In the second semester of my second year at FLAME University, I got an opportunity to go for a semester exchange at Kelley School of Business, Indiana University (IU), in Bloomington, Indiana. It was a learning and enriching experience that every student at FLAME should aim to attain. Bloomington is a student city with a population of around 80,000 comprising more than 40,000 students. I was exposed to multiple cultures and cuisines in the five months I spent there. I went during the winter time with the freezing temperatures below -20 degree Celsius. Living in such extreme conditions taught me the importance of adapting and evolving. During my exchange, I got an opportunity to interact with exchange students from the USA, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. I can proudly say that I have friends around the globe.

I had enrolled for courses under 3 different departments under IU, which were Kelley School of Business, Department of Economics IU and Psychology and Brain Development. I had five courses amounting to 15 credits. The subjects were Financial Management, Money Banking & Capital Markets, Business in Information Age, International Economics, and Statistics with a Psychological approach. They exposed me to a wide variety of topics like Fintech and Derivative Markets and gave me a clarity for my future education trajectory. Though the education and evaluation pattern at Kelley was very much similar to that at FLAME, yet there were some minor differentials. To name a few, Kelley has more parameters for evaluation with small study portions being tested; there are multiple make-up quizzes providing an opportunity to improve grades. The class participation is conducted through a device called clicker, wherein the professor displays a question on the board, and the students have to select the correct option. This initiative prevents the students from indulging in forced class participation just for the sake of it and keeps them on their toes.

IU has world-class sports facilities allowing to maintain a balance between education and exercise. I used to play cricket on Saturdays with a group of Indian students at IU sports complex and regularly use the gymnasium during the week. During the exchange, I got an opportunity to pursue my passion for videography and acting as I acted in a short-film and also conducted a photo shoot for a fellow exchange student. I also went to watch theatre performances of the student studying at the IU Department of Theatre and Drama. There were multiple dinners for the exchange students to interact and learn. The exchange helped me become confident and independent while making my own decisions from buying my own groceries to travelling alone to four states (California, New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia). The exchange has given me memories for an entire lifetime and I am grateful to FLAME University to provide me this opportunity.