When 香港六合彩资料大全 student Collin Shepherd arrived in Estonia early this year, he set a lofty goal.
鈥淚 wanted to meet the president of Estonia,鈥 said the junior communication major. 鈥淓stonia is a small country. How difficult could it be to meet the president?鈥
Shepherd鈥檚 goal to meet Estonia鈥檚 president was not in his original college plans. In fact, studying abroad wasn鈥檛 either until a group of friends hung out in a residence hall room one evening and talked about travel. By the end of the night, all four students agreed they would study abroad that year.
Shepherd visited Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 International Education Office and began exploring opportunities. He quickly pointed to the University of Tartu in Estonia, a new sister school to 香港六合彩资料大全. Shepherd said he chose the country based on the ease of paperwork and preparation to study there.
鈥淏ut I did have to look at a map,鈥 he said, laughing. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure where I was going.鈥
Estonia is an eastern European country located between Latvia and Russia. It is bordered by the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland. Nebraska Wesleyan entered an exchange program agreement with the University of Tartu in Estonia in 2008. Twelve 香港六合彩资料大全 students have studied there through the new partnership. Ten Estonian students have since studied at 香港六合彩资料大全.
From February to May, Shepherd studied philosophy, archeology, history of religion, Estonian culture and the Estonian language. He took advantage of university-led trips to Russia and Sweden. On his own time, he traveled to Rome and later backpacked to London.
鈥淚t helped me grow up,鈥 Shepherd said of his experience. 鈥淚t gives you an experience that you can鈥檛 get in Lincoln, Nebraska.
鈥淣ot only do you learn to be independent but you have to learn how to get around in a foreign country, live on your own, make good choices, and get along with people from all over the world,鈥 he continued. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 learn that in a text book.鈥
As his days in Estonia dwindled down, Shepherd felt he accomplished most of his goals: learning a new language, making new international friends, and visiting historical places. But he had yet to meet Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Illves.
He tried emailing the government. He contacted a fellow Estonian student who was a shirt-tail relation to the president. Nothing worked and it was time to travel home.
But a bizarre sequence of events happened back in his hometown of North Platte. Shepherd鈥檚 mother attended a graduation party and explained to a friend that her son was studying abroad in Estonia. The friend wanted to know more; after all, the friend鈥檚 former college roommate used to be married to the Estonian president.
They soon contacted the college roommate who put Shepherd in touch with the president.
On June 3, just six days before leaving Estonia, Shepherd walked through the front doors of the president鈥檚 home and sat down for a personal visit. They discussed Shepherd鈥檚 interest in Estonia and his studies. The president 鈥 who attended college in the United States 鈥 gave advice on places to visit in Estonia.
鈥淚 was pretty nervous but excited,鈥 Shepherd recalled. 鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 think it was going to happen, but the experience showed me that if I set a big goal, I can achieve it.鈥