Christian Markham is a first-year undergraduate student who is interested in studying abroad on one of the programmes offered by the Global Opportunities team as part of his degree at Queen Mary. We caught up with Christian to find out his motivations for studying abroad and what he hopes to gain from the experience.
I study English and Film Studies and I’m in my first year.
I’ve always wanted to move abroad when I was older but I wasn’t sure whether I would have that opportunity, so I thought that I may as well do it now! I’ve always wanted to move to America, expand my cultural horizons, and meet new people. I want to go into the film industry so California would be ideal.
Experiencing another culture and different people might give you a better lens to understand your own culture, and more about the world in general. Gathering new perspectives and being able to look back and reflect on what you think you know is a great opportunity to get a better understanding of humanity as a whole.
Finance is a bit of a worry but the finance workshops arranged by the Global Opportunities team will be useful in helping to plan for my time abroad. I also have a big family so I’m going to ask as many people as I can!
I’ve always wanted to move to America and live in California full-time. That’s not easy, especially with visa requirements and other things like that. I have some ideas on how I want my future career to progress, but I know that it will be a long road. My time abroad during my degree will be a step towards my goals, and will allow me to make contacts beneficial to my future career in the process. I would like to visit more of the world and explore places like Japan and Europe while I’m still in my 20s, working on films and TV and touring the world.
If you are interested in studying abroad, as part of or in addition to your degree, visit the Global Opportunities website to find out which options are available to you and how to apply. You can also visit the Go Abroad Fair taking place on Wednesday 17 October 2018 in the Octagon, Queens’ Building, Mile End campus to speak with members of staff and students and have your questions answered.