Victoria Snader's Spotlight
Victoria Snader
About Victoria
Victoria is a third-year student at Penn State University Park majoring in Civil Engineering. During the spring 2023 semester, Victoria studied abroad in Madrid, Spain through our IES: Madrid program.
Continue reading to learn more about Victoria's highlights of her time in Madrid in her own words, why she chose Madrid, how she improved her language skills, the lessons she took away, and her advice for students interested in studying abroad!
Victoria posing in front of the Old Town Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain
Photo of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain
Victoria posing in the Alhambra in front of a beautiful view of Granada, Spain
Victoria posing on the Teide volcano in Tenerife, Spain.
Victoria eating a common Spanish meal with her host family
Victoria's favorite street of Madrid, which housed her favorite coffee shop!
Victoria's Education Abroad Experience
"I decided to study abroad in Madrid because the courses offered there aligned with the classes I had to take for my major. I got to take EMCH 213 and STAT 401, which helped me stay on track to graduate. I also liked the homestay option that was covered in my program cost and included 2 meals a day, as well as laundry.
Something that surprised me about studying abroad was how easy it was to meet people while traveling. I would stay in hostels with a couple of friends and everyone was so friendly and easy to talk to. People are also excited that you are from somewhere different and would ask me lots of questions about being an American, which is something I didn’t expect.
A great moment I had abroad was taking a group Spanish cooking class where we made chorizo in a cider sauce, paella, and cake. I also greatly improved my Spanish because I lived with a family in Madrid. My host family became my second family since I would talk to them every day and have 2 of my daily meals with them. I also was able to meet and get to know people from all over the world!
I think my experience has made me open to moving somewhere further away after graduation. I am from Pennsylvania and Penn State is a 3 hour drive from my home. However, I now know I can live somewhere very different than what I’m used to and still be happy, and it makes me want to branch out to living somewhere like Miami or London.
One important lesson I learned is to try to go out of my comfort zone. I got to try new things and meet new people because I was willing to put myself out there, and it was definitely worth it. My confidence also improved a lot because of this.
I think it’s very important to choose a program that offers classes for your major. You don’t have to exclusively take those classes, but just a couple helps you stay on track and also get a different perspective on your major. I also think that studying abroad may seem scary, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from doing it because I was very scared too and I ended up having a great experience."