Student Bloggers
New Experiences
Date
June 24, 2019
Currently Studying at: Museum Studies Internship Program
Homeschool: Anderson University
I arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland feeling slightly jet-lagged, and very nervous. Being in another country, completely by myself, and responsible for my own decisions was very intimidating. After being here for a couple of weeks, those worries are irrelevant now, but at the time they were pressing at me. It was strange because it was not my first time out of the country before. I had been to France, Scotland the previous summer and Australia a couple of weeks prior to this time in Scotland. But, this was my first time being somewhere not knowing anyone, beforehand I had traveled with my university or with my dad, never by myself. I would learn in a few days after orientation, and after meeting everyone, that I would be fine.
Just a little backstory on myself, I am a born and raised Coloradan who traveled to the Midwest to get a degree in history at my parent’s alma mater, Anderson University. Anderson University is a Christian university, affiliated with the Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, and one of the course requirements is to take an Intro to the Bible course. I took it and realized I wanted to pair history with a double major in Bible/Religion. Through those classes, I grew in my faith and found that I loved learning how theology and religion interwove with each other. When I saw that there was a chance for me to travel to Scotland and do a museum internship, I jumped into it. The Reformation of the 1500s has always fascinated me, and Scotland got hit really hard by it due to the influence of John Knox. His ideas changed the landscape of the Scottish church and made it differ strongly from the rest of the continent of Europe. Then for me, museums have been a possible career trajectory for a while, and working in Scotland would be a great opportunity as a college student. I could learn whether museums were where I belonged and also spend some time getting to know who I am– which sounds cheesy, but something I really needed to do. So, for the next few weeks, I hope to expand more on my experiences here and how it will help me develop for my future.