Double thumbs up on our weekend trip to Stockholm, Sweden. In the background are the famous painted houses in the Old Town.
Author: Luke Herynk | Major: Biochemistry | Semester: Summer 2025
As finals wrapped up, a mandatory study abroad pre-departure meeting was held in Hillside. As students flocked in, we were organized by country. I walked up to the proctor, told them I was going to the Netherlands, and was handed a flag and told to sit in an empty area, meaning I was the first person going to my host country there. A few minutes later as the presentation began, despite the hundreds of people in attendance, I found myself alone. That’s the moment I realized that Amsterdam is a bit of a unique destination for study abroad. How did I find it? A brief Youtube Short I stumbled across one morning the summer prior. I had been researching potential destinations but was struggling to find something with STEM classes that would be right for me. Not pre-med, not engineering, and not basic introductory classes. That Short talked about how beautiful Amsterdam is, so I dove a little deeper and found it had everything I wanted: unique architecture, nature, history, good weather, nightlife, prevalent English-speaking, cultural emphasis on education, and most importantly, interesting STEM classes. Frankly, Amsterdam wasn’t even on my radar, and the classes I initially signed up to take were changed (but I ended up taking even better classes). Lots of serendipity!
I flew into Amsterdam on July 4th and studied from the 5th to August 1st, and it genuinely did change my life trajectory. My goal now is to go to medical school and pursue neurology or oncology. Specifically, my first course, Unlocking the Mysteries of Neurodegenerative Disease, inspired me. It was taught by MDs and PhDs in the Amsterdam University Medical Center. It was captivating that these people are scientific pioneers working on the forefront of an issue we hardly understand but desperately need to solve. We had lectures from over a dozen different presenters, each with their own expertise. Several moments stand out to me. We toured active research labs and saw different types of brain cells being grown from stem cells in various stages of their development, a microscope that could photograph, label, organize, and count an entire 96-well plate worth of brain cells in just a few hours, and got a walkthrough of some of the pharmaceutical research experiments they run. At the end of the course, my group gave a presentation on Parkinson’s disease, and I am quite proud of my contribution and delivery (to which I partially credit the STEM communication course I took at the U of A last Spring). But one moment stands out above the rest: cutting a human cadaver brain at the anatomy lab. The spatula-like dull knife slid through so easily it was eerie. We got to touch real human brains and see inside human skulls and nervous systems while learning about our anatomy. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done.
My personal experience abroad rivals my academic experience. I made friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. In some ways, the social atmosphere is similar to that of the first week of college at the U of A, but on steroids. People are friendly and looking to make new friends, but they come from such diverse backgrounds that the conversation is much richer. The answer to “where are you from” is no longer a neighboring state but “Ireland,” “Lithuania”, “the UK”, and even “Tunisia.” Although yes, there were lots of people from the US. Biking to class in the morning sounds pleasant, but it was strictly business there. Everyone from kids to the elderly zoom around quiet as a mouse just waiting to run into an unsuspecting person (untalented bike-riding tourist). The bike paths were flooded with people and each day I just hoped I wouldn’t get caught in the middle of a traffic jam because the canal bridge was up for a boat to pass. Lecturers were eager to engage with students and gave thorough answers. We were given plenty of breaks and an hour for lunch most days. One huge difference I noticed was that during lunch, all the tables outside and in break spaces were filled with doctors, researchers, and other employees laughing and eating together. It was a beautiful sight. Dr. de Haan, the course organizer, encouraged us to call him by his first name, Willem, and was kind enough to let us use the UMC breakroom coffee machine which was the fanciest coffee machine I had ever seen. Class would end in the mid-afternoon and I would always find something to do with my group of friends, whether it was going to Vondelpark, grabbing dinner, or exploring something new. On Wednesdays, all school ends at 12:30, so we would have excursions with our program guide like a boat tour or to visit another city.
Amsterdam felt like home in a literal sense. There’s lots of cars, the flora is similar, burgers and fast food (although it’s a bit healthier) anywhere you look, Albert Heijn, which is the equivalent to a miniature Walmart Neighborhood Market, is everywhere, and there are so many people from so many countries that it’s hard to feel out of place. That all was surprising to me, but I mention it because the most important thing I learned was that anywhere you go, people are just people. We don’t need to be afraid of strangers, most are kind and helpful, and there’s always common ground to be found. Most of us have similar goals and fears and motivations, we just happen to live thousands of miles apart. I would encourage absolutely everyone to study abroad, but you have to have autonomy. Do things on your own and make your own decisions because it’s only as good of an experience as you make it. And learn how to use public transport.