This trip was life changing for me. It was the farthest I have ever been away from home and from Florida. I have never been to Europe before, let alone another continent. I heard about the trip when I first applied to SPC and it caught my interest. Something about going to Europe while talking a class sounded really interesting and fun. It was also the first time I took a class that would be related to travel.

            I learned a lot in the class in the lead up to the trip. The class was on Ethics, and I learned so much with the assignments and the zoom meetings. It helped me be prepared on the discussions and assignment around the trip. What I really liked was that the information from professor to student was relayed in a timely manner and had answers to questions quickly. The lead up emails had great information and prepared me in a way that I wouldn’t be if the emails weren’t sent out.

            My favorite part of the trip was Birmingham. Birmingham is a city in England, and it was my absolute favorite. Why it was my favorite was because of the food, shopping, and the botanical garden. The food there was tasty and flavorful. My roommate and I went to an Italian restaurant which was a highlight of the trip. I also went to many stores that sold snacks and food. Which brings me to the shopping. I found a store called TK MAXX which was a store that sold clothes and other items. I found brands and items that would’ve been expensive if I brought from the brand itself, but there, I was able to find clothes from great brands like Nike for cheap, relative to what Nike sells their clothes at. I also enjoyed the botanical garden there. It had so many interesting plants as well as pretty plants. I also got great pictures of myself so you could say that the aesthetic there was on point for my Instagram.

            Overall, I loved the trip and I’m so glad I went on it and experience England. I really enjoyed the trip and am thankful that SPC can provide these experiences through their study abroad program. I’m definitely going to do another study abroad while I’m at SPC.
 – Izela, SPC England Study Abroad Program, March 2023