• Home
• Partner
  Institutions
• Advising
  Info
• Course
  Equivalency
• Scholarships
• Web Links
• Work
  Abroad
• FAQ
• Career Education
• Contact

Marjory Rockwell

Student Profile

Back

Marjory Rockwell
mir5002@psu.edu

University of Bath, England, Spring 2007
Science, Biology and Spaninsh Minors

Coming to Penn State I knew that there was one thing that I absolutely had to do during my four years here and that was study abroad. So when the time came, I narrowed down my options to two countries - England for my Science background and Spain for my background in Spanish. But which to choose? I had been to Spain before and fell in love with Madrid , but I had dreamt of visiting England ever since I was a little girl. The fascination with the accent, tea time, and castles of England won me over, and before I knew it, I was on my way to the United Kingdom to study at the University of Bath, which is less than two hours outside of London .

Bath is one of the most picturesque cities in England with limestone townhouses and gardens everywhere and the famous Roman Baths. You can follow the River Avon to nearby towns or walk the Cotswold through the English countryside.

While studying at Bath , I took four classes totaling 16 Penn State credits, two of the classes fulfilling my 400-level Biology requirements - Plant Biotechnology and Introduction to Functional Genomics. The other two classes I took were British Studies classes, so I could learn about the culture and history of the country. Whenever I talk to anyone about studying abroad they always ask if the classes that I had to take were harder and the answer is no, they're just different! The classes exposed me to different teaching and learning methods that aren't customary here at Penn State , and I believe they made me a better student overall.

With a love for travel and opportunities galore, I made sure that while I was abroad I made the most of my free time. Getting to experience the different cultures and customs of various European countries was a dream come true for me. It opened my eyes to the world around me and showed me that there are other views and ways aside from what we are used to in the U.S.

The one thing that I would do if I could relive my study abroad experience again would be to go for a whole year, rather than just a semester. This would have let me experience the British culture and way of life that much more thoroughly.