Life After Magellan

I think of my 2018 Magellan experience nearly every day. Because I was able to visit the places immortalized in my favorite novels and poetic works, I can bring a new relevance to both my research and to class discussion with my peers. My "Charles Duckens" rubber duck from the Charles Dickens museum is sitting on my desk as a frequent reminder of my time in England, and my kitschy four-leaf clover socks from Dublin remind me of all that I discovered in Ireland.

As I pursue graduate school, I refer back to my Magellan experiences as catalysts for research and further thought. I am pursuing an independent study about Woolf, Eliot, and gendered motifs in some of their seminal works, and this study was largely influenced by what I learned on my trip. Additionally, I have noticed further changes in myself, even more than after my first Magellan. I have grown more confident and secure in my abilities to navigate unfamiliar territories, both physically and intellectually.

My Magellan experience over the summer of 2018 has boosted my sense of independence as a young woman, and this has energized me--and will continue to energize me--in pursuing all of my personal and professional goals.