Seth Jenkins stands in front of a railing at an aged Scotland castle. The castle is composed of cobblestones and mortar with randomly placed stones that range from dark gray to tan in color.

Study Abroad Student Report: Seth Jenkins

Posted on by bbattle4

I was a rising Junior in mechanical engineering going into the Engineering in London program.  In this program I took two classes that were already required for my major, Thermodynamics and Circuits.  Taking these classes got me ahead in my major and has taken a good deal of stress off the later semesters.  The study abroad experience taught me the subjects being studied, but it also taught me a lot about living in another country for an extended period.  I was away from home for a total of six weeks, and it gave me a lot more perspective on what moving abroad is like than would a one-week vacation.  As someone who has entertained the thought of living abroad for work, this was a really good experience and trial run. 

            Every weekday we had class from 9:00 to 3:00 with a one-hour break for lunch.  This amount of immersion in the content made sure that the information for each class was retained.  In addition to the intensive classroom instruction and problem solving, our class took many field trips that acted to supplement the material covered in lecture.  We went to multiple museums where we could see the types of engines being discussed in the lessons, and this helped us understand the larger concepts and how they work in the physical world.  Though we may have not been able to cover the entirety of the class content, the understanding is much deeper when augmented with real world applications.             

Outside of the classes my classmates and I had a lot of time to experience the city and enjoy our trip.  I went to an ancient castle, multiple museums, several street markets, and a few church services at the various churches in downtown London, many of which had been places of worship for over 600 years.  The time outside of class was a great time to meet and talk with my classmates and decompress from the courses.  When I learned how condensed the course was, I was worried that most of my time would be spent in the classroom or studying in order to pass, however this was not nearly the case.  In all, this was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Additional Photos

A view of the exterior of Westminster Abbey in London, England. The building is a tan-like gray that features aged ornamental decorations and bricks.
A view of the upper dome of St. Pauls Cathedral looking through an opening in between multiple high-rise buildings in a downtown scene.