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Riley DickersonParticipated in 2019Study Abroad | Canada

Riley is a 20-year-old male from Maryland. He studies Game Production and Management. He’s a proud queer. He has previously worked at an indie company, a call center, and in food service. He just graduated high school and travels outside of the country frequently.

What inspired you to travel abroad?

I had met with a former Champlain alumni, who told me that going abroad was probably one of the reasons they were the most prepared to go into the game industry. They had worked hard, and gotten a very strong job after graduation, and attributed much of the success to the cultural enrichment. I had also heard from others that Montreal was a great opportunity to explore what city life is like. It could be a right fit for me. Champlain had done a good job getting me interested, and I had heard nothing but good reviews from those who went.

Why did you choose Champlain Abroad?

I chose Champlain Abroad because it was the only option available to me, in the location I wanted to go. I chose Montreal, because for people who are interested in any division of Video Game Development, the classes and the professional opportunities there are phenomenal. There's MIGS, MEGA, and several small indie companies you can meet and network with, and large company tours you can go on to see what company life is like for those who live there. I wanted to make a good choice, and advance myself in the field of Game Production and Management, and Montreal was the best choice.

What was your favorite part about Montreal?

I think my favorite part about being abroad in Montreal had to be the culture. I would consider Montreal to be the melting pot of Americans, Canadians, and several other cultures from all different walks of life. Different sections of the city have different, but equally rich, cultures and designs. Despite what's already there, people bring culture and ideas to other parts of the city just by existing. During my time there, Greta Thunberg was holding a climate change rally, and I was one of the 500,000 people who marched for Climate Change. I got to watch her speak, and I have never forgotten that whole walk.

What made your experience abroad extraordinary?

I made friends, and joined a family of people who I never would've imagined meeting. I went to restaurants I would've never gone to, I did things I would've never done. I connected with people and bonded with them by doing things I never imagined myself doing in this lifetime. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and let someone else show me around the city that they've lived in, and I got to see a whole different side of Montreal than my peers did. If it wasn't for meeting them, I probably wouldn't have a desire to go back visit as frequently as I do.

What would you have improved about your staff support?

I'll be blunt. On Day 1 of me going abroad, I lost my grandmother to pancreatic cancer. I was upset, but I pushed through the feeling as one does. It didn't require intervention from the staff, and I was able to overcome my grief. About halfway through my journey, I had lost my aunt to suicide. This is where I think the abroad staff got too hands on with me. About three weeks after the event, we had watched a movie in film class where the main character, at the end of the film in a sudden plot twist, commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. I immediately disassociated, and when the rest of the class had left, I spoke with the teacher and told him why I hadn't moved for the past 7 minutes. He was extremely respectful, and super well mannered. I was really happy I had a conversation with him and he allowed me to grieve and share my feelings. Afterwards, as protocol for a teacher when something like this happens, he told the staff. That's when things got too hands on for me. The head of the abroad program, started calling my RA's and asking them to check in on me and talk to me and comfort me, and then proceeded to call me and ask me to talk to them and talk to someone (like my roommate or an RA). I didn't really appreciate how concerned she became of me, and I would've just liked some distance. I can approach someone if I'm having an issue, and I seriously felt I was being babysat.

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?

I think if I could do one thing differently when I went abroad, it would've been going out far more often. I had the most memories and experiences by saying "yes" and doing things that made me feel uncomfortable. I went to clubs where I didn't think they'd speak much English, I hung out with people who I didn't think would bond or connect with so well, and I had experiences that nobody else who goes abroad will be able to say they've had. I only wish I had more stories to tell, and spent more time making plans with people to explore places that I wasn't familiar with, and go on journeys.

Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.

I would wake up, eat a short breakfast, get on the metro, go to class, get back on the metro, walk back to my dorm, and relax. I had so much free time. Depending on what day it was, or what I had to do, I would put on my shoes and just start walking around the city. I would look at the towering buildings, the art monuments that they had there, and sometimes I would people watch. Other days, I would grab my wallet, text a few friends, and go to a bar just to try something new. No matter what day it was, I made sure to make as much of my free time as I could, since I knew I wouldn't have that time forever.

What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?

As I said before, what I ended up doing most during my free time was meeting people and exploring. I went on dates with friends and strangers, I went to places, climbed mountains, went to haunted houses, and even went to a climate change rally. There is always something to see or do when you live in a place with so many cultures and a lot more activity. Going out on the city and just wandering, you're more than likely to find something that makes you stop and want to watch, or even get involved.

What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?

I lived at EVO Montreal, in a two person bedroom. We had an awesome view of Square-Victoria OACI. There were lots of things to do, such as a large pool, a reasonably sized gym just for students, a communal kitchen just for your own class, and my favorite part was the metro that was connected to the building. It was really great, especially during the colder months of my time abroad, having the connected metro that would let you stay warm during the onslaught of snow and wind. Almost all the essentials a student needed were available.

What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?

When you go abroad, PLEASE do not stay in your room the whole time. I know people who I went abroad with who talk negatively about their experiences, when they had ended up doing absolutely nothing but going to class and staying in their dorm room. By going abroad, you're basically agreeing that you feel comfortable to step outside the bubble you're comfortable living in. Even if the only thing you did was school sponsored events, that's better than doing nothing at all and missing the culture that Montreal offers.

Would you recommend Champlain Abroad to others? Why?

Extremely so. If it wasn't for me going abroad, I wouldn't have learned as much about myself as I did. I had absorbed so much cultural knowledge and awareness just from existing in this area for awhile. Something that gets talked about a lot when people talk about going abroad is that Montreal doesn't interest them, because its "Two hours away" and "isn't that different". As someone who lived in Burlington for three years, and lived in Montreal for three months, I can assure you that is like comparing apples to cement. These are completely different places in almost every way, and if people could see the cultural differences, they would change their opinion quickly.

What do you feel is the biggest benefit of traveling abroad?

I think the biggest benefit of going abroad and traveling is the connections you make. Whether it's teachers who you like talking to, coworkers you meet during an internship, friends you meet at a bar or at a restaurant, or the people who decide to travel with you that you didn't really care about. One of the people I went abroad with last year is now my current roommate. My roommate from last year is now on a team with me for our big senior year capstone project. I met and bonded with several people throughout my time abroad, and I think having these connections get stronger really sets the experience apart.

Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?

I look at greyhound tickets to Montreal far more often than I used to, for starters! I think about my experiences abroad a lot, and especially the things that I learned from my internship while I was there. I'm even applying what I learned from that internship to the current team project I'm working on now, in terms of networking and making meaningful communities around the game we're developing. I also still keep up with the friends I met there. I'm an honorary Quebecois.

What does meaningful travel mean to you?

Meaningful travel means you come out of that experience with an unbleached, organic, and memorable experience of the place you went to. If you go to Montreal and only stay in the dorm and do the school activities the whole time, you don't get a good idea of what Montreal is like. You get the manufactured view by the people who are offering the experience to you. If you go to Montreal, and you explore the city and meet new people, involve yourself in the culture and learn things about the city around you from the locals that live there, that's a meaningful experience. You make that experience yourself.

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