The Story & The Blog
In the Fall of 2015, my first semester on campus, I applied for a Winter Study Abroad Program through the College of Education. It was a 3-week, immersive experience centered in the Netherlands with time also spent in Brussels, Paris, and Germany. The focus of the program was education -- mainly, the direct observation and interaction of Europoean education. My heart raced a little as I read about what my weeks would entail. I would be in and out of multiple schools, seeing education first hand and even helping to teach, while also sightseeing and breathing in Dutch culture.
I was accepted into the program. On December 30th, 2015, I boarded a plane and stepped into another world.
While abroad, we were expected to keep a blog about our daily experiences and reflections. I titled mine "Emmy Unabridged"; "Emmy", being my fondest nickname, and "Unabridged", meaning 'boundless, limitless, and not shortened', which would come to serve a symbol of my expanding education, multiculturalism, life knowledge, and adventure. I dove deeper into my blog than the assignment required; I also shared the blog with about 50 friends, family, and loved ones. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I've had dreams of travel since I can remember. I felt like my time abroad had to be shared.
The most intricate parts of my blog relate to education and pedagogy. I had the chance to travel to 8 different public and private schools, universities, academies, and learning facilities. At each place, I spoke with the headmaster, various faculty, and, most importantly, students. The one-on-one discussions I had with "gifted" high school students in Maastricht, NE were unprecedented. So was my experience in the 2nd grade classroom at a school designed for refugee and displaced children. While I knew I wanted to be an educator before my trip, my time abroad only increased my passion. I was able to share in so many special moments with students of all ages. Education is special to me. So, so special.
I chose to enhance my portfolio with my experiences abroad because I firmly believe that nearly all of my current scholarship, pedagogy, and attitudes about English, writing, academics, and Education have been molded by my time in Europe. I am not separate from my 3 weeks in another world; the experiences have trickled into my academics on the homefront, and, ultimately, have forged deep-seated roots in my core beliefs. My 2016 fall semester as a UTA is only the beginning of my adventures in Education -- it is the 'first of many', as I say. My future career will be built upon the foundations I established in the European classroom as well as my time in the ENGL101 classroom, undoubtedly.
Access my blog here.
I was accepted into the program. On December 30th, 2015, I boarded a plane and stepped into another world.
While abroad, we were expected to keep a blog about our daily experiences and reflections. I titled mine "Emmy Unabridged"; "Emmy", being my fondest nickname, and "Unabridged", meaning 'boundless, limitless, and not shortened', which would come to serve a symbol of my expanding education, multiculturalism, life knowledge, and adventure. I dove deeper into my blog than the assignment required; I also shared the blog with about 50 friends, family, and loved ones. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I've had dreams of travel since I can remember. I felt like my time abroad had to be shared.
The most intricate parts of my blog relate to education and pedagogy. I had the chance to travel to 8 different public and private schools, universities, academies, and learning facilities. At each place, I spoke with the headmaster, various faculty, and, most importantly, students. The one-on-one discussions I had with "gifted" high school students in Maastricht, NE were unprecedented. So was my experience in the 2nd grade classroom at a school designed for refugee and displaced children. While I knew I wanted to be an educator before my trip, my time abroad only increased my passion. I was able to share in so many special moments with students of all ages. Education is special to me. So, so special.
I chose to enhance my portfolio with my experiences abroad because I firmly believe that nearly all of my current scholarship, pedagogy, and attitudes about English, writing, academics, and Education have been molded by my time in Europe. I am not separate from my 3 weeks in another world; the experiences have trickled into my academics on the homefront, and, ultimately, have forged deep-seated roots in my core beliefs. My 2016 fall semester as a UTA is only the beginning of my adventures in Education -- it is the 'first of many', as I say. My future career will be built upon the foundations I established in the European classroom as well as my time in the ENGL101 classroom, undoubtedly.
Access my blog here.