Exchange Reawakened a Dream: Alumni Voice: Erika Mirielle T. Adamos, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines

Erika (second from right) with classmates from the graduate school at her second matriculation to AIU.

Exchange Experience at AIU

Matriculation Ceremony

As an exchange student, my experience in AIU was pure bliss, but it was also one of self-discovery. I was able to experience a culture that was completely different from the one that I am used to. However, it was a culture that I greatly appreciated.

Furthermore, I have met friends from all over the world who taught me how to see the world through their own perspectives, and this altered the way I saw and appreciated things. Moreover, these friends are people that I have come to love and cherish for the rest of my life.

Beauty of the Region and Akita

I have also traveled around the Tohoku region which made me really grateful for coming to AIU. I wouldn’t be able to see the beauty that Tohoku has to offer if I didn’t enter AIU.

At the same time, despite how small AIU is as a campus, it has given me so many opportunities to explore my potentials and my interests. From my classes to the RCOS (Research and Community Outreach Services) activities that the school offered, I was able to do things that I never thought that I would ever get to do in my life like making a short film or becoming an ALT. Because of these experiences, I have learned to take risks, to enjoy, and to fully maximize whatever life has to offer.

A Childhood Dream Reawakened

Soon after my exchange period in AIU ended, I decided to become a teacher.

This was a very difficult decision to make since I was majoring in a completely different course in college. However, what prompted my decision was my experience in AIU — specifically when I volunteered as an ALT for RCOS. Because of that experience, my childhood dream of becoming a teacher resurfaced.

Returning to AIU to Pursue the Dream

I decided to do my graduate studies in AIU because, since my time as an exchange student, I have considered AIU as my home away from home. Furthermore, AIU comforts and challenges me at the same time. As such, 3 months after my graduation in college, here I am going after a dream that I never thought was possible.

At the moment, I am a first-year graduate student in the English Language Teaching Practices program. It is by no means easy, but it is a challenge that excites me. I have only just started my new journey this September, but I have already taken many opportunities to expand my capabilities and experiences that, hopefully, will help me in my future endeavors.

Moreover, I am really thankful for the support that AIU, its faculty, its staff, and my fellow colleagues have extended to make my stay here worthwhile. I have yet a long way to go, but I am looking forward to where my experiences and decisions will lead me.

With AIU friends from around the world.