Fielder travels overseas for studies; Alumna describes experience while abroad

Meghan Kalck, SSC Editor/Studio Manager

  Sam Fielder graduated from North Harford back in 2019 and is currently a junior at the University of Maryland and she decided to study abroad this semester in the south of France.

     Fielder was studying abroad for international business and marketing and also attended international business school. “[she] also [has] worked as well as being a full time student,” Fielder says.

     Places that she has worked include jobs such as Amazon, Joann Fabrics, supervisors for club sports at UMD, and also one internship as a social media intern at a small business in Harford County.

     “The overall experience I had really challenged my view on life and gave me a perspective that I otherwise would never have had,” Fielder also said as she explained what her overall experience while studying abroad was like during her time overseas.

     Being in a different country had shown her opportunities and other ways that people in the world lived. Being in this mindset took her out of the US and showed so many possible futures. 

     “[She has] made incredible relationships that [she will] never forget,” she says and she hopes to be able to maintain these connections in the future. Studying abroad has really grown her love for traveling as well.

     One of her favorite experiences that she had while she was traveling was hiking a 10k in Santorini, Greece.

     “[She] had no plans or idea what [she] would do when [she] got to Greece,” she says, but the people she was staying with in her hostel suggested this hike from one town on the island to the other. 

     A hostel is “a place where people, especially young people, can stay cheaply for short periods when they are traveling, with shared rooms and sometimes some private rooms,” according to dictionary.cambridge.org.

     “The hike took me three hours,” Fielder says and she got to see beautiful views of the “traditional white buildings and blue roofed churches.”

     She also explains how she saw black sand beaches and volcanic rocks while she was on the island. “The eruption of the famous Volcano of Santorini in 1600 BC not only gave a new shape to Santorini and made it the unique and gifted place that it is, but also led to the creation of its black sandy beaches that cannot be found elsewhere in the Aegean,” according to www.santorini-view.com.

     She said it was an amazing experience for her as she got to spend a lot of time in the cities and also be in nature to enjoy the world’s beauty.

    This experience was one Fielder  said “truly showed [her] the beauty and love in the world that so many people try to hide.”