The walls of Oxford University’s libraries did not limit what Melissa Browne '12 learned while studying abroad this year in England.
A classics major from Drexel Hill, Penn., Browne articulates the most important lessons she learned while studying abroad in a prize-winning essay, "A Year at Oxford University: Studying in the City of Dreaming Spires."
Browne is a runner-up in the 2011 Student Travel Writing Contest sponsored by the web-based publisher Transitions Abroad, which hosts an annual student writing contest on educational travel abroad. The essay offers a detailed guide to life in Oxford while recounting Browne’s personal story along the way.
"I am not at all surprised that Melissa received recognition for her writing," says Brittain Smith, director of the Study Abroad Program at Holy Cross. "Melissa is a terrific student who takes full advantage of her opportunities both at Holy Cross and abroad. It is characteristic that Melissa found out about the essay contest on her own and that she used it as an opportunity to reflect on her study abroad experience. Putting yourself out there, pushing yourself to experience new and challenging cultures and environments is what study abroad is all about."
As one of the many international sites offered through Holy Cross’ yearlong study abroad program, Mansfield College at Oxford University gives students in their third year the opportunity to take two rigorous academic tutorials per term over three terms under the guidance of an Oxford advisor. Outside the classroom, students immerse themselves in the Oxford culture, whether it is joining one of the Oxford Blues' many sports teams or — as Browne writes — going to a pub to continue academic discussions "over a pint."
"I was very apprehensive about attending Oxford, but in the process of settling into a new city, academic system, and culture, I have learned that I can face a daunting challenge head-on,” she writes. “The opportunity to come to Oxford is not one which many people can say they have experienced, and in embracing that opportunity, I have found in myself a new sense of my own strengths, an acute awareness of my weaknesses, and an appreciation for what it took to step on the plane to come to Oxford in the first place."
Browne, a member of the College Honors Program, will return to Holy Cross this fall for her senior year. She will compose a thesis dealing with a 10th-century manuscript of Homer’s "The Iliad."
Read Browne’s essay.
Related Information:
- Read several Study Abroad blogs on me.holycross.edu
