• Ari B. •
• University Study in the UK - East Anglia •
• English Major

Study Abroad in Your Major

Study Abroad Programs

More Profiles

“It’s a pretty phenomenal experience to have, to be in the same place where a lot of the literature you read was written.” —Ari B.

Ari recently graduated from the University of Minnesota with a major in English and a minor in political science. He spent one semester at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, where he took coursework for both his major and minor.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Ari chose the program at UEA because he didn’t want to study in a foreign language, and he wanted to be in a smaller setting. “I decided to go to Norwich rather than London, because…I felt like I wanted to get more of a genuine English experience, and live with real Brits, as opposed to the melting pot that you find in London.” Ari took two literature courses and a political science course at UEA. His impression of the British university system was that students were much more independent in completing class requirements. This “mature approach” to coursework rubbed off on Ari when he returned to the University of Minnesota. “That kind of pushed me for my last semester to be more ambitious in getting what I want to get done, done. And going beyond a little bit, and reading up where it’s not forced for me to read. I think it was just a good lesson in independent thought.”

His coursework gave him the opportunity to experience his major in a new way. “England seems like a far off place when you’re in America, but when you’re actually there and you see that it’s real, and that the history is actually there, it’s a pretty phenomenal experience to have, to be in the same place where a lot of the literature you read was written.” Ari would recommend that any English major take the time to visit England and gain firsthand experience with the material.

Ari is currently set to begin work with the Americorps program in the fall, where he will teach literacy courses. The experience at UEA hasn’t given him a clear direction for his career, but it has given him a useful set of skills to carry with him through his decision-making process. “You learn a lot about meeting new people, developing bonds and relationships with people of other backgrounds and experiences, and I think that a person can grow a lot by being in a completely unfamiliar surrounding,” he said. He became more comfortable and confident in new situations, and thought that “things can always kind of work out a little bit better than you expect them to…it’s not that big of a deal to be independent and by yourself.”

Last modified on November 21, 2008