Elise Macoustra

Can you tell us briefly about your short-term experience abroad? 

I travelled to Michigan State University with AIM Overseas for a 3 week course in digital marketing. It was one of the best times of my life! I got to experience an American baseball game, life at an American college, making new American friends, visited Detroit and Niagara Falls, saw squirrels and chipmunks everyday on the campus, went on lots of shopping trips, learned how to catch the local bus to the mall and so much more! The lecturers for my course were a married couple that were the leading experts in social media marketing. We learned so much from them and it was interesting to see that the relationship between students and teachers in USA was much more relaxed than in Australia. We learned how to create a campaign on Facebook and Twitter and actually presented a real campaign idea to the social media manager for the university as part of our assessment. I made friends with people from all over Australia that I know I can visit anytime I’m in their state. 

Can you see any benefits from this experience to your future career?

Social Media and digital marketing are definitely key areas for businesses to market themselves through in the 21^st century so learning how to use these sources effectively are definitely important in any type of business career. 

Why would your recommend this experience to other students?

It was one of the best experiences of my life; I made many new friends in from Australia, Italy and America that I will always stay in touch with. I learned skills that will be extremely useful in my career that I cannot learn here. I got to see much of America and experience a culture very different to my own. 

What advice would you give to a student who was hesitant or considering joining the short-term exchange program?

I signed up for a short term program as I wasn’t ready to commit to a whole semester, nor could I afford it. When else are you going to get a chance to experience the things you can experience through an exchange to another country? As a student you see things differently to a tourist. Something I learned from my exchange was to not live with regrets. If you get the chance to take a short term exchange – do it, don’t regret giving up that chance later in life.