My beyond the classroom experience took place during the fall semester of 2017. I traveled to the University of Dundee in Dundee, Scotland. The area is characterized by luscious green forests, rough mountainous landscapes and beautiful ocean views. Dundee is an hour north from the capital, Edinburgh, and only twenty minutes from the prestigious campus, the University of St. Andrews. The region is a special place in Scotland, holding its own unique accent (the Dundonian accent), which is among the hardest for Americans to interpret. Though the accents are tough to understand sometimes, the people of Scotland are among the kindest and most caring in the world.

At my host university I took a variety of classes connecting to my major and GLI global theme. My major is Physical Geography with a minor in computer science and certificate in Geographical information systems (GIS) and the global theme I am apart of is Technology and Society. The global theme I chose focuses on the how organizations harness technology and data and acknowledges how important technology is as a tool to inform and teach people new ideas across the world. This theme relates to my beyond the classroom experience because while abroad I took classes that required research and data modeling to explain societal differences in health, behavior and economic inequalities. The professional and academic skills I acquired during my experience included many field surveys and expeditions to grow my skills in obtaining data. I also secured my knowledge in modeling and presenting data to others. On many occasions my experience required that I become a leader, my course mates and I often worked in teams to gather and present data, so it required someone to step up and take the lead. Becoming a leader was a new concept for me but was formed and structured due to the GLI Leadership retreat I attended before I left for my beyond the classroom experience.

This experience pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow professionally and academically. The curriculum was much different than in the United States so gaining an outside perspective on the way other cultures learn was incredibly enriching. Among the most enriching experiences I had was taking a field trip to the Scottish Highlands to obtain geomorphological data on a former glaciated landscape. There we gathered data from the landscape to build a map representing how the glacier might have looked 11,000 years ago. Through adventures like that field trip and spontaneous adventures in Scotland, this experience provided me with amazing adventures and lifelong friends. I will hold on to the memories forever. If you or anyone you know is ever thinking about visiting Scotland, do it. It will be the best decision you’ve ever made.