Studying abroad is a subject that is not new to Goshen College students. Many members of the Goshen community have had the opportunity to spend a semester or more in countries such as Nicaragua, Peru, China, Tanzania and many others. However, we don’t always look at study abroad from perspective of students from other countries—for many of them, the United States is a study abroad location. As a result, we have an increasing number of international students on campus here at Goshen College.

Katerina Polanska is one such student. She is a graduate student from the Czech Republic and is currently majoring in English, international relations. Polanska is taking part in a one-year study abroad program through her university back home, Palacky University. It was through this program that she got connected to Goshen College.

“I have always wanted to study abroad!” says Polanska. “There was an extensive application process with about 70-80 students who applied, but only about 7 or 8 were chosen.”

Polanska said that although students were able to state their preferences of study abroad locations, the university ultimately had the final decision.

She has had other experiences in study overseas through her university in the Czech Republic and was reminiscent of her time spent studying French and economics in Clermont-Ferrand, France for a period of time.

Polanska lives in Olomouc, Czech Republic. She spoke fervently about home and her recent visit back home.

“I really missed my family and friends,” Polanska said. Along with visiting her loved ones, Polanska also continued her schoolwork while she was home. “I graduated from one of my university programs (I’m actually doing two) and got my bachelor’s degree in economics. The exams were extremely hard—they took more than a month of studying.”

Along with her exams, Polanska also finished her bachelor’s thesis in economics. “I wrote about the quota of women on boards of companies. It ended up being about 40 pages long.”

She is looking forward to returning back home to carry on with her career. When asked about her free time, she said that she enjoys travelling, reading and hanging out with friends. Polanska says that her friends here at Goshen College keep her sane despite her crazy schedule. She is grateful for the opportunity to come and study at Goshen College and is very excited to share what she has learned here with the people in the Czech Republic.