Even before arriving at 性视界传媒, Maggie Reier knew she wanted to study abroad for a听 semester. The helped her achieve that goal.听
A San Francisco Bay native, Reier wanted to be in the Washington, D.C., area for college鈥攍ocation was key for the current junior double majoring in and integrative studies with a concentration in social justice and human rights. Following graduation, she plans to attend law school and study human rights law.
鈥淚 knew I wanted to be somewhere that would provide a lot of job and internship opportunities for what I wanted to do, and Mason just fit the bill,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ot to mention, the government degree was unique to Mason, and really appealed to me.鈥听
As far as studying abroad, that notion was homegrown. Her father traveled extensively for work as a photographer and her mother and sister both studied abroad while in high school.听
鈥淚 grew up hearing about their experiences and I wanted to experience traveling abroad for myself,鈥 she said.听听
When the sent an email to students advertising a study abroad opportunity in Oxford, England, Reier immediately got in touch with her Schar School advisor to apply.
A semester at Mason is structured differently than a semester at the University of Oxford, according to Reier. Instead of the usual five classes a semester, she took two tutorials: The Politics of Human Rights and Comparative U.S. and U.K. Law.
鈥淚 am given readings and discussion questions, and sometimes an essay. Basically, I do the work over the course of the week, and when I meet with my tutor, we talk about what I read and/or wrote,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y tutors aren鈥檛 afraid to put me on the spot; that鈥檚 really helped to improve my ability to answer questions and recall the readings.鈥
Although the changes were an adjustment for Reier to make, she says that the differences improved her academic abilities.
鈥淢y writing has also gotten better in terms of speed and conciseness,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he learning system forces me to time manage more efficiently than I have before.鈥听
She credits her Schar School classes for helping her to prepare for the content covered at Oxford.
鈥淭he Nonprofit Sector in the U.S. class was heavily research-based, so that was helpful in preparation for the amount of research I have to do in my tutorials,鈥 she said. 鈥淐onstitutional Interpretation gave me a foundation for my comparative law tutorial because the subject matter requires you to be thoughtful and analytical when looking at cases and decisions.鈥
Outside the classroom, Reier liked to travel across Europe with her peers. She spent a lot of time traversing the United Kingdom, specifically the city of London.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much to do, and I鈥檝e barely scratched the surface,鈥 she said.
Reier also visited Rome and the Vatican. Her favorite city to explore is Budapest.
鈥淭he city is so cool, and I wish we could鈥檝e had more time there,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e went to St. Stephen鈥s Basilica and Heroes鈥 Square. We also saw Fisherman鈥檚 Bastion, a lookout point on the Buda side of the Danube. We spent a lot of time on the Pest side in the Jewish quarter and it was my personal favorite part of the trip.鈥
Reier encourages any student interested in studying abroad to take advantage of the opportunities that Mason offers and shares this advice: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to understand what your priorities are in terms of what you want to get out of your study-abroad experience. If travel is important, try to pick somewhere that鈥檚 accessible to other countries. Try to plan as much as possible鈥攄on鈥檛 be afraid to reach out to the GEO office to talk about their different programs. I found that meeting with someone to get more insight into the different programs was helpful in figuring out what program I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. Once you鈥檙e abroad, just make the most of it. Take advantage of what鈥檚 near you and try to get out of your comfort zone.鈥