#globalscholar

Most Cited Researcher Award: Honoring Global Impact Through Scholarly Excellence

The Most Cited Researcher Award celebrates exceptional scholars whose work has left a profound mark on the global research community. With high citation counts as a testament to influence and innovation, this award recognizes individuals whose academic contributions continue to shape the future of science and knowledge across disciplines.

Nomination & Contact Details

The Educational Bits: I am a (sort of) senior at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, USA. I say ‘sort of,’ because even though this is technically my fourth year of college, I still have about a year’s worth of courses (or, modules, for you in the U.K.) to take to get my bachelors’.

I am majoring in English Literature, with a focus on Secondary Education. This means that once I get my B.A. in English, I will then go on to complete my MIT (Masters in Teaching). Additionally, I will also be minoring in History. When you pair an English major with a History minor (or visa versa), it qualifies you in the state of Washington to teach both Middle and High schools. (I figure this will make me more marketable when I start hunting for a job post graduation).

The Hobby Bits: I’ll let you all in on a secret: Even though I am an English major, and I love literature and books, I’m not actually much of a reader. I like to chalk this up to the fact that I read a lot of things for classes, but the truth is that I am surgically attached to my laptop. I play a ton of League of Legends (I’m a bronze scrub and I main support and sometimes bot), and browse Steam hoping for a sale. (By the way, if you only ever play one video game in your whole life, make sure it’s Life is Strange. So. Good).

I’ve also dabbled in art here and there (digital, traditional, photography, Netflix binging, the usual), and I’m excited to zone back in on my creative-self in the form of blogging/journaling/sketching/staring out windows.

I also love gardening, but mainly for aesthetic reasons. When I have a house with a yard, I will probably do more gardening for edible reasons.

The Other Bits: I like cider, and carbs, and giant warm chocolate-chip cookies, and trying everything at least once.

This is really all that matters for now. There’s much more to come!

Study abroad, I believe, is a onetime experience for a lot of students. For me, it’s an opportunity to see how someone else lives and what they do differently in their everyday lives. Yes I will be taking classes taught by a professor from my university, but that’s not why I am studying abroad; if that was why then I should just go back to Lubbock and be with my friends. I am wanting to study abroad to better understand diversity and put myself in a position that is unfamiliar to what I have grown up knowing. By learning in another country, I get educated on ethnicity differences and get a better understanding of how different the world can be.

A. What are the five things that you are most looking forward to about studying abroad?

The food is something I am excited to try. You’d be able to tell if you saw me, but I love food and although Spaniards don’t like spicy food, I’m sure it will still be amazing because of how different it is compared to American food.

Going to a new country that I have never been before is exciting to me and I curious to see what the culture is like. I want to see what they wear and what their hobbies are and see if there are any significant differences from where I come from.

Learning another language is one thing I’m not only looking forward to, but I’m going to make sure happens. I’ve been wanting to learn another language since I was in high school, and I feel being in a country where English isn’t the dominate language will force me to learn.

With architecture being a minor, I am anxious to see all the architecture studying abroad has to offer. From the Metropol Parasol to the Sagrada familia, I am very excited to study abroad and explore these architectural icons.

Fùtbol is something I cannot wait to see when I study abroad. It’s my second favorite sport behind American football and Europe has some of the best players and teams in the world.

B. What are the five things that currently worry you most about going overseas?

Losing all my valuables and information is something I am worried about. I’m a foreigner when I study abroad, so I’m afraid of losing my information and not being able to come back when I want to.

The exchange rate is something that is always on the back of my mind while I get ready to study abroad. I worry the money I am saving and planning on bringing over will not be enough for what I want to see and do.

Getting lost is another thing that worries me when I go study abroad. Because I am not familiar with the country I will be in, I will worry about getting lost and not understanding how to get back home.

Although I plan on learning another language while abroad, I worry it may be hard to communicate with the locals and I won’t be able to find what I need or want at a store.

I worry a little about how my girlfriend and family will react to me being across the country and away from them. This will be the furthest I’ve ever been from them and it’s not an easy trip that any of us can make if we want to see each other.

C. What are the five things (people, places, activities, etc.) you believe you will miss most from home when abroad?

Being able to just go to my friend’s house to hang out and see a familiar face is something I will miss while studying abroad.

Some of the food that I crave back home will most likely not be in the country I study abroad in, so I may miss my cravings.

