My transcript is a little more complicated than most, but I’m grateful for it.
Arriving at Queen’s as a transfer student in my second year, and having spent a semester abroad in Spain in my third year, my university records are jumbled, but that’s made my education all the more rounded. My education is a mosaic of different perspectives, and I’m a better student, and person, for it.
I began my university career in my hometown, at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington, where I was enrolled in a double degree, a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in anthropology and political science.
In my law classes, I learned about the principles of common law, but also the equally important Indigenous principles of Tikanga Māori—critical to evolving New Zealand law. With my professors employing the Socratic method, I learned to be alert and engaged.
Despite my fear, I thrived. It was thrilling to solve a problem on the spot, and it felt good being immersed in such a rigorous learning environment.
Arriving at Queen’s, I was ready to major in English since I couldn’t continue my law studies in the same way—thank you, LSAT—but studying here came with many shocks.
I realized how much I loved my degree. Studying under the spectacular English Department at Queen’s, with professors who really care, I finally set free all the nerdy tendencies about books and literature I’d spent keeping to myself.
At first, the scale of Queen’s was overwhelming. The age of the campus, the size of the student body, and the vast experience of my professors broadened my perspective on what university life could be like.
My friends from home joked that my life looked like an American college movie. People were engaged on campus, joining clubs, having house parties, and throwing footballs like I saw on screen. Life at Queen’s taught me university wasn’t just a place you go to and from each day, but an entire ecosystem I was an important part of.
My semester abroad at Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain pushed me out of my comfort zone in unexpected ways. Funded and run by Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church with a strong religious ethos, exchange was a new experience for me. Students were treated like adults and expected to act in turn. Wearing sweatpants to class would have you sent home.
Here, I was forced to learn Spanish, and fast. Daily Spanish lessons among my English courses were tough, but important. Through sheer practice and a whole lot of embarrassment, my abysmal Spanish saw massive improvements.
I took courses like “the business of wine and gastronomy in Northern Spain” which taught me experiencing culture is as integral to education as reading and writing. Class excursions to local restaurants, wineries and truffle-hunting dogs showed me a side to Pamplona that would’ve remained hidden had I let learning remain limited to within classroom walls.
Every experience, home and away, has added to the rich bank of learning that’s set me up for the rest of my life.
They have made my degree unique and broadened my perspective, preparing me for life in the “real world.” University is all about experiencing different perspectives, and it’s an opportunity I’ll always be grateful for.
Madison is a fourth-year English student and The Journal’s Senior Arts & Culture Editor.
Tags
Education, English major, perspective, study abroad, University
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