A Semester of Adventure
Sometimes life in college can get busy.
I absolutely loved most of my classes, so I'd say that it was a pretty great semester! Learning Italian has proved much more difficult for me than I anticipated. So I didn't love that class, but it was good for me to take it all the same.
My other classes though were amazing! Moreso than any other semester I felt like I learned a ton about the world! And the beautiful thing was that it all seemed to connect. I have come to truly appreciate the value of a liberal arts educations as I learn more about how this world works. It has become increasingly apparent to me that no event happens in isolation. For example: The economic concepts I learned about in my political economy class were important for understanding the economic motivations of countries in my international organizations class, while my knowledge of psychology helped me understand how the psychology of a leader influences their decisions.
It was all truly fascinating. A LOT of work. But fascinating all the same.
Shoutout to all my professors for the best semester yet!
Also, when THIS is the view out of your classroom window, it certainly doesn't hurt..
Then, in March I went on Academic Travel to Botswana/South Africa/Zimbabwe. I seriously don't know how it will be possible to EVER top the adventures I had while traveling there. I wish I could go back right now. I blogged about it earlier in the semester (HERE), plus I made two videos, you can watch the first one HERE if you want, and I've embedded the second one below (click for HD).
Botswana 2014 from Jessica Oglesby on Vimeo.
Once I got back from Academic Travel, spring was in full bloom! The weather in Lugano was gorgeous. I loved taking study break walks along Lake Lugano, the smaller lake behind campus and enjoying the view from the monastery above my dorm!
Franklin had their annual Holi Color Festival to celebrate the arrival of spring, new friends, old friends and a whole lot of love! It is always a highlight of the spring semester for students. It seems like the calendar was jam packed each weekend in April with Jazz Night, Latin Night, and the Travies Award Ceremony.
So busy that you barely have time to blog! (ahem that's me.)
So, I apologize for the sporadic posting last semester. But, I was working on a super cool video project debuting this Fall (more info on that later). Not to mention that I was having the time of my life at Franklin!
If you're a prospective student reading this blog for the first time, welcome! If you're a new incoming student for the Fall 2014 semester and wondering what life at Franklin is like, I hope that this post can be a help. So without further adieu, here is a recap of what I did last semester!
It started out strong, after a refreshing winter break back home, I was ready for a new semester of classes, learning and exploring! I already told you a bit about winter at Franklin and my February travel to budapest, so let's start with the academic side of things.
Classes I took:
Italian
International Political Economy
International Organizations
Abnormal Psychology
Academic Travel: Botswana
Academic Travel: Botswana
I absolutely loved most of my classes, so I'd say that it was a pretty great semester! Learning Italian has proved much more difficult for me than I anticipated. So I didn't love that class, but it was good for me to take it all the same.
My other classes though were amazing! Moreso than any other semester I felt like I learned a ton about the world! And the beautiful thing was that it all seemed to connect. I have come to truly appreciate the value of a liberal arts educations as I learn more about how this world works. It has become increasingly apparent to me that no event happens in isolation. For example: The economic concepts I learned about in my political economy class were important for understanding the economic motivations of countries in my international organizations class, while my knowledge of psychology helped me understand how the psychology of a leader influences their decisions.
It was all truly fascinating. A LOT of work. But fascinating all the same.
Shoutout to all my professors for the best semester yet!
Also, when THIS is the view out of your classroom window, it certainly doesn't hurt..
Then, in March I went on Academic Travel to Botswana/South Africa/Zimbabwe. I seriously don't know how it will be possible to EVER top the adventures I had while traveling there. I wish I could go back right now. I blogged about it earlier in the semester (HERE), plus I made two videos, you can watch the first one HERE if you want, and I've embedded the second one below (click for HD).
Botswana 2014 from Jessica Oglesby on Vimeo.
Once I got back from Academic Travel, spring was in full bloom! The weather in Lugano was gorgeous. I loved taking study break walks along Lake Lugano, the smaller lake behind campus and enjoying the view from the monastery above my dorm!
Last year's spring was very wet and very stormy. This spring we had a ton of warm and sunny days but, we also had some seriously impressive thunder storms. (double rainbow all the way across the sky!)
And then from mid-April to the end of the semester in mid-May things were just INSANELY busy!
Franklin had their annual Holi Color Festival to celebrate the arrival of spring, new friends, old friends and a whole lot of love! It is always a highlight of the spring semester for students. It seems like the calendar was jam packed each weekend in April with Jazz Night, Latin Night, and the Travies Award Ceremony.
Plus, we had two huge events to celebrate changing the name from Franklin College Switzerland to Franklin University Switzerland. 2014 is now the Year of the University at Franklin, and we all couldn't be happier about it. It has been a long process but we now are fully accredited as an American AND Swiss university. Read more about it HERE.
The same day as Porte Aperte (our community celebration of Franklin University), Franklin hosted the first ever TED event in Lugano! We had an awesome panel of speakers and everyone who attended agreed that TEDxLugano was a massive success! Click HERE to watch the TED talks from that day.
The next weekend I traveled to Heidelberg, Germany to spend Easter there! Beautiful city and such a fun getaway.
The next weekend I traveled to Heidelberg, Germany to spend Easter there! Beautiful city and such a fun getaway.
After I got back from my weekend in Germany we only had about 2 weeks of school left, so I spent most of my time consumed in the mayhem of finals week/packing/paper writing/etc. It is always a crazy time, but I survived all of the tests, got packed, said all my goodbyes and I know I will always look back fondly on this Spring 2014 semester.
I am sure I will never have another one like it. But that's okay, because somehow Franklin keeps getting better as I get older. Every semester it surprises me with new adventures, new interesting classes, and new friends.
t-minus 37 days until I return to campus for the Fall 2014 semester.
Stay classy Lugano!
Great article, I am happy to visit this website :)
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