Honors junior Leah Wingenroth spent this past Fall semester in London, England, studying at the University of Roehampton. Much like Appalachian State, Roehampton is a green campus whose mission is one of sustainability. During her semester abroad, Leah lived on campus in a dormitory along with British Roehampton students, and because of this, was fully integrated into campus life. The University of Roehampton is located in the southwest Wandsworth borough of London. The location provides students with a fully immersive campus experience away from the city center, yet the South Bank is a short bus or tube ride away.
Leah is a double major in English and gender, women's, and sexuality studies. She reports that while at Roehampton, “I was able to take some extremely interesting classes that were both unique and pertinent to my studies. I was studying the Romantic poets fifteen minutes down the road from where William Wordsworth wrote some of his lyrical ballads!” Study abroad experiences allow Honors students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they are gaining in their majors at Appalachian State Univesity to real-world, global contexts much beyond Boone or North Carolina.
Leah’s study abroad experience fulfills her international education requirement for graduating with Honors from Appalachian. She shares, “I couldn't be more grateful for the experience and I know I will remember and cherish my time abroad for the rest of my life.” In Honors at Appalachian we encourage students to go abroad as much, as often, and as long as they can. This proves to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Honors students, one that changes their perspective on the world and how they navigate in it. As Leah explains, “Living in London was an absolutely priceless and life changing experience and I couldn't recommend studying abroad more. I met some amazing people I know I will have in my life for a very long time and experienced the world in a new way that has changed who I am for the better. In fact, I'm going back to London in June to visit my old flatmates!”
Photos submitted by Leah Wingenroth show her (top) walking up to the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square and (above) at the National Gallery in front of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers."
Story by Garrett Alexandrea McDowell, Ph.D.
