Harvey Scholar Travels - Katie in England
I have been a bit of a travel rat for a long time, so much so in fact that I studied abroad not once, but
twice, while still in high school. This time around, I was happy to be traveling solo for the first time
without a host family waiting for me on the other end. I learned a lot about independence from
weekends and sometimes weeks spent traveling solo.
I did not originally pick the University of Leeds. It was not my top destination or even within my top three. It was however the exchange university offered for my major and in the end it seemed like the easiest place to go to in terms of paperwork. While it was not my original choice, I really hit the jackpot. Not only was Leeds the right balance of school and social, I also had the most amazing flatmates, four wonderful international kids from Europe, Asia, and Canada, along with a building full of international students who wanted to experience the most in their short semesters abroad.
Leeds, located in West Yorkshire England, is the perfect location in terms of being central to other travel destinations. It's nestled exactly halfway between London and Edinburgh. It's less than one hour (and only a ten pound ticket) to Dublin. It's also situated about one and half hours from Manchester, Nottingham, and Liverpool. There's a ton of places to visit in Yorkshire as well from the old city of York to the hills of Malham Cove and the moor at Ilkley.
The University of Leeds was also completely different from the School of Mines. It had more than 30,000 students with all majors from Liberal Arts to Business to Language to Science/Engineering to one of the best medical schools in Enlgand. There were students studying every subject and for the first time in college, I was around people who didn't talk about calculus every day.
Leeds is loud, busy, and always moving much different from the quiet and often mundane evenings and weekends in Golden. To me studying abroad was a necessary part of college just like taking calculus. It was definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had. Being abroad and living with such a diverse group of students is a necessary experience to have compassion, empathy, and understanding of the diversity that makes humanity so special. No matter where you go in your life or what you do, the people you meet while traveling will always be some of your closest friends.
Thank you to the Harveys for such a wonderful experience!
I did not originally pick the University of Leeds. It was not my top destination or even within my top three. It was however the exchange university offered for my major and in the end it seemed like the easiest place to go to in terms of paperwork. While it was not my original choice, I really hit the jackpot. Not only was Leeds the right balance of school and social, I also had the most amazing flatmates, four wonderful international kids from Europe, Asia, and Canada, along with a building full of international students who wanted to experience the most in their short semesters abroad.
Leeds, located in West Yorkshire England, is the perfect location in terms of being central to other travel destinations. It's nestled exactly halfway between London and Edinburgh. It's less than one hour (and only a ten pound ticket) to Dublin. It's also situated about one and half hours from Manchester, Nottingham, and Liverpool. There's a ton of places to visit in Yorkshire as well from the old city of York to the hills of Malham Cove and the moor at Ilkley.
The University of Leeds was also completely different from the School of Mines. It had more than 30,000 students with all majors from Liberal Arts to Business to Language to Science/Engineering to one of the best medical schools in Enlgand. There were students studying every subject and for the first time in college, I was around people who didn't talk about calculus every day.
Leeds is loud, busy, and always moving much different from the quiet and often mundane evenings and weekends in Golden. To me studying abroad was a necessary part of college just like taking calculus. It was definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had. Being abroad and living with such a diverse group of students is a necessary experience to have compassion, empathy, and understanding of the diversity that makes humanity so special. No matter where you go in your life or what you do, the people you meet while traveling will always be some of your closest friends.
Thank you to the Harveys for such a wonderful experience!
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