Hometown: Washington, PA
Major: Psychology 
Minors: Labor Studies and Employment Relations and Business in the Liberal Arts

I received an email from the Schreyer Honors College list-serv and followed up at the information session. I learned about the application process there and decided to apply.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

This experience was an embedded learning and study tour. The trip had two purposes: to learn London's culture and to study its theatre. We spent 10 days in London with day trips built in to visit Bath, Richmond, and Greenwich where we were encouraged to explore and learn how the United Kingdom differed and compared to the United States. We were all given an aspect of diversity to study. I had chosen interracial relationships, so I tried to learn about my topic through our travels. We also saw 8 shows while we were in London and often had class discussions to relate them back to what we learned in the classroom.

How did this experience impact you academically?

As an Economics and Pre-med major, I have not strayed from my specific outlined coursework much in the past. Therefore, the opportunity to take 10 days and truly immerse myself in theatre and the arts was a truly wonderful opportunity. I entered the experience knowing very little about theatre and its various elements. As I saw more plays and increased my exposure to theatre, I certainly was able to pick up on nuanced and detailed elements of the art. I was able to see how the music, plot, set, and acting are integrated with each other and form great theater. Overall, it was an opportunity for me to learn something I was not familiar with and knew very little about.

"I will always be exposed to topics in which I do not have expertise on, however this should not encourage me to run from them."

What are your career goals or plans? How did this experience impact them?

Upon graduation I will be volunteering with AmeriCorps for one year while I apply for medical schools. My career goal all along has been to become a physician and focus on pediatrics. While this study abroad experience does not tie into the medical or scientific field at all, I appreciated the opportunity to learn something I knew very little about. I was pushed out of my element and comfort zone as I was discussing, writing about, and studying theatre. It was frustrating and humbling from time to time, but provided me with a very important lesson moving forward. I will always be exposed to topics in which I do not have expertise on, however this should not encourage me to run from them. Rather, I will learn to attack them and try to master them as best I can.

Would you recommend this experience to other liberal arts students?

Yes!