My Intellectual Journey Through Interdisciplinary Studies

When I stop and think about my Intellectual Journey, I think that it truly started when I was a junior in high school. I lived in Rye on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and attended Portsmouth High School. We moved to Rye after I finished 8th grade in 2011. I went to a new school with people I have never met before, and as a 14 year old the adjustment was really difficult for me. I shut myself off from the world around me, and it really took about 2 years before I felt adjusted to this new school and new town. I didn't get involved with much, and I counted down the minutes until I could go home at the end of the day.

During my junior year of High School, the languages department sponsored a presentation from The Experiment in International Living (EIL), a non-profit organization that sends students from across the United States to over thirty countries around the world. After the presentation, I received a brochure of all the programs that EIL offered. Overwhelmed by the different options at first, in time I found myself flipping to the same pages; I was always opening the booklet to Argentina. For six months, I worked two jobs seven days a week and organized my own fundraisers to pay for the trip. With help from family and neighbors, the next summer I was on my way to Argentina. In that month, we participated in outdoor activities, a fourteen-day homestay, and forty hours of community service. This trip changed my life.

When I returned to school for my senior year, I completed two Service Learning internships. I worked with second grade students in my hometown of Rye, NH for a portion of the days, and on the other days I went to an elementary school in Portsmouth, NH where I worked with a second-grade ESL student. As a senior in high school, Service Learning was supposed to allow me to figure out what I may want to do in college. Wrong. I could not narrow it down to one thing for the life of me. All I knew for sure was that I had a passion for traveling and working with students. I would have been torn if I had to choose one or the other, so I chose both - International Education. With the Interdisciplinary Studies program here at Plymouth, I was able to do just that.

Over the past three years the main idea for my degree has stayed the same. Yet, overtime I was able to really narrow it down to exactly what I wanted to do. In addition to many changes in my contract, I have also changed my program title to Global Education and Policy. I took the Intro to Interdisciplinary Studies course the second semester of my freshman year. At that time, I was sure I wanted to do International Education but I don't think that I knew how I was going to accomplish it. In my last sentence of my original major proposal, I stated, "My overall goal for this program is to get a job working for a company or university, eventually coordinating study abroad and exchange programs, and hopefully being able travel and observe programs around the world to make improvements for future students and educators." This is pretty spot on to what I still want to do, but I have a more concise understanding of the world of International Education.

Beginning my undergraduate degree, I participated in a Freshman Abroad Program at Plymouth State, studying at the University of Limerick, in Ireland. When I came back to Plymouth, I was offered a part-time job in the Global Engagement Office, and it opened a world of opportunities for my professional growth. I have worked in this office for three years and held multiple positions, including a fellowship position as Global Student Coordinator. In this role, I oversee new student International Orientation, run multiple student programs including Global Ambassadors and Study Abroad Peer Advisors, and work on projects which have a key role in promoting global awareness at Plymouth State.

This job whole-heartedly shaped the rest of my degree plan. The summer before my junior year of college I attended the University Scholars Leadership Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand. This one week conference, hosted by Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Development Program, addressed globalization, social change, humanitarianism, and global issues through the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. I knew as soon as it was over that I wanted to switch into Political Science courses. I replaced the entirety of the TESOL certificate that was part of my degree with Political Science courses.

In June of 2018, I travelled to Philadelphia, PA to present a poster at the NAFSA 2018 National Conference. When I walked into the exhibit hall (that was probably the size of two football fields), I was immediately in awe. Our poster presentation titled, “International Orientation Success Through the Lens of Student Leadership,” demonstrated the importance of strong student leadership as an effective foundation of student support, advocacy, and integration for international student success. I have never felt more confident or proud in my entire undergraduate career than I did presenting this project.

I have always been a planner, but I have learned to plan route a, b, and even c, just in case something didn't work out. My job and campus involvement required me to stay on campus, so I never studied abroad as planned. Of the listed courses in my original IDS contract, I only took 7 of the planned ones, but I feel that now my contract (after many submitted contract changes and still one yet to submit) is better than what it was in the very beginning. If there is one thing I have learned from my four years being an interdisciplinary studies student is that it is important to set goals, but even more important to embrace change.

Looking back at my IDS journey, I feel that it is the experiences that I have had that shape me and my professionalism more than my degree. I wouldn't be where I am today without the amazing mentors and peers who have taught me and challenged me to dig even deeper into my passions. Although I have learned so much about International Education over the years, there is SO much more out there to learn. I have now applied for a graduate school program at Lesley University titled International Higher Education and Intercultural Relations, as well as a hand full of jobs and now two teaching programs in Spain. I can't wait to see what the world has in store for me in the months to come!