Time for Singapore! IBEA Fall 2025 Recap + Pre-Departure Thoughts

Welcome back to my blog! Before starting my next semester abroad in Singapore this time, I want to recap my fall semester at the University of South Carolina!

2025 felt like two separate years. January to June looked completely different from June to December. As soon as I arrived back in the States, I visited lots of family and went back to working as an undergraduate advising assistant at the Darla Moore School of Business. It took some time to adjust back to the U.S. pace of life, but once I did, I felt so excited and ready to host the other international students in my program and fully embrace the American lifestyle!

This semester was my favorite one yet, mainly because I got to be back in my home country with my family, USC friends, AND my international friends! The semester in Germany was one that grew and shaped me into a more resilient person and, of course, gave me many amazing opportunities to travel, but there was something special about being back at home. The semesters at USC just keep getting better and better. This one in particular, I felt extremely grateful for all the small things like returning to work, reuniting with my family and friends, getting involved again with my local church and Christian community, and enjoying the comfortable life I have in the States.

FDOC at USC w/ some IBEA Friends

I lived back at home and commuted downtown for work, class, and hanging out with friends, which allowed me to grow closer with my family, knowing that I would be studying abroad all of 2026. I will cherish those memories with my family forever. Also, being the host this semester for my IBEA cohort was so cool because I got to watch my international friends experience things like Walmart, football games, Thanksgiving, international lunches on Thursdays, game nights on Wednesdays, Charleston, American fast food, and much, much more!

Lake Day

I thoroughly enjoyed my classes this semester. I finished my German minor by taking the last two required courses: GERM 316, a German Business course, and GERM 401P, where I taught German to elementary schoolers at Rosewood Elementary. My other courses were IBUS 310, IBUS 426, MGSC 395, and MGMT 250. I grew in my knowledge of globalization and supply chain, and I developed a stronger passion for foreign affairs and different types of consulting.

As part of the IBEA Program (Cohort 9), I had the opportunity to work as a student consultant with the South Carolina Small Business Development Center for I for Italia, a startup travel agency based in Charleston, SC. The experience came through IBUS 426, taught by IBEA Faculty Director Kristine Laca, and while it was challenging at times, it ended up being one of the most rewarding academic experiences I’ve had. Before this project, the only other consulting experience I had was in Mannheim, Germany, where I participated in a hypothetical tax consulting project with EY and worked with Carbon Tag, a London-based cleantech startup, through 180 Degrees Consulting.

Here are three learnings from working for I for Italia:

• I discovered a genuine passion and aptitude for organizational and CRM-related work. I can clearly envision myself thriving in a role centered around systems, processes, and operational strategy.

• I learned how powerful autonomy and thoughtful delegation can be. Giving people ownership, rather than hovering or stepping in too quickly, allowed my teammates to contribute at their highest potential.

• Establishing clear norms and shared organizational platforms early on makes a huge difference in collaboration, creativity, and morale.

Before this program, I sometimes questioned my path. I’m the only American in my cohort not triple majoring and had limited prior consulting experience since I didn’t join Gamecock Consulting Club or a business fraternity. This semester gave me more clarity on what I’m good at! While I still don’t feel a direct call or drive to pursue management consulting per se, I feel more confident in my understanding of basic consulting frameworks for future interviews, in my ability to lead a team to success, and in aligning my career goals with my passions and natural skill sets.

This semester was amazing in every way, and to top it all off, I got all of December after finals through February 10th at home, working, hanging out with friends, and enjoying my life without being in class, all while getting ready for the time of my life hopefully in my next destination, Singapore! Fun fact: I am writing this as I fly to Singapore!

IBEA Wknd

I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and have spent, like I said, the last two to three months preparing my housing, budgeting, planning travel, selling old clothes and buying new ones, and enjoying precious time with the people I love. I could not be more excited to start this semester because I’m living with my sweet friend from Morocco in my program and a mutual friend from the U.S. whom we both met last semester. We found the perfect little apartment only a 10 to 15 minute MRT ride from ESSEC Business School. It has a pool, is brand new, is a 15 minute walk from an epic gym, a 20 minute walk from an amazing church I found, and was within all of our budgets!

Not to mention, I just got to visit my friend who is studying in Australia for the semester, and I had the time of my life. In less than a week and a half, I’ll be checking off two more continents from my bucket list. Safe to say I am thoroughly hyped to explore a region of the world I virtually know nothing about.

And another fun fact: I have not lost a single item on my travel journey so far! Crossing my fingers that my checked bag makes it to Singapore and that we don’t repeat what happened last year in Germany. All jokes aside, I have triple checked that I have my wallet after leaving every single plane, train, or bus. I cannot have what happened last time happen again!

Here’s to my sixth semester of uni and my second semester abroad!