ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

some snapshots of my mom + me on our latest adventures Please excuse the short hiatus in my blogging, I promise there was a reason. In fact, it just might be the best reason ever: my parents were in town!! We had an incredible ten days together with a weekend in Paris, France + a few days in Lugano + the next weekend in Cinque Terre, Italy. It was their first time visiting me at Franklin and also their first time in Switzerland/Italy!  I still am in awe of how spectacular our trip was! I only missed two days of class total (worth it!) and was left with memories that will truly last a lifetime! But never fear, I will save most of that sapppy stuff for my personal blog . So without further adieu let me introduce you to my mother! Meet Amy Oglesby. Mother extraordinaire. Just to give you a little background; I am the oldest of nine children (the youngest is seven years old), my family currently resides in Salt Lake City and my mom is too modest to admit it, but she is pre...

Anyone who has read more than one blog post should know by now that I can't say enough about the educational value inherent in traveling. I love travel! And I truly believe that the cross-cultural exchange, communication skills, plus the flexibility & adaptability it promotes is invaluable in today's world. But that being said, I also have a deep appreciation for the more "traditional" classroom style of education. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were both long time educators. She worked as a kindergarten teacher and he as a elementary/middle school principle for 30+ years. So the value of education was instilled in me at a young age and has only grown over the years. One of the major draws for me to attend Franklin was their academic program. I was excited by the thought of learning with professors/peers that hail from all across the world and the International Relations program seemed to be a perfect fit with my interests. Now that I am here, I ...

Reason #28 why I love Franklin: An orientation week that puts any other university's orientation to shame. Seriously! How many incoming college freshmen can say that as part of their orientation they went hiking in the Swiss mountainside, jumped into a glacial river, explored castles and ate copious amounts of delicious fondue/gelato/pizza? It just doesn't get much better than this. And I was lucky enough to attend orientation for the second time in 2 years! No, I didn't flunk my Freshmen year. I applied and was selected to be an Orientation Mentor aka OM . Basically the job of an OM is to help design and facilitate all things orientation! We are assigned small groups of about ten incoming students whom we get to know on a personal level and spend a lot of time with during orientation. Within these orientation groups we lead campus tours, have group discussions on safety, time management, academics, Swiss culture, travel etc. After orientation week we primarily are ...

How did summer go by so quickly?? Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the autumn time crisp + brightly colored leaves + sweater weather, but this summer went by in the blink of an eye! And here I am again in Lugano, Switzerland! Pinch me! Every time I return I am more and more grateful that I get to live here. It is such a beautiful place and such a unique university experience I mean look at this view ⇣ there are worse ways to conquer jet lag than on the lake in Lugano :) That being said, sorry for the silence around here! It hasn't been just beaches + sunshine. In fact, things have been pretty crazy as I've been working for Orientation for the incoming students. I had SO much fun (by far one of my best jobs!) but I also have been swamped these last weeks dealing with all the work that goes into planning/executing a successful Orientation. I promise to share more about my experience with Orientation later this week.. So for now here is a beautiful picture of C...