Home Away From Home: Louis Schummer’s Rider journey

By Jasmine White 

ABOUT 3,500 miles from home, 13 hours by plane, Louis Schummer, a quadrilingual senior international business major, ventured to Rider from Luxembourg. He established new friendships, made memories and welcomed experiences from the unknown. 

Schummer became aware of the opportunity to study abroad at Rider through a Belgian institution where he studied, known as EPHEC. Where he is from, students only have to complete three years to get a bachelor’s degree, and at EPHEC, a student has one of two options in their last year: travel abroad for a semester or complete an internship.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I spoke the local language,” Schummer said. “The United States are one of the biggest business partners of the European Union, so I felt like it would be a great idea to get [the United State’s] perspective on markets.”

Schummer said he liked the idea of being on a campus like Rider, admiring its “charming” appearance. The location of Rider being close to tourist attractions such as Philadelphia and New York played a role in persuading him to become a Bronc. 

Through the Office of International Education, Schummer and the other international students are offered opportunities to visit places, giving them a chance to see things they were only privy to through television and film. Schummer visited Philadelphia two times since arriving at Rider, once to see an “NBA match” and to see the famous steps where Rocky Balboa trained.

Schummer smiled and said, “We’ve been to the Rocky steps [which was] a nice moment. It felt a little unreal, but it was definitely, definitely fun.”

His first experience in an American classroom was memorable for him. He recalled the vast difference from being in a classroom back home compared to at Rider where the class sizes are smaller and there is usage of auditoriums. 

“I was a little surprised [at how small the classrooms were], but I feel like it’s a good thing,” Schummer said. “You can connect more with the professor and the professor actually knows your name.”

Schummer created many connections with other students, being international students and students from the United States. He met two people, Juan “JP” Perez, a junior graphic design major and community assistant, as well as Kai Clarke, an international sophomore finance major. They all became friends and roommates at the start of the spring 2025 semester, making memories and a bond that Schummer hopes he will “keep them all in my mind forever.”

Perez is friends with many international students, welcoming them to the campus to help guide them in their time at Rider. Upon meeting Schummer, Perez chuckled as he remembered their first interaction.

“He hits me with a question like, ‘If you guess where I’m from [I will give you] a million dollars,’” Perez said.

Perez, being a CA in Lincoln Hall, had a suite with two vacant rooms, but that did not last long after he became acquainted with Clarke and Schummer and they filled out the spaces. Perez admits to enjoying the phrases Schummer uses compared to his own. Schummer uses words like “daft” to describe when something is cool, such as “That’s so daft!”

Perez cherishes his time spent with his roommates, excited to take trips to foreign places, knowing that he is familiarized with different cultures because of his international friends. 

“It’s just interesting that no matter where you are and no matter where you go, you can always meet people,” Perez said. “If I go to Europe, I’ll have friends and I know they’d be happy to see me.”

Though Schummer misses his “little charming town in Luxembourg,” his family and his friends back home, he is glad that he chose to take the leap and study in America. He broadened his horizons of connections and education through a different perspective. 

There is still time for him to go out and make the most of his time here as Schummer plans to continue to get out of his comfort zone beyond studying abroad.

“I will tell [incoming international students] to enjoy their time here, get as much experience and memories as possible,” Schummer said. “Go around, discover the world … and hopefully that will build character and all those experiences will last a lifetime.”