Derry, Northern Ireland Alumni Reflections

It is a wonderful historic city with great people and a wealth of history and information on conflict. It also has great travel connections.

Don't buy books--the ones you need will be in the library. Magee has a very self-directed learning style in which the professors expect you to take on much of the education yourself. The classes require a great deal of self-discipline.

Remember to budget your money well. And, if opportunities to travel around the rest of Europe arise, definitely take them. It doesn't cost as much as to travel across the ocean again, and the experiences are also very worthwhile.

These past few months I have been reflecting on my experiences last semester. As my time in Derry went on I took note of everything I was learning, but it wasn't until I returned home that I realized just how much I learned about myself and life in general. I feel like every aspect of my time abroad, whether I thought they were positive or negative at the time, has benefited me in one way or another. The people I met and places I visited nurtured different characteristics of mine, and I now feel I have a better understanding of who I am, what I want, and what I am capable of. I grew so much during that three month period and am still working to apply everything I learned to my life here in the States.