Hello! I’m Ethan, and I’m studying abroad in Austria and Slovenia for four weeks through the Comparative Healthcare in Graz Program.

As I waited at gate B02 for my final connecting flight from Frankfurt to Graz, it hit me. It wasn’t the feeling of dread over whether I packed the right clothes, or even the peculiar feeling of my first flight’s suspicious chicken pasta passing through me. It was the utterly surreal feeling of I’m going to Austria.

While over the years I’ve become adept at navigating the labyrinthine halls of Cathy and making the city of Pittsburgh my home away from home, nothing compares to the experience of being in a new country, with a new language, new culinary landscapes, with entirely new people, and the terrifying realization that apparently “Wiener Schnitzel” is not a hot dog.

I expect studying abroad to challenge me to become resilient and assertive, to ask questions when I feel out of place, and to navigate unfamiliar situations with curiosity rather than fear. 

Choosing the Comparative Healthcare in Graz Program wasn’t just about adding an international stamp to my studies. I’m deeply passionate about the intersection of health and social justice, and my goal is to be more than just a “cog in the healthcare machine.”

I’m looking forward to diving deep into the comparative healthcare systems of Austria, Slovenia, and the United States. I want to understand how different models function and how public systems can promote not only treatment but also long-term well-being.

This program is my chance to broaden my clinical lens and start viewing patients through the critical prisms of culture, language, and lived experience. I want to see firsthand how these systems address the unique barriers faced by marginalized groups to receiving healthcare, and I expect to return with a clearer vision for advocating for more equitable healthcare models that consider systemic barriers. After all, health is deeply embedded in society, not just in hospital rooms.

But studying abroad is not only a crash course in cultural awareness, but in personal growth. My mother’s study abroad experience back in 1992, made possible with the Vira Heinz Scholarship, was the highlight of her college experience and greatly shaped the pursuit of my own.

I expect to come back with so much more than just souvenirs and stories. I plan to return with great friends, a greater sense of curiosity, resilience, and belonging in the wider world. A kind of growth that will stay with me even when my passport stamp fades. 

Austria and Slovenia, brace yourselves, here I come!