the following year. Julia participated in the International Student Exchange Programs (ISEP) at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic.
“I chose this program for three reasons: it was affordable, the classes were taught in English and I could fulfill the requirements for my minor,” she said.
Julia took classes — on the economy, the European Union and social relations in the Czech Republic — for her International Studies minor.
Location was a big deciding factor for Julia, since she knew she wanted to travel while studying abroad. The Czech Republic is located in the heart of continental Europe, and she was able to visit England, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovak Republic, Poland and Hungary on the weekends.
Julia lived in student dorms — specifically for international students — about 15 minutes from her classes and the center of town.
“This was an incredible learning experience and it was easy to meet new friends, since there were about 300 international students living in such close quarters,” she said.
Julia didn’t expect to meet so many other exchange students from all over the world.
“It was a great surprise to live in a little community of exchange students,” she said.
“If I could be an exchange student for life, I would do it in a heartbeat. It’s the most amazing experience.”
She wasn’t sure how much ground support she would have from the host university and had to figure out a lot of things by herself upon arrival, which was difficult at times but helped her grow and become more independent and self-sufficient by the end of her stay.
“I did not know what to expect from my classes, but they turned out to be more like lectures, and required more independent work than her classes at VCU,” Julia said. “Studying abroad has changed my whole perspective on life, values and what I want in the future.”
It even motivated her to participate in another program after returning to the U.S. The second time she traveled to Barcelona, Spain. She looks forward to opportunities to travel overseas and experience different cultures and now she is more confident and focused than ever before.
“I formed so many amazing friendships in the Czech Republic,” she said.
After all the traveling under her belt Julia can now say that she met someone in every country in Europe. She keeps in touch with many of them and returned to visit them in Brno six months after she returned to the U.S.
Julia’s most memorable experiences are ones during her travels and also just simple nights with friends she met there. The rush she got when stepping off the train into a new, undiscovered city is something that is irreplaceable.
“The comfort and warmth I felt when gathering with friends for British tea time is something that I still long for,” she said.