I will for sure miss my family and girlfriend. I have a close relationship with them, so it will be tough to leave them for an extended period of time. I at least will be able to contact them.

I will miss Austin, which is where I have been living for the past 9 and a half years. I love this city and I will miss the weirdness.

Of course, like every dog lover out there, I will miss my dog Brody. Although he is technically my sister’s dog, I still love him as if he was the family dog and it’ll be hard not getting to see him or play with him while I’m in another country.

D. What are the five things (people, places, activities, etc.) you believe you will miss least from home when abroad?

Back to the food, I think I will miss some of it from home just because it is what I am use to eating, but I’m sure I will love the new food I get     introduced to when abroad.

I don’t know what Europe will offer me weather wise, but I know I will enjoy getting away from the humidity here in Austin. I’ve never liked humidity or the heat, so I am hoping to get away from that for a little bit while abroad.

While abroad, I probably won’t be on social media a whole lot and probably won’t watch much of the media on TV as I do now, and I don’t think those will be things that I will miss; simply because I’ll have so much new things around me to take my attention away from it.

Lubbock, TX. I go to Texas Tech University and I am relieved that I will be taking a break from west Texas and taking classes elsewhere, and in this case it’s even sweeter since I will be traveling abroad to take those classes.

I think I will be okay not waking up and doing my same old routine that I would at Texas Tech. I’m excited to wake up in a new environment and know that it’s a new routine every day.

E. My greatest single challenge overseas will be:

1. You get to travel!

The main reason I am going to study abroad is for the traveling. Traveling has always been in my family and I can never get enough of it! Studying abroad allows me to continue that tradition in my family and see even more of the world than I could just staying at home.

2. Learn a New Culture.  When traveling to a new country, you get to see a different way of living and styles and communities that you aren’t use to. Yes it can be intimidating, but I love learning new things and seeing how one’s day differs from mine. Through study abroad, I get to learn something new every day inside the classroom and outside.

3. Convenience to Students. Studying abroad allows me to take the necessary classes I need for my major, while at the same time, getting the opportunity to travel across the globe and see a new world for the first time. It’s the best of both worlds!

4. Be Independent. When you go off to college, you become independent from your parents and family and live on your own for the first time. When you study abroad however, it’s another level of independence. Being across the world from family and friends, I can’t just drive a few hours and go see them. Although I will be in contact with them, I get to explore at my own pace and go where I want.

5. Looks Good on a Resume.  My career goal is to be able to travel around the world and do the work that I love to do which is work in construction. With construction being needed all around the world, it wouldn’t be too hard to find work around the world, of course depending on the economic status of a country, but having a background of already traveling around the world would be a plus!

6. The Experience! 

Studying Abroad will be something I will never forget. It may even lead to me wanting to travel for a living or even move to another country. I believe everyone should have a chance to study abroad and get a little out of their comfort zone.

7. Make New Friends. In a new country away from your friends back home, it can get a little lonely if you don’t socialize. I plan on meeting new people and possibly making some new friends along the way.

8. Networking. Studying abroad has the opportunity to of great benefit to me, if I use it the right way. During this time, I will take advantage of being in a new place and getting my name out for when I graduate, I could possibly come back and there could be something waiting for me career wise.

9. Sports! Spain is known for their soccer, or rather fùtbol, as they would say it. Soccer is one of my favorite sports to watch and play, and there is no better place to experience it, than in a country home to 2 of the best players in the world.

10. For Those Who Cannot.

So for Global Scholars, there are a lot of questions about the health risks of the country. However, as I'm in France, there are no more health risks here than in the States. I DID find this question to be interesting:

1.What sorts of food do people in the host country typically eat? How is it prepared, stored, served? Is the water in your host country generally safe to drink?

I would have to say that the food here varies widely. There's not much Hispanic or Asian food in Montpellier that I've seen, but lots of cafés and kebab joints. 

However, the food is different in that it really ressembles the actual thing, be it animal, vegetable or mineral. The salt looks like salt, the meat tastes like animal, and the vegetables are more vive in flavor. It's really jarring as an American, to have milk taste so much like an animal, to remove the eyes of the rabbit you're eating for dinner, to wash off lots of dirt from vegetables. That being said I think it's one of the most positive and healthy things for an American. We are very dissociated with where our food comes from, and I don't like that.