Name: Amanda England
Type of Project: Education Abroad
- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two
or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project
entailed.- I completed the Scientific Roots in Europe for my STEP signature project. This education abroad program took place in London and Paris where we discussed various paradigm shifts and visited different museums that recognize innovations in various fields of science with a focus in Biology.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your
view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP
Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or
transformation that took place.- I had been abroad to Costa Rica right before coming to OSU and had an idea of how different life can be abroad. However, I was always in areas that were heavily tourist driven. So, when I was getting ready to head to London and Paris, I was expecting to not have a true understanding of how life actually was in those countries. After spending a few hours in London, I had already seen how different and also similar it is to life in America. I started to notice how much more science and knowledge in general is appreciated abroad compared to where I grew up in the States. It made me feel really gracious that I had the opportunity to get to go on this trip and the true impact that the scientists in those countries have had on the world.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP
Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in
#2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing
the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project
that led to this change/transformation.- When we were abroad, we had visited multiple museums and historical sites. The focus of the program that I was a part of was on scientific achievements that lead to paradigm shifts. One of the first places we visited was Charles Darwin’s house and hometown, Downe. I really enjoyed this experience because it was nice to see the country side of England and how influential Darwin was in this little town.
- The Darwin house was still open and running as a museum but I had already noticed that the museum experience was completely different in London than in the States. The museum was self guided and much like a walk through to were visitors could spend the amount of time they needed to spend with each exhibit. Also, there were multiple museums who offered audio guides at little to no cost. It really surprised me because the museums in America are usually guided or more focused on keeping guests interested than the actual information itself. I also found it interesting how much information was included in the exhibits. I could easily spend an hour in each of the ten rooms just looking at the exhibit and read everything they had available.
- I started to notice just how many more museums an history there was in both cities. Paris, although more art driven, had a museum on nearly every corner. Being close to Notre Dame, we could easily walk to the Cathedral and get onto the metro to go just about anywhere. I was able to get to experience the Louvre, which was one of my favorite museums to see in Paris. The size of the museum itself was just absolutely insane. It took me about an hour just to find the Mona Lisa. However, once I got back it hit me just how much history and appreciation I had to get to be there and see the art most just get to read and see pictures.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your
life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or
development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or
professional goals and future plans.- This change was significant for me because it made me appreciate the experiences and opportunities I have had. I have always believed that education is very important but being able to tie that education to the real world was a step I had never really taken. It’s like reading a fiction book and then realizing that it was actually nonfiction. Just being in the city and getting to see the places where history was made that completely changed the way a certain field is today will stay with me for life and influence how I look at my experiences in the future.
I have also published a travel journal with pictures for this Study abroad which is linked below: