How did you select your study abroad program and/or location?

I chose my study abroad program and location based on what worked with my major. As a biology major, it is rare that you see students in the Natural Science department chose to take a semester or a whole year to study abroad only because the core curriculum is heavy and intensive for a four-year college. I have always wanted to study abroad; something my high school professor told me before graduating that all college students should experience before graduating. It was not until the second semester of my Junior year that I realized I really wanted to go. I was discouraged because my time in the Natural Science department, I never heard the mention of study abroad for our major, but asking around and meeting the right people I was able to find the International Partnership for Service-Learning, which is a study abroad program that allows host students to experience an academic and volunteer portion of study abroad. This was an amazing thing because I got to know my host country more by venturing out to talk with the locals and working in their communities.