“it’s such a life-changing experience and I learned so many valuable lessons about myself and the world around me.”
Hello! My name is Jillian Pih and I am a senior at USC Annenberg studying Communication and minoring in Psychology and Marketing. I had the opportunity to study abroad in London last spring semester and I had the time of my life! It was definitely one of the best, if not the best, experience of my college career.
In front of ACCENT Center
From the moment I started college, I knew that I wanted to study abroad. Growing up, traveling and exploring other cultures was something that I cherished and learned so much from. Whether it be trying new foods, exploring new places, or meeting new people, I had the desire to continue this when I got to USC. Although I did not know which specific location I wanted to go to, I knew that I wanted to plan my course schedule so I could fit in study abroad. After chatting with other Annenberg students who had studied abroad and hearing about their experiences firsthand, London really stood out to me. Not only is it a thriving global city, it is also a major hub for media and entertainment, areas where I would potentially like to pursue a career. In addition, London offered so many opportunities to travel outside of the country and into Europe (fun fact: there are 6 international airports within the London area to fly out of)! For all of these reasons, London felt like the perfect place for me.
So, what was study abroad actually like? While I was in London, I took 4 Communication Courses for my major: (1) Communication and Social Movements, (2) Comparative Media of the US and UK, (3) Interpreting Popular Culture and (4) The Rhetoric of London. Here’s an overview of each of the classes I took:
Communication and Social Movements:
One of my favorite professors who taught us more about how to advocate for change and design our own social movement projects
Very hands-on and practical class for anyone interested in advocacy communications
Comparative Media of the US vs. UK:
Cool class that focuses on globalization, media, and how current events are portrayed in news
Visited the BBC in London!
Interpreting Popular Culture:
One of my favorite classes that was practically a music history class (think: history of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc.)
Rhetoric of London:
Very engaging, interactive class that focused on how London was constructed as a city, but also the stories told about London.
Best part of class: lots of walking tours around the city to learn about London’s history, development, and city planning
All of my classes were very interesting and I feel like I learned a lot from my professors. The best part about classes are the 16 units of upper-division major elective credit earned and this was a huge bonus. Some classes were in the morning, while others were in the afternoon. Regardless, during the half of the day that I did not have class at the ACCENT Center, I was able to explore the city, go to museums, try out new cafes, spend time with friends, or catch up on school work.
Outside of class, you could probably find me traveling on the weekends or spending time with friends from the program. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have visited so many cool new places, from Barcelona to Dublin to Copenhagen. I must admit, there was not one place that I traveled to during my time abroad that I did not enjoy. I could honestly spend hours talking about each individual trip, but here’s a compilation of photos that I think showcase some of the amazing adventures I had.
I hope that you can also experience the joy of studying abroad; it’s such a life-changing experience and I learned so many valuable lessons about myself and the world around me. If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should study abroad, my advice is to just go for it because you won’t regret it!