Sept. 3, 2024
Contact: Janese Heavin, heavinj@missouri.edu
Kaleb Anderson is a University of Missouri senior broadcast journalism major from Washington, D.C. He spent the summer in London taking classes and getting hands-on experience in the filmmaking business.
Read on for a Q&A with Anderson about his study abroad and internship.
Tell us about your study abroad experience.
This summer I had the pleasure of studying abroad in London. I took classes on British culture and media and had an internship with the production company Feedback Films. At Feedback Films, I directly worked with the boss, Johnathan Tetsill, to write scripts, edit and shoot videos — helping their clients make better content.
What did you enjoy most about the experience?
The best part about studying abroad was meeting and befriending new people. London is a cultural hub and home to people of all kinds of races and ethnicities. Just from going out every day and finding something new, I came across people who have immigrated from all over the world, and hearing their stories was interesting. The great part about it is that it’s usually unintentional. London is such a big city that you can just stumble onto something interesting or randomly start a conversation with someone and learn so much about London and where they’re from.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to take more risks. This entire experience was on a whim and was a last-second decision that made me just go for it. Mizzou approached me late in the study abroad process to join the trip to London and while I already had another internship lined up, I just decided to go for this experience. I always try to be more practical in my approach but do need to incorporate more spontaneity in my life, and this experience has been an example of that. I look forward to being more open to spontaneous opportunities that arise at Mizzou.
How did your experience at Mizzou help you during your travel?
I had no friends or peers when I arrived at Mizzou as a freshman. Being in an unfamiliar environment like that forced me to put myself out there to interact with people and learn how to be away from home for an extended period of time and live on my own. Those two skills were crucial to my time in London because they made me feel like I had already done this before, and that made the transition easier.
Do you recommend other students study abroad and why?
If you have the opportunity to study abroad, take it. America can tend to be a bubble where everything you learn and see is very U.S.-centric or from an American perspective. Stepping outside of the country for an entirely new perspective on the world around you allows you to pick up on things that you may want to incorporate into your life.
