Joseph T. Wixted ’16

When I was looking into higher education I knew that I needed to find somewhere that would be the perfect fit for me. Sure, I had some reach schools and some fall back schools as well, but Hood separated itself from the pack pretty quickly. Hood was the right size, because I was afraid that I would disappear into the back of a lecture hall and I would not excel academically. It wasn’t so far from home that I would be completely separated from friends and family. What really sold me on Hood was getting the sense that community was important here. When I toured campus as a prospective student and that idea was affirmed, I knew I wanted to go to Hood.

I thought studying abroad would give me a different perspective on so much of what I was studying at Hood and that I could also get some great life experiences too. I have always been a bit of an Anglophile, so the United Kingdom seemed like an obvious choice. That coupled with the fact that I could get the unique cultural experience without the language barrier sold me. I double majored in History and Political Science, and the program Syracuse offered in London gave me an opportunity to explore both of those from a different perspective.

Hood is a small community. Frederick feels more like a big town than a city. On the other hand, London is massive. The culture shock of living in such a big city, even before you take into consideration different customs and a different way of life, is a hard thing to cope with. That is easily the hardest thing to acclimate to. When you are handling that while separated from your friends and family it can feel unmanageable. My best advice is lean into it because it was the most rewarding part. Even though the culture shock is daunting, that is the whole reason for going!

Syracuse is an American university and their study abroad program is taught that way. While I was there the focus wasn’t so much on being academically rigorous as it was on using the unique surroundings to further your education. I went over early for Syracuse’s equivalent of a J-Term where we went to Dublin and Belfast to study Irish history and how that has created differences between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. One of my classes was entirely on foreign perspectives of the United States, because that wasn’t something we could get at home. It was a different way of learning, but it worked well.

Syracuse would try to encourage students to get out of London and see more of England. Most weekends a bus trip would be offered and you could see some amazing parts of the English countryside you otherwise wouldn’t. Some of my favorites were Stonehenge, Oxford University, and the city of Bath and its Roman baths. I got so used to it that on one weekend when they didn’t offer any, we made our own and decided to take the train to Dover and explore Dover Castle by ourselves and it is probably my favorite memory from my whole time over there!

My study abroad experience was one of my best decisions while at Hood. Yes, it will be scary. Yes, you will miss home. Yes, it will be worth it. The United Kingdom had so much history and culture around every corner. It was a great base to travel from and see things. If you do take the plunge and you do study abroad, even of you don’t choose the United Kingdom, make sure you spend as much time as you can immersed in the culture of wherever you end up.