A STUDENT from Silliman University was selected to join the Student Mobility Scheme program offered by the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia.

Merl Andrea Daarol, an incoming third-year nursing student, is the SU’s first-ever recipient of the SMS since the program’s establishment in 2002.

The SMS program aims to enhance students’ understanding of Asian communities and culture by giving them the chance to study at any of the member universities for free, with added financial support in the form of a living allowance and airfare.

The ACUCA consists of more than 60 member institutions of higher education from nine Asian countries/regions, including Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. Participating students can choose to study at any of the host universities of their choice.

Daarol chose Hannam University in Daejeon, South Korea where she will be studying the Korean language and culture.

“I have always been an experiential learner, and I saw the exchange program as an opportunity for me to grow as a well-rounded and globally minded individual; not only for the benefit of my nursing profession but to shape my overall character as well,” she said.

“It is my honor and pleasure to make space for Silliman, the Philippines, the Filipinos, and our culture in a vastly different yet strangely familiar nation,” she added.