Going into it, I had no idea what to expect of the whole Gates Scholarship group. Normally I'm not big on random academic groups like this with no real shared interest, but throughout the 6 hour ride and the rest of the week I was really impressed with the group. Not just that a lot of them have interesting life stories and accomplishments, mostly just that they're a really fun group to hang out with and I enjoyed almost every conversation I had. I guess by virtue of the brutal interview process everybody who got the scholarship is fairly outgoing.
We spent 4 days in a hostel near the town of Ambleside, did orienteering, hiking, kayaking, a scavenger hunt, also visited a gingerbread factory and went for a run and a swim in the (freezing) Lake Windermere. It was a beautiful place, albeit with awful weather, rainy and cold most of the time there. Enjoyed getting to see more of England though, it's a beautiful country thanks to all the rain.
Still, the retreat was great, felt a lot better returning to campus having a group of contacts around campus. The college system can be sort of isolating here, as you mostly meet people in your own college, so meeting people around the university is a big plus of the Gates program. Still have a ton of organizing to do in the weekend ahead.
1 comment:
We belong to one of such sectors that provide student accommodations.
Huntingdon Street Nottingham
Post a Comment