Student Profile

LaSheita Sayer

Spending six months in France as part of a UCD study abroad program, Business School graduate LaSheita Sayer not only acquired a valuable education, she gained direction and confidence. "As a single mom, I wanted to show my daughter the world," stresses the 2006 business and marketing alumna. "I wanted to show her you can make a decision and pursue it. And I want to be a motivator for others."

At first, it wasn’t easy. Since Sayer couldn’t read the bus schedule, she missed it often. Her daughter, Kytiana, then 4, was teased for not speaking French. "The challenges kept piling up. I had to step back, to say ‘yes this class is important, but not as important as why we’re doing this.’"

Sayer’s journey to France began when Business School advisor Nancy Reed said she believed every student should study abroad. "I agreed and wished it were available to me."

It was. With the assistance of Reed, the Office of International Education and a grant from the Gillman Foundation, Sayer accomplished something she’d never dreamed possible before enrolling in UCD in 2004.

"In six months, I received a more powerful personal and professional education than I’d gotten in 15 years of school," she stresses.

Within three months, Sayer catching bus on time and had mastered "Frenglish." Her daughter was debating in French with youngsters at the park. The children who once teased Kytiana helped with her fifth birthday party. "I smiled for weeks," Sayer recalls.

The study abroad experience has empowered Sayer—who is now running her own consulting company, ZoZo Marketing—and the people around her.

"Don’t not go to school because of kids, especially if you’re a minority," Sayer stresses. "There are people at the university who will help you make it happen.