Last week I had the pleasure of having breakfast at Gail’s bakery in Summertown in Oxford with one of our Gap students. Lucia is from upstate New York, and decided to enroll in an academic programme for her Gap year, as she wasn’t really sure what to study at university, and where to apply.
We talked about the classes she’s taking: politics, philosophy and economics, as well as a photography class. She really enjoys taking a politics class with students from other countries saying “it was really interesting and enlightening, hopefully for them, and for me, to go through the US presidential elections from that classroom, and kind of discuss with these students who didn’t know that much about it, and I didn’t know too much about their systems as they are from Germany and the Netherlands.”
Lucia was very complimentary about her experience applying for the programme through Campus Oxford saying that the process was seemless and she feels really supported by our team. “I got to reach out to a former student who had come to St. Clare’s and Ruth was the person who gave me her email, and made that happen.”
As expected, one of Lucia’s biggest concerns was making friends. She had many doubts: “what if I don’t make any friends? What if I have just made the worst decision ever and now I’m going to have to be here for three months..” She tells the story of arriving from Heathow airport and meeting her roommate for the first time, how they bonded over their shared love of New York, and goes on to say “She’s from Austria and we just immediately bonded … and I am with the greatest roommate in the world, honestly.”
Being in Oxford, I had to ask what her favourite thing is about our beautiful city: “it’s so walkable, there are so many parks and really good bike lanes, and especially in the first couple of weeks, I was walking everywhere, just exploring the area, and I found the Oxford canal, which is the most beautiful path, where there’s bikers and runners, and you can walk and see all the houseboats which are so lovely, and it’s in this hidden away area which is so peaceful, and there’s ducks”. She also commented how much she enjoyed the museums and cafes in the city centre where she often goes with her friends.
It was a really lovely morning in Summertown, the sun was shining, we were able to sit outside, which is pretty unusual for November, although having said that, we have woken up to snow in Oxford today!
We wish Lucia a fantastic onward journey back to New York, and a successful trip to New Zealand. Enjoy the rest of your gap year!
