Nearly forty percent of Lehigh's undergraduate students have an international experience. Through Lehigh’s global partnerships, chemical engineering student Sabine Dalais '27 added to that percentage and left her footprint in Hong Kong for the spring semester. Since its inception, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the world, one of the top 10 universities in Asia, and one of the top universities in Hong Kong.
After some research with the study abroad advisor and ChemE Chair, Dalais quickly discovered HKUST offered acceptable classes she needed for a semester of the Lehigh chemical engineering curriculum. "I was able to take thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, linear algebra and differential equations, marine chemistry, and history of explorations. This allowed me to stay on track with my Lehigh degree while also exploring a completely new country."
In her off time, she found herself delving into the city, indulging in local cuisine, studying with roomates, visiting outlying islands (there are over 250), hiking the terrain, and camping in the countryside. Dalais also made time to travel to neighboring countries - Japan, mainland China, Vietnam, and Laos - with her newly befriended classmates. "Even though I cannot speak Cantonese, English is very widely spoken in Hong Kong, and it was easy to communicate. My roommate was a local student who loved sharing her favorite dishes and reminiscing about her childhood in Hong Kong."
Campus life also offered many opportunites through various student clubs and university wide events, so there was "always something new to check out." Although she had never rowed before in her life, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity and join anyway. Dalais could not believe how easily the club welcomed her as an international teammate and quickly joined together in showing her the ropes of the sport. "We became so close, like family - sharing meals together after training."
Studying abroad is an experience like no other. For Dalais, the most special part of the experience was meeting different people, and partaking in their culture. "Don’t be afraid to miss a semester at Lehigh to study abroad. You have so many others on campus. Go explore the world!"
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