Senior from Alton, Illinois, USA
Major: Education
Minor: Sociology, Spanish
What intrigues/excites you about the Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina program?
- The deep, rich history and the geography, and how both have come together to make such a unique culture and result in so many stories.
Where do you most look forward to visiting during our program?
- I am most looking forward to spending time exploring the capital cities to study their layouts and architecture, as well as visit historical sites in Sarajevo.
What has been the most meaningful idea you’ve discovered or learned about the idea of shifting borders so far?
- How much people can value ethnicity and why it matters so much to them.
What do you hope to either learn yourself or share with others about world literature (based on what you know so far)?
- I’m really hoping to develop a stronger sense of empathy, understanding, and knowledge. I often see poor responses to crises being born out of ignorance and apathy, and diving deep into a region that has had such a big impact on St. Louis, European history, and world literature needs to be understood more.
For me, the SloCroBoH Abroad is an opportunity to strengthen and better define my identity as a global citizen, deepen my sense of compassion, and reflect and learn from new experiences.
Make up your own Q&A:
- I memorized all the countries in the world back in January of 2020 and the three that I got last were Montenegro, Kosovo, and Tonga, so I’m really excited to hopefully catch a glimpse of one of my former rivals. Also I’ve been studying city planning for a couple years now and I’m so excited to see cities in former state-planned economies, post-war rebuilding decisions, and Central European style architecture.