For my signature STEP project, I chose to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. While there, I enrolled in a class called “Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism from a European Perspective”, and was able to receive credit towards my major, International Relations and Diplomacy, at OSU. Throughout the three-week trip, I spent time in Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway, and London, England engaging in interactive learning experiences and trying to comprehend a very intense, important topic from a completely different perspective than I would have received back in Ohio. This alone was a challenging and life-changing experience in and of itself.

The days leading up to my STEP project, I was unsure what to expect. I had never traveled alone before and felt insecure that this trip would be beneficial for me; I was never more wrong in my life. Reflecting back on those three weeks, I can easily say that my time in Denmark was the most transformative period of time I have gone through in my college career so far. Not only did this trip force me to become comfortable with being alone in new encounters, it made me step up as a young adult to arrive places on time, complete and turn in my assignments on time, and put in the work for an academic purpose while balancing that with the fun of traveling abroad. I assumed, going into this, that studying abroad would be a lot of classroom time and a huge focus on the homework assignments, but my assumptions were not exactly correct. What I found was that, in this unique opportunity, my studies weren’t limited to the classroom and homework assigned. Instead, we as a class took a holistic approach to the topic and encountered the material in all aspects of our day. We would discuss ways terrorism and its effects were seen in everyday life; we would visit museums, Jewish community centers, mosques, and journalism agencies to apply what we learned in our class times to things in the surrounding environment. We even visited sites and memorials of several terror attacks that have happened over the last two decades to put a location and emotion to the events we were studying. This class was the most interactive and immersive academic experience I have been able to participate in, and I believe that because of its immersive nature, I was able to take more away from it, including a more comprehensive understanding of the materials.

Not only did my assumptions about learning environments changed, but my assumptions about Europe, and Denmark in particular, changed as well. I have traveled to France and Spain before in high school, and based off of that trip, I predicted that the rest of Europe would not be exactly that same, but at least similar in culture niches, societal structure, and political climate. What I realized from this trip was that every country was inherently different in these three areas, despite being so intertwined in the European Union. Denmark had very unique differences that I noticed within only a week being there, such as: they don’t have air conditioning almost anywhere, but rather choose to use windows as their ventilation source to save energy, as a society norm, tipping in restaurants is not necessary and not even encouraged unless service is beyond amazing, biking is the primary mode of transportation and is as serious of a task as driving a car, and people assume others are inherently good as shown by their honor system in transportation situations regarding whether or not people own tickets to ride. Denmark was also extremely culturally diverse, which shocked me as well. I had assumed that most Scandinavian countries were quite homogenous in their ethnic make-up, but I was able to see representations of all different cultures while studying there in the local communities, populations, and restaurants. Another shock to me was the political climate I learned about and witnessed. From what I learned in my political science classes, I assumed that Scandinavian countries were quite liberal-leaning with a much smaller population of right-winged ideologies. What I learned though, was that all Scandinavian countries, and all European countries for that matter, have just as bipolar political climates as we do in the United States. Their elections are typically as heated as our own, and result in various political tensions that are present in everyday societal situations as well as national politics. I believe that these contradictions to my preconceptions were beneficial to me and my worldview, as they helped me become more informed about places and cultures that I previously wasn’t quite sure about and opened my eyes to patterns in the world that I hadn’t previously seen.

Another ‘transformation’ I feel that I had as a result of this trip was through my ideas of what my major entailed. I started studying International Relations and Diplomacy with the hopes of being able to focus on traveling the world and learning about different cultures and helping all those in need. I assumed that studying politics would include classes about how to fix current world issues and how to deal with other countries diplomatically and efficiently. What I wasn’t prepared for going into this major were the classes about terrorism and about differing ideologies and war and genocides and all of the atrocities in this world that can’t exactly be ‘solved’. If I were to sum up the class that I took, I would say that the take-away idea is: terrorism is a phenomenon that has always been present and will always be present, and the important thing to do is work on counter-terrorism actions and try to reduce the likelihood of attacks. Sadly, unlike what I had assumed as a freshman, this class taught me that there aren’t always going to be solutions in the political world, only temporary alleviation efforts.

