By Lyla Nelson
After 9 months of juggling school, sports, and other after-school activities, summer is a time to kick back and relax. However, for junior Caroline Liu, who describes herself as a “workaholic,” summer, while it is occasionally a time to relax, it is also an opportunity to build up her resume and stay busy.
This summer, Caroline studied abroad in Europe for 2 weeks. She chose this particular program because it allows students to select and experience different majors. “I got to see whether or not I liked the different majors that I was interested in,” she said, “and this will benefit me in the long run.”
The international flavor of the program became apparent when she first arrived in Oxford. There were students from all over the United States, Australia, and South Africa. While this was definitely a bit intimidating to her, she was excited over the fact that she was the only person in the program from the South.
At first, Caroline was a bit scared to speak up in front of people during discussions. As someone who usually has no trouble sharing her thoughts at a place like Lovett, this was a new experience for her.
She felt like everyone else was way smarter than her, however, when she did speak up for the first time, she became aware of the friendly environment. And as the trip went on, she ended up learning to have courage in her own convictions and to trust in herself.
A normal day in the program consisted of 2-3 hours of class, comprised of lectures or debates (Caroline’s personal favorite). Then they would get free range of the entire city of Cambridge. Caroline mentioned that she “especially loved exploring the city and experiencing its rich and old culture.”
One day, her class took a day trip to London where they got to go to the WWII bunker where Winston Churchill lived. Afterward, they got to take a break and go shopping in Trafalgar Square, where there were many shops and little boutiques. Because Caroline loves shopping as well as history, this was by far her favorite day of the experience.
Back in the States, one of the highlights of her summer was her annual trip to Long Island, New York. However, “if it weren’t for the not-so-great plumbing at Jesus College and showering in freezing cold water,” Oxford could have tied with Long Island for the highlight.
Now that summer is over she is feeling a little nervous about balancing everything: cheerleading, speech and debate, a new SGA leadership role, and more advanced classes.
But she knows she can draw on the lessons she learned over the two weeks in Oxford: it is okay to put yourself in an uncomfortable place in order to become more confident.
