Originally from the US, Amanda studied abroad at the University of Limerick from 2018-19. She had planned to be there for just one semester, but had such an incredible time that she stayed for the academic year! She kindly gave up her lunch hour to tell us about her time in Limerick, the people who made it feel like home, and what she’s been up to now that she’s back in North Carolina.

By Lauren Valentine

•  Name: Amanda

• University: University of Limerick (Study abroad)

• Course: BA Business Administration and Management

• Current role: Office Manager at Hollingsworth Roofing

• Fun fact: Amanda’s dog goes to the office with her every day!

Studying at UL: What’s different to the USA?

“My degree is in Business and Health Sciences, so when I came to UL the first semester involved covering a lot of elective modules for school back home. I did a few health science classes and also got to take an Irish Folklore class! That was really interesting actually; I learned about dance, fairies, Irish myths and traditions, which helped me to explore Irish culture. In semester two, I moved onto all of the business modules.

I was living in freshman dorms, so there were eight girls to one kitchen! It was a lot of fun, but also really different to the US. Back here we stay in apartments when we go to college so usually have our own bathroom and closet. That being said, it’s a great environment to make friends and be around people you wouldn’t naturally mix with. I felt super lucky to live with the three amazing girls I’d met too!

The other main difference between studying here and back home was the staff to student ratio. In my school in the US, the ratio was about 1:20 – I even had some professors’ phone numbers. It was quite a big adjustment moving to a huge course like business where there could be 500 students in a lecture. Other than that, there were no real challenges. Getting around Limerick was easy and the food was pretty similar. Oh, apart from the peanut butter – my family used to send me PB packages!”

How meeting other incoming students changed the experience for the better…

“I organised my study abroad through AIFS. You pay a fee and they arrange everything for you: the dorm, travel, trips and activities. Initially I didn’t know anybody, but I clicked with three girls from the US on day one whilst we flew to London together, after chatting to them beforehand. We then became best friends and planned everything together, including trips to Scotland, Iceland, Germany and Italy! They made my experience incredible, so even two years later we still talk a lot and fly out to see each other when we can.

Knowing people before I started made my whole experience a million times better. I’d only planned to stay for one semester, but by October I knew I just couldn’t leave, so I called my school and asked to stay longer. None of the girls I’d gotten close to stayed for semester two, so that’s when culture shock really hit me because I was living with all Irish people. Although we got along, you just can’t relate like you can to people from home. I know it sounds silly, but I wanted somebody to talk about American things with and I really missed the girls! You feel closer to home when you have people to talk about home stuff with.”

Loving Limerick and love in Limerick!

“One thing that really helped me through the second semester was that I’d met my boyfriend earlier on, which meant I had somebody familiar there with me. I’ve been back to Ireland over Christmas and New Year and over the summer – and now it’s just whenever possible. Most of the traveling I did around Ireland was when I went back to visit him, as I was always too busy flying off to other countries during my studies. My favourite places were Dingle Pier and Wicklow Mountains. In 2018, he came to the USA for Thanksgiving, but it’s more complicated now we’re both working. The plan is for him to move to the US, although I want my kids to have little Irish accents!”

An unexpected job role and a canine colleague…

“I’m currently working as an Office Manager at a construction company in Charlotte. It’s a very small business so I’m the only one in the office - apart from my dog, who comes to work with me every day. We have different crews like construction or repairs, and they check in with me every morning at 7-8am. Then I contact customers to do things like billing or payroll. Some days, I’m helping them to pick out different colours for rooves in a show room, or dropping them off at houses to look around.

My degree is in Business Management and I did a lot of international business at UL, but I never envisioned myself doing anything like this. I was unemployed for a while due to Covid, so this role came about at random. Even though I never saw myself doing construction, my bosses make it a really good experience. I have to read books and do tests to enhance my knowledge, but I love it! I like learning new things and I automatically care about them because it’s my job. I feel like I’ll be one of those people who does loads of different jobs – doing one thing forever is so outdated!”

What’s the one thing you’d say to incoming students?

“I won’t say don’t be scared because that’s normal; I’ll say be scared and do it anyway because you never know what will happen. I was terrified because I didn’t know anyone, but it ended up being the best thing ever. Also, try everything: new food, places, clubs, cities, people… It’s not a bad thing to get lost – you could be randomly walking on campus and find a hidden gem. It seems like people don’t understand all the corny things we say unless they’ve studied abroad, so when I came home everyone was like “what are you talking about?!””

Reflecting upon her time in Limerick, Amanda confirms that “the girls I met on the way 100% made me have a better time.” So much so that she became a CampusConnect ambassador to help new students: “Once I was done studying, I helped out other international students on CampusConnect by being a guide for them to ask questions to prior to studying abroad - it seemed to really help current students connect and ask questions. I really loved doing it.”

Find Amanda on LinkedIn!