Because the topic of the course I was enrolled in was so upsetting and so raw at times, the materials we learned about really stuck with me. One major event we discussed was the right-wing nationalist terror attack that occurred in Norway 2011. A right-winged citizen targeted the embassy in Oslo as well as the Liberal Youth Party (AUF) to purify Norway and discredit their liberal agendas. He set off a car bomb at the embassy killing 5, and then traveled to a small island, called Utøya and owned by the AUF for summer youth camps, to massacre 69 youth and adults. Part of our study tour included spending a night on this island (as it is still operational for AUF summer camps); these 24 hours alone were the most significant of the whole trip in my opinion. Being able to spend time together as a class and bond while making incredibly fun memories was an amazing aspect of that night. We got to play games together, walk the island, and even swim in the freezing Norwegian waters. The next morning though, we took a guided tour of the island, recounting the events of that day in 2011, visiting two memorials on the island. This morning was extremely difficult for a lot of us because it was so hard to conceive that such atrocities happened in this wonderful place where youth our age and younger can have joyful memories together. This was the part of our study tour that really made me realize that the field of politics isn’t always filled with hope; sometimes it focuses on the really tragic events of the world and how we need to work together to prevent these events in the future and alleviate any pain they cause.

Besides the actual tours we took, another aspect of my study abroad experience that really transformed me was the intense friendships I was able to make. When I first arrived in Copenhagen, I was unsure what my experience would be, and if I would make any friends or just find people to spend my free time with. Within three days of class, I had established a really deep friendship with two of my classmates. We went to lunch together after class and talked for hours and hours on end about our lives back home, our majors, and our life experiences. We all had so much in common and found it easy to get along and we did almost everything together after that, such as exploring museums and castles, getting food together, shopping for souvenirs, watching the World Cup games, exploring the night life in Denmark, sitting next to each other on class bus rides and plane rides to our study tour destinations, swimming in the local rivers, and working on classwork together. I was shocked but happy that I was able to make such deep connections with other students so quickly, and I truly believe that having these two people by my side throughout the trip made my experience that much more significant, transformative, and enjoyable. They helped me grow as a person, as a young adult, and even as a student.

Similar to the relationship I had with these two classmates, the bonding that occurred with my whole class of twenty-three students, and our professor, was unlike that of any college class I have taken so far at Ohio State. We only had three-hour classes each day, but most students would hang out with each other before or after classes. We also had a lot of time together (basically 24/7) on our study tours when we traveled to Oslo, Norway and London, England. It was really during those five days that we were able to bond as a class with each other and with our professor through situations like staying on the island of Utøya, getting lost in the tube system in London, and exploring the city streets together all day and night. It was really amazing being able to make connections with these people not only in an academic sense, but in a social and personal sense. I believe that this bond made the class all that more effective because we weren’t just strangers in a room studying a topic; we were all friends who were individually and holistically trying to wrap their minds around a really difficult and intense topic.

Going into this experience, I was not entirely sure what to expect. Like I stated earlier, after completing the short three weeks, I can easily say that this was the most transformative period of time throughout my entire college career so far. I had never anticipated that a trip which seemed almost vacation-like from the outset would be more life-changing than any class, final, or other college experience I have gone through. Studying abroad, though extremely fun, challenged me as an academic, as a future international politics participant, and as an individual.

