Joslyn Taylor ’27 used to scroll TikTok for hours watching “day in the life” videos of students studying abroad. Now she’s sharing her own as an IES Abroad correspondent in Barcelona, Spain.

Taylor, a sociology and anthropology major and government minor from Summerville, South Carolina, was chosen from a pool of 162 applicants to blog about her semester overseas for a national audience.

“As someone who’s very involved at Wofford, I knew I wanted to do something more than just take classes, so I applied to be a correspondent,” says Taylor, a Campus Union delegate and member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She’s also active in the Pre-Law Society and was a legal intern for Poliakoff & Associates in Spartanburg, where she wrote posts for the firm’s website.

Taylor says her blog for IES will reflect her time abroad as first-generation college student.

“Watching those TikToks made me both excited and nervous,” she says. “I’m the first in my family to live abroad, so being alone in a foreign country for the next four months is a huge step for me.”

Taylor is part of a cohort of 88 IES student correspondents representing 54 colleges and universities from around the United States.

In her first post from Barcelona, Taylor blogged about a weekend trip to Tarragona, where she and other IES students explored ancient Roman ruins and learned about the Catalan tradition of building castells, or multi-level human towers.

“We got hands-on experience building them ourselves with help from some professionals. It was amazing to actively take part in this fascinating and distinct cultural tradition,” Taylor says.

Through photos, videos, blog posts and social media feeds, the IES correspondent program’s goal is to inspire students like Taylor to study abroad.

“I’m excited to step out of my comfort zone and try something new — take new classes, immerse myself in a new culture — and come back to the States to share everything I’ve learned,” she says. 

Read more about Taylor’s weekend in Tarragona and follow her study abroad journey at iesabroad.org/correspondents/joslyn-taylor.