One Week in Williamsburg: Louise’s Experience with the First Abroad Programme
Louise is a first-year St Andrews student studying English. Here’s what Louise had to say about her time in America with the First Abroad Programme:
In February of this year, I had the unique opportunity to spend a week attending the College of William & Mary in Virginia, USA. From catching flights to walking around lakes, here’s the run-down of my first time in the States.
Why did you apply to this opportunity?
When I first heard about the programme, I assumed it wouldn’t apply to me – travel abroad requires money, experience, and confidence, right? These kinds of opportunities, especially for Scottish students, seem rare. Despite my presumptions, I was curious. Luckily for me, that’s really all you need for the First Abroad Programme – an open mindset. Before applying, I researched everything I could about the College of William and Mary (from campus history to Greek Life) and became excited by the idea of trying a student experience wildly different from my own. Finding out that I had been selected to go abroad meant I had an interesting phone call to make back home – I hadn’t even told anyone I had applied! The whole thing was surreal.
What did you find most challenging?
Honestly, the most terrifying aspect of the trip was the travel. As someone who had never been much further than family holidays to Spain, I felt an immense lack of experience in taking flights. The experience typically involves two students travelling together but due to some last-minute issues, I had to complete the trip alone. Please note – this is not usually the case! In my experience, however, having to travel solo was beyond intimidating. In the end, I found that catching a bunch of flights can be relatively straightforward if you don’t overthink it, and I only got lost in Newark Airport once (world record). Don’t even ask about the jet lag…
What was your first impression of William & Mary?
“Why is everything red brick?” is probably the first thing I asked the taxi driver taking me through Williamsburg. It’s a lot to take in at first, especially given the sheer vastness of the almost-identical Colonial buildings. The sense of living history in every house, church, and street is uncanny. Over the next few days, I spent my time touring the campus in depth, and then touring it again just for fun. Honestly, the places I found myself returning to the most were probably the outdoor study spots – you can rest and do some reading on a swinging chair surrounded by campus wildlife (peak W&M student life). From the Crim Dell bridge to the auditorium at Matoaka lake, I’ve truly seen every single nook of the college town. I cannot do the beauty of that campus justice over words – you’ll just have to go and see it for yourself.
What was your favourite class?
Out of all the classes I tagged along to, the one I’ll remember the most was held in the historic Wren building at the top of the Sunken Garden (ironically, the subject was History). I may be used to ‘old’ buildings back home, but I immediately understood the awe and historical gravity surrounding this particular place – the oldest academic building in America.
Speaking of history, during my time off I wandered into a strange part of town known as Colonial Williamsburg – a sort of Disneyland for American history, brimming with prop houses and historically-dressed actors. It may have been unusual, and slightly eerie, but I certainly learnt a lot about the entire historical timeline of Virginia (and America, for that matter) in just a week!
What did you think of the experience?
Though it may have been a short trip, the experience was profound in every meaning of the word. Having the opportunity to meet a range of different students every day and share aspects of wildly different student experiences was incredible – it’ll be hard to forget the people who made me feel so at home over there. Attending new classes, chatting to professors, getting lost around campus… it felt like the excitement of Freshers all over again. The best part was I always had someone to talk to or grab lunch with, everyone was super friendly and excited to show me around or take me to their favourite local coffee shop (my winner: Aromas Coffeehouse). I even tagged along to a few society events such as a Sorority chapter meeting and a student-led Justice project to get a feel of extra-curricular activities in the evenings. The student experience here comes in many forms, I consider myself lucky that I had the chance to try a bit of everything (even Greek Life).
In and out of classes, I had a few curious students ask about my home university and the ‘mythical’ land of Scotland. Then again, I met some people who were already very familiar with St Andrews as students of the Joint Degree Programme themselves. Hearing their perspectives on both university experiences allowed me to resonate with some of the similarities they pointed out, beyond just the oldness of buildings. I was beginning to think that these places and the people within them weren’t so different after all – a homely thought.
Advice to the next First Abroad Scholars
If you’re a first-year Scottish student thinking about applying for the First Abroad Programme, do it! If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s the importance of approaching everything with an open mind. Don’t overthink it. The idea of travelling to a different continent may be frightening (I would know), but it will be so worth it for the life experience. While you’re there, I advise you to interact with as many students as possible and look out for the friendly faces who’ll be more than happy to show you around. Believe me, they’ll love your accent.
TL;DR…
To round it up, I had an incredible whirlwind experience in Virginia, and if I were to give one piece of advice from my time, it’s that you’re only a student once; don’t let these opportunities pass you by. With plenty of scholarships and other support from the Global Office, you may be surprised by the options available to you. Without a doubt I’ll apply for a study abroad opportunity again in third year – this time hopefully for a bit longer than a week!
Thank you to Louise for sharing her experience. More information on the First Abroad Programme and how to apply can be found at First Abroad Programme | Current Students | University of St Andrews (st-andrews.ac.uk).