COLLBREF University of Westminster Scholarship 2013

The total of 5 weeks that I spent in London and other parts of England were nothing short of amazing.  Applying for this scholarship was one of the best choices I have made yet during my college career, which is where my first tip comes in: don’t miss out on the chance to apply for this scholarship! I nearly let this opportunity go by me like the many other scholarship opportunities available, but I couldn’t be happier that I took the time to look into it and apply.  The London Bridge Rotary Club does a remarkable job of taking care of those selected and they really set us up for an incredible time in London.  For that and the opportunity in general,  I owe a huge thanks and hope that many future students get the same great experience that my peers and I did.  You guys are truly offering a life changing experience!

Now as for London itself: although intimidating at first, it really has to be one of the greatest cities in the world.  From the entertainment, to the sights and unique places, to the transportation systems, I whole-heartedly agree that it's nearly impossible to become bored when in London.  Even by the end of the 4^th week there was still so much left to see and good places to go back to that I am already looking forward to my next journey.  Along with getting to know this amazing city, I also formed friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.  While London is a great place on its own, the people you will meet and become friends with along the way really make the trip an unforgettable experience.

One really great aspect of this scholarship is that the Rotary Club goes out of their way to get their students there a few days early, in our case 5 days, before our actual class began at the university.  Other students will mainly be arriving the Saturday or Sunday before classes start, while you will have already been in the city for a few days! While this seems like a great time to rest up and relax, definitely take advantage of the free time and do some sightseeing/getting to know the city.  The three of us that went through the scholarship this year were able to attend a “boat party” that was thrown by the university for students who had already been through a session of classes.  This was a great opportunity to meet students that had already been through the program that had good advice on what to see and where to go.  Another great thing that helped us meet our classmates was meeting up the night before classes started in the common room of the dormitory.  We used the Facebook group that was created by the university to let everyone know we would be hanging out and the people we met that night ended up turning into great friends that we did nearly everything with throughout the trip!  One thing to remember throughout the whole trip is to be open to talking with anyone and don’t be afraid to ask questions.  Contrary to common belief, most Londoners were very friendly to us and even revealed that they find the American accent and lifestyle as interesting as we find theirs!

As far as the class itself goes, I chose to take the “Londinium to the Blitz, a history of London through the museums” class.  I felt like this was a great choice as it got us out of the classroom and into London during nearly every class. Most days we would meet at a predetermined point by the professor, who would then perform his lecture as we walked around the historic sites and museums.  There were 3 hours allocated to every class, however we usually finished a little bit early and did not have class on Friday.  For homework we had 2 assignments that were both due on the last day; an essay and a PowerPoint presentation on a particular display in a museum that we thought we could improve upon to tell the story better.  Overall the class was interesting, the professor was very good and interested in what he was teaching, and it allowed us plenty of time to explore the city since there was not a large homework load.  I would definitely recommend this class!