ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

"It doesn't matter if you never accomplish your goals or accomplish any one of your dreams, if you are enjoying the journey " -Ryan Higa, American YouTuber. Welcome back or welcome to  Adventures at Franklin! This is my final post. It has been a wonderful experience, and for my last post, I want to provide some of my thoughts on graduating.  I am so happy for the experience of being a Franklin student for 3 and a half years. I have had many great adventures, and met so many wonderful people.  I will look back at the memories and people that I have met with great fondness over the coming years.  I am relieved to be done. I managed my time extremely well over my last semester, so I was never too stressed but at the same time, the closer and closer it got to the end of the semester, the more I wanted to be finished.  I am anxious for the future. I took some time to decide my next steps, and now it is time to actually put what I planned into action. It is frightening, it is

"We do not learn from experience we learn from reflecting on experience" -  John Dewey, American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer.   Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin ! Another semester has come and gone, which means another semester in review post. This semester was extremely unique. In the COVID-19 times, we have had to be flexible. Classes, activities, and events all needed to be a hybrid of virtual and in person, so I think it is only fitting that I split this post into these two sections.  In-person:  There were a lot of events just like from years past, but not as many in person. Here are some of the highlights of events that were able to occur in-person. There are a few FUS traditions which I was very happy to see remain.  Virtual:  The beginning of the semester, when many people were in quarantine, had many events online. The Franklin community really did their best and tried to put together as many events as possible in a virtual

"May your choices reflect your hopes , not your fears " -Nelson Mandela,  South African Anti-Apartheid Revolutionary, Political Leader and Philanthropist. Orientation 2017 (you can see me near the front!) Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin! This is my final week at Franklin University Switzerland :O and I wanted to share why I chose FUS, so that any prospective students who are thinking about attending FUS can get an idea about on whether or not to consider FUS. This post was inspired by a post of the same title , written by Jessica ( Adventures at Franklin creator).  Quite simply, I chose Franklin University Switzerland because it fit me and what I wanted from my university experience.  Firstly, I did not want to be a face in the crowd. Franklin's small student population makes it so every student can stand out if they want to and not just be a number. Professors will know who you are, staff will know who you are, and students will know who you are. I alw

"Every great achiever is inspired by a great mentor" - Lailah Gifty Akita, Ghanaian Author.  Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin ! This post is the last of a 3 part series where I reflect on my favorite memories at FUS. Feel free to check out part 1 on Orientation , and part 2 on Academic Travel , in case you want to read about my other favorite memories :) My time at FUS is almost over. I have 2 weeks left! One of the best things I have done at FUS is be an Academic Mentor (AM). In fact, the first time was so good, I had to do it twice! (No in reality I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do it twice 😂). AMs helps new students transition to university life. AMs are a part of the First Year Seminar program, which is designed to introduce new students to the demands of university academics. AMs also help with orientation as student leaders, and will always be happy to support new students. Here are some of my favorite memories from my experiences. Traini

" Switzerland  is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo style  of   architecture" - Ernest Hemingway,  American Journalist, Novelist, Short-story Writer, and Sportsman. Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin! This week, we have the fourth post in the "Swiss Cities in Depth" series! Check out the first post of Lugano , the second post on Bern , and the third post on Geneva . Geneva is the 2nd largest city in Switzerland (by population) so I think it is only fitting that I now cover the largest city in Switzerland.  I'll look briefly at Zurich's history and some sites to visit! Brief History:  Early Beginnings: The first mention I could find of Zurich as a city was from 15 B.C. The Romans established Zurich, which was then called Turicum. Turicum was a military encampment. Roman rule ended around 400 A.D. and this coincided with the arrival of a Germanic tribe,

Welcome to or welcome back to Adventures at Franklin ! Another Academic Travel period has come and gone, which means an  Adventures at Franklin tradition returns: Academic Travel Stories (Fall 2020 edition). Due to the second wave, many travels had to stay in Switzerland. Nonetheless, students were able to travel in some capacity! In this post, I interviewed several people from several Academic Travels to share their stories and adventures from their travels.  Interviewee #1: Lily Pifferini-Carter from Bend, Oregon. I'm an Environmental Science Major with an SJS minor graduating in Spring 2021.  What is your Academic Travel Course, and where did you go? My academic travel this semester was Alpine Ecosystems with Professor Hale and we went to Chamonix, France   Describe your course in 1 sentence. In this course we learn about, and often see with our own eyes, the ecosystem changes that are occurring in the European Alps and seek to understand what this magnificent landscape may hol

" Success is a journey , not a destination. The doing is more important than the outcome" -Arthur Ashe,  American professional tennis player    Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin!  Today I wanted to cover my process in writing. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Adventures at Franklin writer, and I hope this post can help anyone interested in writing a blog, and how to manage and enjoy the process. After, I present some opportunities to current FUS students to make an impact in the community.  My writing process for Adventures at Franklin is very similar to how I would write a paper. I have a few major steps and here they are.  1. Pick a topic.   There are a few ways I pick my topics. The way I decide on the majority of my post topics is through identifying knowledge gaps. When I became the writer for Adventures at Franklin,  I looked through all the previous blog posts, and I identified gaps that I could fill or posts that I could update. In other words, I

"I have learnt that I am incapable of packing the right amount of clothing, probably because I start 10 minutes before I'm supposed to leave, and that I truly hate airports" - Marcus Alexander Brigstocke, English Comedian, Actor, and Satirist. Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin ! Academic Travel is right around the corner folks! This will be my 7th and final travel, and I am very much looking forward to it. If you're interested in some of favorite memories from my previous 6 travels, then check out last week's post here!  Academic Travel is one of the most exciting and fun times at FUS, but before we are ready to leave, we must have everything we might need. Here is my list of essentials to bring on Academic Travel! 1. Clothes. Enough clothes to last however long your travel period is. The right type of clothing for the weather you will experience. I also like to bring a bag so I can put my clothes in if they get dirty.  2. Toiletries. Some places y

"I read, I travel, I become" -Derek Walcott,  Saint Lucian Poet and Playwright. Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin! This post is part 2 of a 3 part series where I reflect on some of my favorite memories of FUS. Part 1 was about orientation week, check it out here ! I am coming to the end of my time at FUS, and so I wanted to use this platform to reflect on my adventures at Franklin (pun most definitely intended). When I think about my favorite memories, my mind will always drift towards my Academic Travels (AT). I am about to embark on my last AT (shout out to VCA 120T heading to Munich!), and will definitely write about my last travel experience. However for now, here are some of my fondest memories from my 6 previous Academic Travels!  Fall 2017. CLCS 248T: European Food Systems (Bern, Strasbourg, Lausanne) Highlights include:  First Academic Travel. The first one always holds a special place in my heart. It was the first time that I was on a school trip that

" You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you " -  Chérie Carter-Scot author, American author, Master Certified Executive, Life Coach. Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin!  Today, I provide the ULTIMATE list of resources for prospective students. This post is inspired by a previous post on Adventures at Franklin, entitled " Top Five Resources for Prospective Students ", which came out in 2017. There are some things to update, but I also want to expand on that post and provide a list of resources in one space. I hope that this post will help prospective students to gain information about different resources at Franklin University Switzerland (FUS) without having to spend a lot of time going through the FUS website or other sites. Prospective students, I am basically doing the work of researching the things you need to know about FUS for you, so you're welcome 😂😂😂😂 As mentioned,  Top Five Resources for Prosp