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Global Scholar

Grave Sites With John Tierny

This is a photo I took while we were volunteering decoding and recording grave information for genealogical purposes. This was from a cemetery in Galway.

Building Stone Walls by the Ring fort

Here is a photo of me after a day of volunteering building and repairing stone walls for local farmers. This stone wall happened to be on an area of land where an Iron Age ring fort still stood. You can see the ring fort structure in the background.

Trim Castle

This is a photo taken of me taking in the view from inside Trim Castle. Here we learned about the history of the castle and its inhabitants, as well as the history of the area.

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Trinity College Library

This is a photo of the old Trinity College Library, which houses over 200,000 of the oldest books and dates back to the early 1700's. We toured here and the rest of the historical university we were staying at on our second day in Dublin.

Galway

This photo was taken on our free day in Galway, where we wandered the streets, historical sites, shops, and diners. While here, we got the chance to experience the deeply rooted Irish culture.

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The Cliffs of Moher

This photo was taken on the first day that we spent in Ireland, when we stopped to visit the Cliffs of Moher on our way to Ballyvaughan. Here we learned about the geological timeline of Ireland.

Streets of Dublin

Photographed while on a "scavenger hunt" to visit various historical sites, I took this photo of one of the busiest streets in Dublin because I was in awe of the city itself, and the people within it. I wanted to capture a fleeting moment in time of all the people and the bustling energy on this street.

My Experience as a Global Scholar

Since I can remember, I have always had a strong desire to adventure and explore new things, go to new places, and experience all that the world has to offer. Growing up in a tiny town of 300 people, there was not a lot to "adventure". One of the first places I had ever gotten the chance to travel to was when I was ten years old and we visited my grandparents who live near Seattle. Finally getting to travel out of Wisconsin at a young age changed my perspective and goals in life. I distinctly remember the giddy feeling in my chest as we rode the Amtrak further and further away from Wisconsin. I remember going to each new city on that train ride there, and just being excited about what new things there would be to see and experience, even if it had just been the short 20 minute stop in Fargo, North Dakota on the second day of the journey. These were the moments that I am now realizing that I caught the infamous "travel bug". 

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Almost ten years later, as a freshman in college, I learned about a Quest III course that was being offered through UW Oshkosh in Ireland. This was a turning point in not only my college career, but also in my own personal life. After I had signed up for the course, I finally realized that I was going to fulfill my dreams of traveling abroad.

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 Though, as I have found, the "travel bug" never really goes away...

The Burren Landscape

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We then got the chance to stay at Trinity College in Dublin. While there, we got the chance to learn about the history of Ireland, as well as visit historical landmarks and museums. We also got the chance to meet with people who lived in Dublin, and talk to them about the changes happening within the city, and the effects that gentrification was having on the residents and businesses in certain areas of Dublin. For a homework assignment, we were instructed to write a poem about any of our experiences in Ireland, and poem was inspired by what we had learned and saw that day in the streets of Dublin. 

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Reflecting back on my time in Ireland, this study abroad trip changed me in unimaginable ways, and the impact that my global experience has had on me is incredible. The biggest change that this experience had on me was my new appreciation for culture, and my outlook on life. It also made me want to travel even more,and to every corner of the world. Prior to this study abroad trip, I had been a business major, not knowing what I really wanted to do post-graduation. After this trip, I immediately changed my major to International Studies because I wanted to learn more and more about the world, and the array of people and places within it. It also later inspired me to add the major Anthropology, which is literally the study of humans and cultures. Learning about the history and going on tours at historical sites also gave me a renewed interest in history. This has carried over into my degree since many of my classes have been about European history, and with my choice of European Studies as my emphasis for my International Studies major. 

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My Global Experience in Ireland

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My global scholar experience while getting my undergraduate degree has completely changed my experience as a student at UW Oshkosh. While in Ireland, I got the chance to learn about the deeply embedded history of the country, and I got the chance to really immerse myself in the experience, and see an array of cultures and people in a short few weeks. In rural Ireland, we stayed in a small town called Ballyvaughan.  While there, we explored the Burren, where we learned about sustainability of such fragile landscapes, and the effects of tourism, as well as what exactly ecotourism was. We also got the chance to spend time with farmers in the rural landscape of Ireland, and we worked with them and helped them rebuild stone walls. We also helped to record information from Irish tombstones for information on genealogy records.

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Being put into a situation in which nothing around you is familiar for me was terrifying and challenging, but also exhilarating, liberating, and one of the best experiences of my life thus far. Having this experience changed the way that I see the people and places around me. It also made me realize just how interconnected the world is. It also made me realize how interconnected our actions are with the environment around us, and how even something like touring an old burial site, or changing the landscape of a city can affect the environment and economy, and how interconnected those two things are. It also also changed the way that I see globalization, urbanization, and tourism, and how those three have such an impact on the social, economic, and environmental sustainability. My global experience as well as my Global Scholar courses I have taken have also given me a new appreciation towards other cultures and places that are unfamiliar to me. 

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I am forever grateful that I got the chance to study abroad, as well as getting to take the Global Scholar courses towards the Global Scholar Option because it allowed me to gain even more insight into the world around us from various disciplines, especially in an increasingly global society.

Trinity College Square

My Experience in Global Scholar Courses

Throughout my Global Scholar courses, I have learned an array of global topics, of which have included European geography, the Vikings, world development, and so much more. These courses have allowed me to both broaden and deepen my knowledge of many people, places, and ideas, and the complex nature of an increasingly connected world.

 

Here are a couple products of my course experiences:

Geography 331
Europe

Environmental Threats to Venice

This research paper is about what environmental impacts are contributing to the threat of Venice's disappearance and loss of historical sites, and what the impacts may be in the future.

History 309
The Viking Age

The Vikings in Ireland Poster

This research poster that I contributed to is about what impacts the Vikings had on the culture and development of Ireland. This allowed me to see the connection between the global history of the Vikings and the impacts on Ireland 

Moving Forward

Throughout my time at UW Oshkosh, I have had a long time to consider where I want to go and what I want to do post-graduation. As the time has continued on throughout my undergraduate career, this question has not gotten any easier. While at UW Oshkosh I have had the capability to truly explore my interests, and I have discovered that one of my biggest interests is culture and people and places around the world. This has come from both my experiences as a Global Scholar, and my majors in both International Studies and Anthropology.

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I intend for fulfill my future goals by first getting experience in Archaeology. I have accepted a position with the Wisconsin Historical Society as an Archaeology Technician for the summer field season. While there, I hope to gain more knowledge and experience of archaeology and past cultures. When I return home, my intention is to apply for graduate schools, or look for other job opportunities in either archaeology or in a field in which I will be able to work globally, or to apply my global or cultural knowledge, and where I can learn even more about both of those topics. 

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Whichever path I chose to go, I aspire to be able to not only travel in Europe but also to work in Europe, since I have such a passion for learning European history and the cultures within it. Regardless of where I end up, I will always have a passion for all things international, and will aspire to be able to apply that passion towards my future plans.

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