Naomi Lamb, an English major at Penn State Behrend, spent the spring 2024 semester in Barcelona. “I had always been interested in traveling and learning about other cultures,” she said.
ERIE, Pa. — Naomi Lamb’s desire to study abroad developed close to home: Her grandmother — Mary-Ellen Madigan, the former director of enrollment management at Penn State Behrend — often hosted international students during the holidays.
“I had always been interested in traveling and learning about other cultures,” Lamb said, “and I had seen firsthand while growing up how life-changing it can be.”
Lamb spent the spring 2024 semester in Barcelona, studying in a program coordinated by IES Abroad. She hoped the experience would improve her Spanish.
She said she learned much more than the local language.
“I love that Barcelona is so diverse — the beach, the mountains and a lively city are all within public transportation’s reach,” she said.
Her semester abroad was supported with funding from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which is administered through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department. Lamb was the only Behrend student to receive a Gilman scholarship in the 2023-24 academic year.
Gilman scholarships have helped more than 41,000 students travel to 160 countries since the program began in 2001, said Ruth Pflueger, director of the Learning Resource Center and coordinator of study-abroad programs at Behrend.
“Among the goals are to enable students to study abroad in more locations, to foster mutual understanding, and to develop the professional skills, language abilities and knowledge of the world that leads to successful careers,” Pflueger said.
In Barcelona, Lamb, an English major, took literature classes focused on culture and travel writing. She also took classes in art history and Spanish.
“My classes challenged me a lot more than I thought they would,” she said. “I learned a lot about writing and Spanish culture through having conversational classes that were engaging and interesting.”
She lived with and attended classes with other American students, and she said they quickly formed a close bond.
“I came not knowing anyone,” she said. “After about a week, I had formed a few good friendships that have only grown since then.”
The group fully immersed in the Spanish lifestyle — a culture Lamb described as more relaxed than the hurried pace of American life.
“I love the pace in Spain,” she said. “They value education, but in a sense that it is beneficial for the individual to be educated, rather than being educated to serve a function in a future job.”
The Gilman scholarship enabled her to fully focus on the experience — and to take some memorable excursions.
“The Gilman helped me feel comfortable in my ability to financially support myself abroad while I was unable to work,” she said. “It also gave me an opportunity to go on a study tour to Brussels, and to learn more about the United Nations.”
Weekends brought other trips: Dublin, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Florence and Lake Como.
“Being in Europe has allowed me to travel cheaply,” she said. “I have had some of the best experiences of my life with really amazing people who love to travel.”
Life overseas expanded her horizons in other ways, Lamb said.
“I felt very independent, being abroad,” she said. “I have always been a very empathetic person, but actually being there allowed me to see in person people with completely different views on life and values.
“I think studying abroad is one of the best things a college student can do,” she said. “It seems scary to commit to, but it goes by so quickly, and it truly is life changing.”
Robb Frederick
Assistant director, news and information, Penn State Behrend
