ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

"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 pos...

"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...

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 la...

"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 ...

" Adversity builds character " -LeBron James, American Basketball Player. Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin . Here is part 2 of my spring 2020 semester recap. Check out part 1 here:  http://adventuresatfranklin.fus.edu/2020/05/spring-2020-in-review-part-1-business.html I concluded part 1 with the first inklings that life may be impacted from COVID-19, and as we know now, life has been heavily impacted by the virus. At Franklin, so many things changed. The "travel" component of Academic Travel classes was cancelled, and instead special sessions on campus/around Switzerland would take place during the weeks of Academic Travel. These sessions were then cancelled as Switzerland announced that all public and private events were cancelled until April. In-person classes were suspended until further notice (which ended up being the rest of the semester). Many traditional Franklin events i.e. Holi, Senior Auction, Garden Party, Arab Night, Latin Amer...

"Self- reflection is the school of wisdom " -Baltasar Gracian, Spanish Prose Writer and Philosopher .  Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin! Another semester has come and gone, and I think it is very important to reflect on the happenings and some of the great events that transpired this spring. This semester has been the most different semester from my 6 semesters. FUS, like most places in the world during 2020, has been divided into 2 parts: life pre-pandemic and life during the pandemic. Therefore, I find it only fitting to write and split my review of Spring 2020 the same way. Here is my review of the first part of the semester at FUS. Weeks 1 and 2: January 20 - February 2 In all honesty, there was nothing too special about the week; just the standard start to the semester, everyone getting use to their classes and new semester schedules, meaning not too many things going on. The second week was more eventful, with a few events happening such as: ...