As a college student, I have always pushed myself to do my best when it comes to my studies. Despite taking difficult classes each semester, I have been able to put my studies first and maintain a 4.0 GPA for both of my academic years so far; I wasn’t expecting this class to be much more of a challenge for me before going to Denmark. In reality, this class was the most difficult class I have been enrolled in yet. This is because we approached the class topic, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, from a very comprehensive approach. Most classes I have taken at OSU have been very narrow in approach, focusing on one major aspect of politics and sticking to that aspect throughout the semester. This class, though not necessarily “better” in its structure, took an approach towards this topic that included a plethora of disciplines, such as: philosophy, biology, psychology, political science, religion, and sociology. We as a class didn’t just look at ‘what’ terrorism was, we studied why it happens, what societal structures allow for terrorism to happen or make it more likely, what reasoning and thinking is being used by terrorists, what causes humans to commit such acts of terror, and how we as a universal nation should approach this problem. I wasn’t just learning facts about terrorism, I was analyzing every aspect of terrorism and terrorists and counter-actions and why certain things are or why they aren’t. It was easy to approach this topic in such a rounded way, but hard for me to make sense of all parts included. It was easy to think of why terrorism happens, but hard to think of ways you can stop an ideology and change people’s preconceptions. This was something I have yet to do in my classes back at OSU, and I believe that because of this study abroad class, I will start trying to think of my class topics in a more holistic way in order to fully conceptualize and comprehend the information I am learning.

My freshman year at OSU, I was filled with a lot of enthusiasm towards International Relations; I assumed I would be learning about all the amazing things I could do with the major, but in reality, there is a lot of hard topics disused in this field that don’t usually come to mind first when thinking about this major. Although I knew factors like corruption, genocide, war, and terrorism were inevitable in the field of politics, I don’t think I really internalized those thoughts and realizations until this trip. Specifically, I internalized these thoughts when we visited Utøya in Norway and witnessed firsthand the effects and pains of terrorism. Sitting on the island, I had to understand that life is filled with dualities that are highlighted exceptionally in political science. There will always be, as there has always been, the duality of light and dark in the world, contrasting each other and fighting for the main spotlight. With peace treaties, there is still war, with life-saving medicine, there is still genocide or mass murders, and with an ever-globalized and interconnected world, there is still terrorism. The “dark” aspects of the world are hard to avoid and even harder to deal with. This understanding really emphasized my already burning desire to work in this field, because it reminded me why I wanted to join it in the first place. I want to be able to do everything in my power as an international political actor to help bring peace into the world to counter the ever-present hate and evil. I truly believe that this trip and this class helped me come to terms with this idea and aided me in feeling confident in my academic choice to follow a life in political science and make a difference.

Academics aside, this trip was more than just a classroom away from home. Only being in the classroom for three hours a day left many, many hours on my own, in a completely different culture and country. As discussed earlier, I was able to meet amazing people and thus make amazing memories that I will cherish for a lifetime, but I was also to see an actual growth in myself in the mere three weeks I was there. Not only did I become more comfortable with interacting with strangers and a culture I was so ignorant to, but I became more confident in myself as a person, and as an adult. I became more trusting of myself to navigate the city, to fix any small problems I met, to get my work done on time, to balance my academic and social life while there, and to fully embrace the freedom I was given on this trip. I noticed this growth most in one of the simplest of things: biking. Biking is the main mode of transportation in Denmark and, after not riding a bike for six years, I decided to rent a bike and try it out again. I was terrified at first and sure I would crash and hurt myself, but after a few minutes of riding around, I felt at one with the flowing river of bikers passing along the streets. I felt completely safe and confident in my position of biking along the locals, and even though this is such a small accomplishment, it stands for the bigger picture of the entire trip: I was able to find my place in this ‘big sea of bikers’ and learn to fully trust myself and feel confident in who I am and what I am doing. This trip helped me feel like an actual adult and know that I am on the correct path for my future career. I felt moved by the class topic and knew that international politics was right for me, as well as a job that allows me to travel the world and interact with as many different culture and peoples as possible. It felt as if a life of traveling and experiencing different places, helping bring peace and understanding into this world through active participation in government and global activities, was the absolutely perfect choice for myself.

After those three short weeks in Denmark, Norway, and England, I am positive that I have been transformed and impacted in such a powerful and influential way. I know that the memories I made while there will always stay with me, and that I will always be able to look back at this time in my college career and see the growth that I experienced in so many different ways. If possible, I would one-hundred percent recommend studying abroad to each and every student, despite disciplines, because going to a different place, a different culture, and exposing yourself to new ways of learning and living is the best thing we can do for ourselves to make us more rounded, experienced people and academics.