Galloway, N.J. – Thanks to receiving a scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman Program, Stockton University seniors Abu Shahariah and Avery Garlic had a life-changing study-abroad experience in Japan this summer.

Both Shahariah and Garlic have frequent flyer miles already – Shahariah, a Computer Information Systems major, has traveled to places like the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Bangladesh, and Garlic, a Fine Arts major, had just joined a spring break study to Greece with the Military-Affiliated Students of Stockton. When they heard about the upcoming study to Japan last fall, they separately reached out to the Office of Global Engagement to check the country off their bucket list.

The office’s director, Patty Sagasti Suppes, reviewed their eligibility and suggested that they consider applying for the Gilman program, a U.S. Department of State initiative that enables students who receive the federal Pell Grant to study abroad.

“Back in September 2023, part of me felt like I was missing something in my college experience, even though I was well involved on campus, so I went to the Office of Global Engagement just because I was curious, and I realized that studying abroad was an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before. In December, I got notification from the Gilman scholarship that I received a lot of money that fully covered my tuition, room and board. I was very excited. I told my family and my friends that I believe that this was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Shahariah said.

“I'm going to tell you I didn't expect to win the Gilman scholarship. I was just sitting in the kitchen and cooking breakfast when I saw the email from Gilman. I was like, ‘Oh, it's probably for them to tell me that I lost,’” Garlic recounted. “I read it… and then I read it again… and then I read it for a third time. I was shook, but so happy.”

During their stay in Japan, Shahariah and Garlic learned hiragana (Japanese syllabary) and how to drape yukata (summer kimono). They also admired the architecture of shrines and temples, such as Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, bathed in a traditional onsen hot spring, participated in J. F. Oberlin University’s Cultural Day and explored Tokyo Tower, an observation tower that boasts of being about 10 feet taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower.

However, it wasn’t jet-setting that Shahariah was the most excited about – it was the connections he was able to make with both the locals and students from other institutions who decided to study in Japan just like him. 

“The first day of our study abroad was basically a Shibuya scavenger hunt where we met other students from different parts of the world. We had people from the United States, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, England, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and China,” Shahariah said. “I believe that not only did this give me an opportunity to engage with the Japanese people, but also students from other cultures as well, and that really became very insightful to me, just to have an opportunity to connect with other people who you wouldn't normally get to be within a regular setting.

“I was very intentional about being able to at least communicate with the locals and understand their perspective on life in Japan. I remember, in Hiroshima, I got interviewed by a group of Japanese girls for a high school project, and they were like, ‘Why did you come here as an American?’ and I shared my story with them.”

When they weren’t immersing themselves in Japanese culture and taking in the sights of the local and traditional architecture, the students rode the rollercoasters at Nintendo World and Tokyo Disneyland, enjoyed authentic sushi and udon, attended the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival and sang at local karaoke bars. Shahariah even had the opportunity to drive one of the real-life Super Mario Karts throughout the streets of Tokyo, much to Garlic's envy.

Out of all the experiences they enjoyed, the most memorable excursion of their entire time in Japan was climbing the 12,000-foot Mt. Fuji.

Carrying 50 pounds of supplies in his backpack up a steep mountainside with no guardrails at 3:30 a.m. was already difficult, but making the trek back from a couple of miles before the summit proved to be a larger challenge for Garlic.

“I started walking down, and I thought I was about to get dragged off the side of the mountain. I was like, ‘Well, I guess I live here now,’” Garlic said, chuckling at the memory.

“I was sitting there and crawling at points from how scared I was. Eventually, my friends met me as they came down, and they were like, ‘Just keep going. You have to get a rhythm going running down.’ I ran, and once I learned that you could run and catch yourself at the landings, I was good. I also almost lost my wallet, but thankfully, we met someone up there, and he actually found it and gave it back to me later that day!”

Experiences like this are what Sagasti Suppes hopes that students will have while studying abroad. According to her, Stockton offers a variety of education abroad experiences that students need to take advantage of before they graduate.

– Story by Loukaia Taylor

– Photos submitted 

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