Honors Abroad! The London Experience

During Spring Break, a group of Honors Students and staff members headed to London after spending a semester taking a 2 credit class called London: The City of Text. The course contained information regarding the rich history and culture of the city, as well as how to navigate the city. In addition, students were required to choose a topic and site to research, and they then gave a presentation while at the site. This allowed other students to experience the interests of both themselves and other students. Megan Bouchard ‘17 said the best part of her London experience was going to locations that she never would have gone to or known about on her own. Dr. Wians comments on the unique structure, stating, “the students in the course chose what they were going to study and then had to lead the rest of the class. They had to take us to the location and teach us what they had learned.” The course takes the majors and interests into account in order for students to optimize the course to their respective futures. Honors student Isabel Gramolini ‘17 discusses that while the trip was out of her comfort zone, “It was an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone who gets this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The participants were divided into five groups, with the following topics and locations:

GROUP ONE

Topic: London Executions

Locations: Tyburn (Marble Arch), Tower Hill, Tower of London

Students: Catherine Hill, Ana Rocker, Brittany Shambo

GROUP TWO

Topic: Ecology and History of the River Thames

Locations: River Thames, Westminster Pier, Victoria Embarkment Gardens

Students: Amy Byrnes, Joe Fisher, Molly Malinowski, Allison Lango

GROUP THREE

Topic: Class and Education

Locations: Ragged Museum, Mareker for St. Paul's School

Students: Megan Ackerman, Megan Bouchard, Isabel Gramolini

GROUP FOUR

Topic: The First Orphanage

Location: The Foundling Hospital Museum

Students: Jen Griffith, Briana Tierney

GROUP FIVE

Topic: An Economic History of Stratford

Locations: Olympic Village (Stratford), Arcelor Mittal Orbit Observation Tower

Students: Elizabeth Egan, Hannah Magerman

ALUMNI PARTICIPANT

Danielle Hart, a Merrimack College Honors Program Alum, gave a presentation at Westminster Abbey, a Royal Peculiar where the most recent royal wedding took place.