Meet Becky Kirchhoff
B.F.A. in Visual Communication
Studying Abroad Was Her Dream
Becky Kirchhoff's father compared her dream of going to university in England to buying an extravagant sports car when a conventional car would do just fine. Both would get you from point A to point B, but the sports car would cost a heck of a lot more money without that many added benefits. In Becky's dad's eyes, a school closer to her Chicago-area home was much more practical than one across the Atlantic.
Becky understood her dad's argument, but she didn't like what it meant. "It meant I would never get the chance to fulfill my aspiration with the experience of studying abroad." Seeing how determined Becky was, her father eventually threw caution to the wind: "The heck with practicality," he told her one day.
Three years later, Becky is living her dream at American InterContinental University in London.and finding it to be every bit as wonderful and fulfilling as she had hoped. "I started at AIU London straight out of high school. It was a big decision to make at age 18, and after three years I still get homesick every now and then, but I'd make the same decision again if I had to."
Upon arrival, Becky fell in love with London: "London is a city that captivates you when you first experience all it has to offer. Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the Tube, double-decker buses, you name it. [It's] all very exciting, and British." But she never forgets that she is there to go to school. "I still have a year to go, but I believe that my college education has made me a more cultured person, taught me to gain knowledge from other students, trained me in time management, taught me to explore new things, and also to stretch my boundaries."
More specific to the career she has chosen-graphic design-Becky feels she is learning the things she will need to succeed as a graphic designer. "My classroom knowledge and the constructive critiques of my portfolio work will help form a foundation for my career."
"My parents raised my siblings and me to regard education as a very important part of life. My parents never went to college themselves but instilled strong morals in us, encouraged us to set goals, and told us we could achieve anything as long as we set our minds to it."
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