Owen Scanu '26 has had plenty of international adventures in countries like Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Morocco, but his J-Term experiences were much different. For starters, he wasn't on patrol.
The Atayal are a Taiwanese indigenous people.They've maintained their traditions and cultures for a thousand years and have passed down their concept of Gaga from one generation to the next. Gaga, which is fundamental to the Atayal society, emphasizes morality, harmony, and respect. This was described to Scanu.
"We visited with a tribe of Atayal in Yilan in northeastern Taiwan. They explained their culture and they bestowed on us these traditional tribal clothes. I wore a white sash with a hat that had these horns. They cooked a meal for us too and served rice wine. It's just so interesting to see how other people live and to experience the world through their eyes."
The opportunity to experience a different culture prompted Scanu to spend four weeks on a January Term in Taiwan, where he fulfilled an elective credit through an Art and History course. Last January, Scanu took a World of Beer course on a 4-week study abroad stint in Prague. Travel is his passion, now that it's no longer his duty.
Scanu wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life out of high school so he signed up for the Army. He was active duty for three years and spent time in North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
"We were surrounded by these mountain ranges in Afghanistan, and sometimes we'd be able to explore and walk to different villages. Opportunities like that can change your view on people and different cultures and countries as a whole."
Scanu, who is still a member of the National Guard, attended Hudson Valley Community College for two years, then transferred to Siena after an Open House visit. The business major has been racking up core credits during the spring and fall semesters and looked to J-Terms as a chance to continue to travel and satisfy electives.
"I had never been to East Asia, so I went to the Study Abroad Office and asked them what my options were. They were really helpful and came up with different programs in different cities."
Scanu says he fell in love with the culture in Taiwan, and he'd like to go back. He still needs to fulfill a marketing internship, and perhaps that can be done in Taiwan. Maybe the internship leads to a job, and maybe that leads to a life abroad he never expected? It's okay not to know what you want out of life. Just don't be afraid to go searching for it.
