Going anywhere unfamiliar where you do not know anyone can be a very scary thing to do. For most people this is when you go on vacation or a work trip but for some, they choose to do this while also taking college classes. Dawid Zajac is a 21-year-old sophomore attending classes on the Dahlonega campus majoring in cybersecurity.
“I am from Poland and I was 19 when I moved to America to take classes at UNG.” Zajac moved here with no friends or family but has made many friends in the past two years. “I chose to study at UNG because I got an offer to play soccer here.” Playing a sport with teammates has helped him make quick friendships and not feel so alone in a new place.
“I absolutely love living and studying in America. It was the best decision in my life to come here.” – Dawid Zajac
Moving here has added a lot of positives in Zajac’s life. “For some reason, girls love my accent which does not make sense to me because I think it sounds pretty bad.” Can confirm, American girls do in fact love foreign accents. “But being more serious, I enjoy every single day here. I love America. I was able to visit New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and more. I think people here [in America] are much nicer.”
“Honestly, the worst part, which isn’t even too bad is that when people think Poland [they think it] means Russia and ask me if I speak Russian or German.” Language has been the biggest obstacle Zajac has had to overcome. “Language was the biggest issue because I had to pass the SAT and TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] and now I have to live and study in a different language.” He recommends to anyone from America wanting to study in another country to try and learn at least the basics of the language spoken there to help you better adjust.
After overcoming the first barriers of moving to America, he has fully adjusted in his new home. Zajac is planning on graduating in two years from UNG. His final advice for anyone wanting to study abroad is, “I would just say don’t think about it too much and go for it, you will not regret it at all.”
If you are interested in Education Abroad, UNG offers courses in many different areas of study in countries such as Costa Rica, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia and so many more! If you want more information go to the Education Abroad page or email your advisor for more information.
