Kellye Lopez DIS Spring 2010

What made you interested in Denmark as a study abroad destination to begin with?

I didn’t want to veer too far from my major, so I narrowed it down to the best communications programs that were affiliated with Northwestern University and DIS was one of them. From that, I looked at basic curriculum, what the program had to offer and then chose from there!

How did Copenhagen meet or exceed your expectations?

I really came here with no expectations because I didn’t know much about DIS or Denmark before I got here, so I just plunged right into it. I didn’t like any of the other programs I looked at and this seemed like the best. It definitely exceeded what I thought it was going to be.What I think I like the most about DIS in general is the long and short study tours, none of the other programs had that and I think that it’s so interesting to take study abroad to a new level and actually use the country and its close proximity as a platform to learn about other countries.

What did you find especially interesting or exciting about the CMM program?

We looked at how new media is changing for advertisers and marketing and how things need to be done more online now and social media which I think adds to my curriculum and taught me something new.

Is there anything that pleasantly surprised you or stands out in your memory about the study tours?

I definitely learned a lot about the newspaper industry in London. On the last day of the tour we went to The Telegraph. We learned that there’s a whole system about analyzing the advertisements that go into it and they don’t just place any ad that can bring in a check. There’s a whole system of “No, we can’t place this because it won’t bring good publicity”. I thought it was really interesting and I learned a lot from that presentation.

Where have you lived for the last 4 months?

I  lived in the Keops kollegium. A lot of the socializing was done in the common room, and I did meet a lot of interesting people there. Not as many Danes as I had thought because it is a very international kollegium, but that was just as interesting because there was people from Ireland and Australia and all parts of the world, so it was definitely a cultural immersion. And then as far as the DIS kids, there were a lot of them living there and I loved every one of them, it was great living there.

In one word, what is Copenhagen to you?

Home!

Is there anything you do in Copenhagen that you didn’t do back home?

Public transportation. I can’t get enough of it now. I don’t know how I’ll adjust going back to Chicago because even though our public transportation system is really good, it’s not as good as it is here. Before I got here I was always really hesitant looking up bus schedules to go places, but now I’m definitely going to use it.

What would you tell a prospective DIS student about the experience?

I would definitely tell them about the cultural differences. Meeting Danes for the first time, just that they don’t have these niceties that we have. I’ll warn them that the Danes aren’t being rude, that they just don’t get overly excited if you tell them something. I would also tell them to get out of their comfort zone. It gets really easy going to an all American school in Denmark. Because you’re socializing with just Americans it’s important to branch out from that and that you’re going abroad for a reason.