This was the perfect course for me. I really wanted to go to Europe, specifically England and the fact that it had psychological elements blended into it was amazing. Things that I gained from this experience was an appreciation of where I come from, and an understanding of how different cultures do things differently. Before I would take for granted that I was a US citizen and sometimes wished I was born somewhere else. I still do that, but for silly reasons like having a certain accent and things like that. I knew beforehand that I would love London absolutely without a doubt, but I was pleasantly surprised with the other locations.
In Germany, I really enjoyed Nuremberg and Wurzburg a lot. I was not aware of all the castles in Germany. Austria, specifically Vienna, was absolutely breathtaking. We were only there for a day, and I enjoyed every second I was there. I really want to go back to every place. We did so much, but there is still so much to do.
The people played a major factor in me enjoying the course as much as I did. The professors Dr. Julie Madden and Dr. Alexandra Zelin were perfect. I cannot praise how great these two are. They made sure everything went as smoothly as possible and if something came up, they were cool, calm, and collected and resolved the issue. It was really cool seeing my professors outside of the classroom and as a “real person.” The students were amazing as well. I was the only male on the trip and the girls made me feel included from the jump. I really appreciated that because if that was not the case I would have basically been isolated and would not had nearly as much fun as I did. So, I am eternally grateful for them. I also made friends that I will have for the rest of my life which is awesome. My friend from the trip and I are even planning our own trip to Europe in the future. You would not be doing that with someone unless you got close to them.
I would highly recommend studying abroad to anyone with the means to do so. It is great to get out of the comfort zone of your country and experience a different one. Especially if it is a situation like mine where everything aligned perfectly between the school aspect and the abroad aspect. A thing I would suggest to those who are thinking about studying abroad in a country where they do not speak English is learn some of the language and if you are an overachiever learn the language completely. It will help reduce the overwhelming factor of being somewhere the people do not speak the same language you are accustomed to. It also makes things easier because everyone overseas does not speak English and they don’t have to. It is their country after all, and we are the foreigners.
Preston Moore (BS Psychology) spent Summer 2022 in England, Germany, and Austria as part of a faculty-led trip linked with a UTC course. Preston had the following to say about study abroad, “Studying abroad is a life changing experience that everyone should do if they have the means. I really enjoyed seeing a new perspective of life.”
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