Study Abroad: UH Hilo business admin major Hāweo Glassco studies for a year at University of Essex
Hāweo Glassco spent a year at the University of Essex in England. “It changed my life completely.”
By Lauren Aoki/UH Hilo Stories.
Hāweo Glassco, a business administration major with a concentration in marketing and a minor in communication, took off for an adventure in Essex, England, from her home university, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Born and raised on the island of Oʻahu and a graduate of the Hawaiian medium-based immersion school Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School, studying abroad had been Glassco’s dream since she was 14 years old. Growing up with a mom who was a high school world history teacher who frequently went on study abroad trips with her students, Glassco grew naturally curious about her mom’s travels and whereabouts.
“I grew up privileged enough and grateful that I got to travel frequently, whether it was to a different island, state, or country,” she says. “From then, I knew I loved to travel.”
So in studying abroad, the question for Glassco wasn’t “if” or “when,” but where?
Discovering family ties
In 2018, her mom visited the Library of Congress and searched up their family name. While her maiden name produced no results, “Glassco” appeared in two different books: one of their family’s history in America, the other of her family’s history in England.
Glassco was curious about this side of her family since she grew up Hawaiian and knew little about them.
“Because I have never learned this side of my family, I wanted to dive deep into a side I never thought I would, and change my perspective while pursuing my dream simultaneously,” she says.
She learned that their family originated from Essex, England, and subsequently, that the University of Essex was one of two English options for UH Hilo students.
“I knew it was fate and when I told my parents, they were shocked and excited for me,” she says. “Specifically my dad because he, too, wanted to find more and experience our history in real life.”
In Essex
At the University of Essex in Colchester, Glassco studied marketing and joined campus-based clubs, such as the Sustainable Society.
In day-to-day life, she found living in another country both freeing and isolating. Though she initially struggled with culture shock, she discovered it to be not all that different from the United States and adapted quickly.
“I learned quickly how to navigate through all of Europe, my pros and cons list, and that people do not know what side of the sidewalk to walk on,” she says.
She was also surprised at the diversity among the student body. Though she was the only student of Hawaiian descent, she did not feel singled out or out of place.
“It was also more diverse than I was expecting,” she says. “I feel like there were more international students than British. Although there weren’t many Polynesians, I felt comfortable since it was like I fit in with everyone else as they were also international students.”
While away, she relied mostly on her friends for support, specifically her friend Leiya, another student from UH Hilo attending the University of Birmingham on the other side of the country.
“Many of my friends were abroad students and they helped me not feel so alone,” she says. “Although [Leiya and I] were four hours away by train from each other, we called frequently to debrief our experiences and make being 7,000 miles away feel like home.”
“Real me”
Glassco believes the studying abroad experience enabled her to learn more about her studies and her future career perspectives
“It changed my life completely,” she says. “The academics at the University of Essex are brilliant, I learnt so much about my own studies and I now have a new perspective of my career choice.”
She also praises the experience highly for helping her to find her true self. So far away from the pressures of her normal life, Glassco was able to live completely on her own terms for the first time.
“As for my life experiences, I have to say that it changed my life for the better and I miss it every day” she says. “I always tell people that it was like I was the ʻreal me’ there. I lived the life that I wanted. Going to an unknown country and living there alone at 19 years old, I was able to learn my own identity, a worldview, and what I want in life.”
She’s also proud to now have so many international friends, multiple people from diverse backgrounds and countries, who can guide her in her future foreign travels. “I can experience life differently when traveling now, such as visiting my friends’ home country and actually living instead of being a normal tourist visiting some place new.”
Story by Lauren Aoki, an English major with a minor in anthropology at UH Hilo. She is literary editor at the university’s student publications Kanilehua and Hohonu.
