May 5, 2025
Ferris State Student's Studies Abroad in South Korea, Sparking Lifelong Friendships, Cultural Discovery, and a New Career Path
Tatiana Gallivan is a current senior who is going to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and a minor in International Business. Last spring, she studied abroad at Dankook University in South Korea.
In high school, Gallivan had the idea of studying abroad in the back of her mind. When she got to college, she was inspired by the international students who came to Ferris State. Gallivan had international friends who taught her about their culture. She loved hearing about her friend’s firsthand experiences of how it feels to be an international student.
Gallivan got the chance to make both international and Korean friends. What helped her make friends was joining the computer club; she was the first foreigner to join the club. She was able to use her knowledge of computers to join in at events and meet people with a common interest. Within the club, she was able to go on two different trips. One trip was a smaller group event within the club where they got to rent a house, play Korean games, eat, and enjoy time together. The other trip was a more public event; they got together with other computer clubs from different universities.
While in Asia, Gallivan had the opportunity to visit some friends that lived outside of South Korea. She took a last-minute trip to Osaka, Japan, to meet up with a friend that she had first met at Ferris State. While she was there, she got to see temples and hot springs. As she neared the end of her study abroad trip, Gallivan took another trip, this time to Malaysia. She was able to visit her pen pal she had had since middle school. While she was there, she went shopping, visited with her friend, and got to try Malaysian food.
On her study abroad trip, she got to explore all over South Korea and was somewhere different every weekend. She made many memories and friends from this experience. This trip even changed her life plans because now after graduation she plans on returning to South Korea to teach English for a couple of years.
Gallivan’s advice for those studying abroad is to “just do everything, join a club, explore, talk to people.”