Tag: travel

Conferences – Ashley Morales-Pacheco

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The Florida Political Science Association (FPSA) conference at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Ft. Myers was an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed being around other political scientists looking to explore different questions relevant to our world today. It was fascinating to see what undergraduate and graduate students are coming up with and what research topics are seeing more interest.

Being able to present my research regarding the effects of education on perceived government threats with my partner, Anne Kerda, was very exciting, especially because we received helpful feedback to aid us in moving forward with this line of research. The faculty in the political science department at UT were especially helpful in preparing us, allowing us to excel and stand out at the conference. The amount of preparation we had compared to other presenters truly puts into perspective how much our political science department pushes us for exceptional achievement.

Prior to the FPSA conference, I had attended other conferences, but this one was by far the best one! I felt right at home with “my people” [other political scientists] and I was thrilled to share the experience with UT colleagues. In the end, I was happy to hear that the next FPSA conference will be held at our very own campus, so I definitely look forward to participating in the conference again next year!

Oxford – Hayley Alexander

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My time studying at Oxford University has seemed to fly by! I only have a few more weeks until I return home to Florida and I’m just so happy with my experience here. It has been quite snowy in Oxford over the past month, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, as I am originally from New York and we definitely don’t get this weather in Florida!

Following the completion of my tutorials, I was able to do some traveling and the first place I went was Paris, France. I visited the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, amongst other places, and it was truly captivating.

I feel that I have learned more about myself and have developed more independence through this experience. Having to research a topic myself and glean the important information to put into an essay is quite different to the normal “lecture-style” of teaching back home. While different, it was really effective because I knew that I needed to completely understand the topic in order to write about it and discuss it with my tutor. Living and learning in a new country can be a scary thing, but once you embrace it and get used to the way of life, it becomes something so unique and incredible. I feel that this experience has helped me develop myself in ways that I would not have been able to back at home and it has helped me prepare for my future education at pharmacy school. I would highly recommend this experience, as it is a truly one-of-a-kind experience that many people do not have the opportunity to take advantage of.

Oxford – Nicole Rothmeyer

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Things are going great here in Oxford. It has been a little bittersweet now that the term has officially ended, but overall it has been an amazing term. I am still working on my research on British butterflies with one of my tutors. We are getting ready to analyze the data for the two species of butterflies that we decided to work with: The High Brown Fritillary and the Dark Green Fritillary. Sadly, my other tutorial, Marine Vertebrate Zoology, has ended; however, my last essay I had to write was my favorite as I got to write about my favorite animals: sharks and stingrays.

In addition to my studies, I was able to take a trip to Portsmouth recently and visit the British Naval Yards. It was absolutely incredible being able to see some of the old battleships and learn about the history of the British Navy.

In other news, my rowing team was able to qualify for the biggest race of the term: Torpids. This is a race that lasts 4 days where boats try to “bump” each other in order to earn a set of blades. This was the first year since 1999 where Christ Church Boat Club was able to have 3 women’s boats qualify and compete in Torpids; however, there was one force that held us back in Torpids: mother nature. During the week of Torpids, the “beast from the east” decided to visit the UK and with it came a lot of snow which held the city in a standstill. Shops were closed, tutorials were cancelled, and 2 of the 4 days of Torpids had to be cancelled completely. Regardless of the snow and the bitterly cold weather, it was an amazing rowing season and I am so lucky I was able to compete in a few races with my amazing team.

This entire experience has been incredible and it has taught me so much about independence, confidence, and perseverance. I have had to learn how to problem solve, but also how to ask for help when I need it. I have learned not just in an educational sense, but I have learned about myself and about life and that will stay with me forever.

Conferences – Kamakshi Dadhwal

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The SEPA 2018 annual conference was the first time I showcased my original research on a poster. There is a common understanding in the academic world that poster presentations are the most casual and easy part of any conference. This understanding did not stop me from being excited or anxious as I drove to Charleston. My poster was scheduled to be in the third and last poster session, which means I had plenty of time to not only fret over my knowledge of my own research but also attend the other poster sessions to get an idea of what was coming my way.

It took me all of five minutes, after I entered the first session, to realise that I was in the soup. Here was a room packed with people from various sub-fields of psychology, with different interests, and belonging to a wide variety of backgrounds. While it was overwhelming to be amidst the products of so many research initiatives, my anxiety transformed with each poster into an appreciation of the opportunity that I received through the support of the Honors Program at UT.

I learned a tremendous amount about the current research avenues of Psychology from just being in the presence of scholars and fellow college students who presented their research or led a discussion group at the conference. Moreover, I was able to visit some of the interesting historic and natural sites that Charleston has to offer. The Honors Program encouraged my endeavour to develop my own research and helped me achieve my goal to present at a conference, for which I am incredibly grateful.

Harvard National Model United Nations – Ioana Zanchi

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Harvard National Model United Nations two time participant, Ioana Zanchi, shares her thoughts on participating in this Honors opportunity:

I am so honored and humbled to have been able to be part of HNMUN for the second time. I really enjoyed being able to meet and exchange different world and regional views with people who come from China, The Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and various parts of the US. HNMUN is truly an experience of a lifetime where you can learn, engage, and compete with like-minded students who have a passion and fire for change. It was also extremely humbling to get to be one of the few delegations to win awards! I would definitely recommend HNMUN to anybody who would like the chance to learn diplomacy while meeting an array of new people.

Oxford – Hayley Alexander

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Oxford is such a historic and beautiful city to be able to live and study in. The tutorial system that Oxford University utilizes is considerably effective in helping me fully understand the topics I am studying. My molecular biology and pharmacology tutorials keep me very busy, but I am enjoying learning about these areas in a new way. I meet with my tutor either every week or every other week to go over the essay I had written for that session in depth, discuss any questions I may have, and then pick a topic for the next essay. Some of my favorite study spots include the Christ Church Library and the Radcliffe Camera. The Oxford Study Abroad Program has organized many trips and the ones I have attended so far include trips to London and Hampton Court Palace, which I have really enjoyed. So far, this experience has allowed me to gain independence, personally and educationally, while giving me the opportunity to meet a wide range of people that I would not have otherwise met. I am having such a positive experience here in Oxford and I am excited to discover even more about this wonderful city.