A Global Classroom

Student Speaks on Study Abroad

Listening to Ashley Renee Brown (HSS '08), one is struck by her strong yet unassuming voice. On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Brown's voice will be heard for the first time by the campus community — as she shares her experience of studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador.

"I've never done anything like this before, and I actually took a day to think about it before I agreed to speak. But I finally decided 'why not,'" said Brown, whose double major will earn her degrees in political science and Hispanic studies upon graduation.

Born and raised on the outskirts of the nation's capitol, Brown describes her high school experience as "very international."

"The majority of my friends spoke more than one language and sometimes up to five or six," she noted. "Spanish, in particular, was necessary for my survival."

Surrounded by friends from various cultures, Brown found herself becoming more and more intrigued by what the world had to offer in far away places. She arrived at Carnegie Mellon not really sure what she wanted to do with her life, but she did know what she liked.

"I just began taking classes that were interesting," she explained. "I've always had an interest in social injustice, but I didn't know that political science could be a path toward a career in that."

When the opportunity arose to study abroad, Brown recalls being "up for a challenge." She was fascinated by the idea of being fully immersed in both culture and language; the program required that she live with an Ecuadorian family and take all of her courses in Spanish.

"It didn't hit me until I was on the plane to Quito. I was nervous!" she recalled. "I had never been out of the country — or even outside of Virginia — before I came to Carnegie Mellon."

But it was a boundary she wanted to overcome.

"It was so different from just speaking the language in class and reading about the people from a book," she recalled. "I loved actually living the experience instead of just reading about it."

One of the key lessons she says she learned from the experience is to not be afraid to take risks — even if it feels uncomfortable at first.

"I enjoy keeping in touch with my 'Quito family' and just being able to talk with and relate to an entire new network of people who have had a similar experience or who are from neighboring countries."

Brown feels like a whole new world has opened up to her.

"If you know what drives you — and can find the courage to follow that — you never know where the possibilities might lead."

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