"Aggies Abroad: Sophia at Sea" is a blog series chronicling undergrad Sophia Mares de Juan’s journey as she travels, by ship, around the world studying abroad for a semester. Sophia is participating in the Semester at Sea program and will be blogging throughout the next five months—sharing advice, photos and reflections along the way.

Lauren Hong, design major and computer science minor, shares her motivations for participating in the UC Davis Design & Fashion Virtual Summer Internship program.

Managerial economics major ('20) and current graduate student in business analytics at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, Susannah Schulze, shares about her global learning experiences on the UC Davis Summer Abroad UK—Perspectives in Global Management program.

Sophia Mares de Juan, a second year UC Davis College of Letters and Science major in sociology and minor in human rights, took a gap year prior to arriving at UC Davis and shares her experience with Up With People, an independent study abroad program focused on global challenges and community service.

Fionna Huang, a senior at UC Davis majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, reflects on her “year of physics” in Hong Kong through the UCEAP Summer Physics program.

Christine DeLong, a senior in managerial economics (with an emphasis in environmental economics), answers questions about her UC Davis Summer Abroad Europe, Sustainable Cities of Northern Europe program.

Emily Cowan, a UCEAP United Kingdom Alum. "Charming and unique, North Laine is an area in Brighton teaming with quaint shops that perfectly coincide with the retro, beachy vibe of the city. Pink, blue, and yellow pennants are strung from the buildings, creating a cheerful, inviting atmosphere. North Laine has it all..."

Miuccia Halim, UC Davis Seminars Abroad "Nepal—Community, Technology, and Sustainability" Alum. “Where you sit depends on where you stand.” As our team huddled together in the dimly lit dining hall of Machhapuchchhre Village Inn in Nepal, we attentively listened to our mentor, Samrat Katwal, emphasize our roles as outsiders of the rural community we were aiming to help..."

I leave for Nepal in 11 hours. And although I should probably be notifying my bank of my traveling plans or spitting out the emails I owe several professors, I want to tell you about this past quarter and what led me to the trip ahead.

Hannah Chadwich's time in Beijing was a success thanks to Ruby (her roommate). It was also thanks to the impressive efforts of the staff at the UC Davis Student Disabilities Center, and particularly staff member Sarah Cohen who tirelessly translated coursework. Read more about Hannah's journey in China...