Good evening from Birmingham! I am currently visiting a different city and would make a post about my adventures here this upcoming week. This week has been quiet, mainly focusing on studies, so not much happening until this weekend. So I figured I answer a question that a sophomore Luther students are asking me. I have received several emails from students who have an interest in studying abroad, so most common ones are – “Why Nottingham” or “How did you know it was the right program”.
I’ve been asked this questions many times lately. There are several study abroad options at Luther College, but this one appealed to me the most. Granted, if I could go on all of the study abroad programs, I completely would!
The Nottingham program fits best with my academic and personal goals. There are a variety of psychology courses available to me and since the higher educational system in the UK is more focused and narrowed, the courses are more specific. I am able to take my major courses at the University of Nottingham while taking house courses to satisfy Luther College required courses, like Paideia. I planned on and am currently taking a world history course that covers events after 1945, which will satisfy my historical credit. As part of the Nottingham program’s curriculum, traveling is a way of learning. One of the house courses is English History through Travel. We traveled around the UK for our first trip just a few short days after I arrive! Since the first trip, we did two shorter weekend trips.
Since Nottingham has roughly around 289,000 residents, there are more resources available to me. I found a possible place to volunteer and to gain experience at the Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth. The organization did not have any positions open, however, I am now volunteering with children who are on the spectrum. This only one example of the possibilities available to me in Nottingham. Our service project is a great way to integrate ourselves into the community.
Another reason why I chose this program was because it is a year long program. I wanted to have time to learn as much as I can about a different part of the world. I never took much time to learn about the history and the arts each country has to offer and now I want to make time for that. I realized during the two years at Luther that there is so much more than just focusing on my major. One of my many goals for this adventure is to be curious and learn about different areas of studies and to gain insight on the different traditions out there. Also, I have been putting some thought into what I believe in (religiously) and have been exploring this area as well. Since it is a year long program, that means there will be more time to travel to different countries in Europe. There is approximately two months of free travel (meaning, I get locked out of the flat and would have to travel). This will be a wonderful opportunity to engage myself into the history and traditions of multiple countries. Some of the top places I plan on visiting is Ireland, Germany, and Greece!
Nottingham Adventures 