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Study Abroad Alum Ben Shattuck's Story
Study Abroad Alum Ben Shattuck
summed up his second opportunity to go abroad best, “Only good things can
happen.” Ben is an alum from Northwest
Missouri State University. His first go
around with studying abroad was when he went to Finland in the Summer of 2008 through
the Magellan program, and studied business at Satakunta Polythecnic University
in Pori. While there, he caught the
“travel bug”. After graduating from
Northwest, Ben spent seven months, “cleaning toilets, and doing various odd
jobs to save up money.” After working
hard, he came up with the money the following summer to travel all across
Europe. Ben still had the “travel bug” when he entered into Graduate School at
the University of Oklahoma. He stumbled
upon an opportunity to study abroad again, but this time in France. Ben was to go to Paris for seven months where
he would study at the French Institute of Petroleum. He experienced some difficulties at the
beginning. In addition to adjusting to a
different lifestyle, it was hard to communicate due to the language barrier. As he
learned some of the language and became more comfortable interacting with
people, his daily routine became much easier.
Ben fell in love with Paris and the lifestyle it entailed. He would even consider moving back there for
a couple of years in the future. By
December, Ben will have a double masters from the University of Oklahoma and
from the French Institute of Petroleum. He
has accepted a job at Wood Mackenzie in Houston, Texas as a research analyst
for North American natural gas. Ben
credits his first study abroad experience as an “eye opener and an incredible
confidence builder while at the same time being so much fun.” His study abroad experience has continued to
play a crucial role in his life and his quote is a true testament to his time
abroad, “Only good things can happen.”
