Academic Exchange: An Opportunity to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

This is Valentina Donoso Lemus, a seventh-semester Javeriana student majoring in Social Communication with a focus on Advertising.

At the beginning of 2024, Valentina decided to pursue a university exchange, as this opportunity had always intrigued her since her early days as a student at the Pontifical University of Javeriana. Motivated and determined, Valentina packed her bags and embarked on an enriching experience at the Pontifical University of Salamanca in Spain.

During her academic semester, Valentina took four core courses, highlighting the quality of the professors and the theoretical-practical educational system offered by the university. For her, the lifestyle in Salamanca is ideal for an exchange. “It’s a beautiful, safe, small city with a vibrant youth culture,” she emphasized. Salamanca is a place with many appealing touristic spots, remarkable architecture, and a diverse culinary scene, with Iberian ham and patatas bravas being particularly famous.

One of the main reasons her stay was welcoming was due to the activities offered by the university’s excursion groups, such as Erasmus, with whom she traveled to Portugal and Morocco.

Amidst significant academic, cultural, and social challenges, Valentina found the entire experience essential for her personal and professional growth. “It’s totally worth it because it pushes you out of your comfort zone. I think we often get used to the same routine: I leave home, go to university, meet with friends, and go back home,” she said.

Changing locations, universities, classmates, professors, and cultures taught her to appreciate her home more and, above all, to learn how to work, connect, and coexist with completely unfamiliar people. “The exchange makes you a better person and a better professional too,” she concluded.