Studying Abroad: The Best Summer Vacation While in College

When you are a college student, sometimes it can be hard planning vacations when you have school year round in order to graduate on time. My all time best summer vacation? Studying abroad!

During the summer of 2010, I attended Mays Business School's Marketing Study Abroad Europe. This was a faculty led program with eighty college junior and seniors for thirty days. We visited the United Kingdom, France, Monaco, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This program was amazing because we visited with international companies that we aspired to work for while traveling through seven countries.

The companies included Bloomberg L.P., Harrods Department Store, Galeries Lafayette, Apple, Parfumerie Fragonard, Swarovski, Innsbruck Tourism Office, Audi, BMW, Bucherer and Johnson and Johnson.

While in London, I took a day trip with Evan's Bus Tours to see Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge. Many of us also did the Fat Tire Bike Tour in Paris, France. We visited and took pictures at many popular sites such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum.

I went paragliding with students in Innsbruck, Austria and I saw King Ludwig's Castle in Liechtenstein, the castle that the creators of Disney's Sleeping Beauty modeled theirs after. One of my favorite days was when we traveled to the top of the Swiss Alps and went sledding with our professor.

Although it was exhausting traveling that frequently within just a few weeks, I still hold this experience as the best vacation I have ever had!