Carolyn Morris
Year: Senior
Destination: Turkey
Hometown: Mechanicsville, Va.
Major: International Studies and Religious Studies
When asked why she studied abroad, Carolyn Morris replied “Why not?”
A recipient of the prestigious NSEP Boren scholarship, Carolyn studied abroad in Turkey for nine months. The NSEP Boren awards scholarships to American students for study of world regions critical to U.S interests. Recipients are required to work in the federal government for at least a year.
Carolyn loves to travel, having visited Italy and Guatemala with her high school. She chose to study in Turkey because she wanted to go somewhere in the Middle East that did not speak Arabic.
She stayed with a family that included a mother, son and daughter, with whom she shared a room.
“Enjoy life — loans will always be there.”
“My roommate had pink hair,” she said. “It was something I had not expected at all.” Carolyn said she had tried not to set any expectation before she left
Her favorite food was Manti (Turkish “ravioli” with yogurt sauce), a traditional Turkish dish.
Carolyn took classes such as Turkish policy and international organizations at a Turkish Language school through CIEE, a study abroad company. She met students from Congo, Korea, Hungary and China, and didn’t find Turkish hard to learn.
She traveled to destinations such as Prague in the Czech Republic, as well as several cities in Turkey. She said was very impressed with Turkey’s bus system. “They provided snacks and drinks for long trips and they were always on time,” she said.
Carolyn is going back to Turkey in January and participating in another study abroad program to Milan, Italy through ISEP in spring 2009. She hopes to attend graduate school after graduation and wants to have a job that gives her opportunities to travel.
