Chris Wilson Scholarship Report

As the summer comes to an end it is time for me to look back at the most incredible experience of my life, I've just returned from two months in the United States after being awarded the Summer Scholarship by the Cornell Club of London. I must start by thanking the Club, especially Natalie Teich and Jonathan Silver; Liz Simpson at the Cornell Centre and the rest of the team at Cornell Abroad and the donors to the Scholarship, all of whom made the summer possible, a summer that I shall never forget.

Before I embarked on my adventure I was very fortunate to meet the then President, Jeffrey Lehman at a Cornell Club event, he even signed a book for me. Its hard for me to describe how excited I was about the scholarship, indeed I drove my flatmates so crazy that they did ban me from mentioning Cornell (the ban was unsuccessful I'm afraid). At the event I talked to people about Cornell and everyone said how much I would enjoy it; even when I was applying for my visa, the lady at the embassy rather than interviewing me, spent our five minutes telling me how wonderful Cornell was. I was told how beautiful the campus was ñ they weren't wrong! ñ but when the Shortline coach drove through the university up to North Campus, it certainly was a ìwowî moment when I saw the gorge for the first time and looked across to Beebe Lake, it would be a view that I would never, and could never tire of. It's difficult to depict my feeling that Sunday afternoon. Naturally I had had some nerves, yet in that moment I could already sense how much I was going to enjoy my six weeks at Cornell.

I was living in Clara Dickson Hall, the largest hall in the Ivy League. It truly is huge, which was wonderful as I met so many people, some like me just there for the Summer, some taking classes, some on the pre-Freshman programme and others doing research. We really were a diverse bunch which enriched my time at Cornell greatly. I took two classes: Gov 181 ìIntroduction to International Relationsî as International Relations is the subject I wish to continue my studies in at masters level and Com 236: ìGreek Mythologyî which I chose as something that I've always had a passing interest in but never had the opportunity to properly study. As a student of Government and Economics, I have a great deal of knowledge about voting systems and supply curves but the summer seemed the ideal opportunity to broaden my horizons. It's an opportunity too few British students get, and I am truly very lucky to have had the benefit of learning in a completely different environment.

The physical environment was different: rarely out of the 90s, the heat was unrelenting; the sunshine constantly beating down. A fellow passenger on the coach from New York to Ithaca struggled up the stairs carrying an air conditioning unit and at the time I thought that slightly excessive. However, within two hours of being at Cornell I realised that the lady had been perfectly correct and I was at the Robert Purcell Community Center renting myself a fan for the 6 weeks - I doubt I spent $20 more wisely the whole summer!

The academic environment was quite different, first of all I actually got to know my professors quite well, which was something of a novelty for an LSE student who often was one of 700 students sitting in a lecture. In the British system there is a clear distinction between lectures and seminars, whereas the word class in the American system seems to neatly reflect that such a distinction does not exist Stateside. No-one ever interrupts a lecture in the UK but rarely would I be more than 10 minutes away from some form of class interaction. This was especially true in International Relations with Professor Tim Byrnes, who was excellent in encouraging debate and discussion within his class. As the sole non-American/Canadian in the class I often found myself being asked to explain the policies and attitudes of many countries across the globe, which I enjoyed as a good challenge. One of the set readings for the class was the New York Times and it was fascinating to observe the world through a different prism and it was interesting to reflect on the different obsessions of Europe and the US. In the US the minutiae of every twist and turn in the North Korea nuclear discussions was reported whereas in Britain the actions of Robert Mugabe are followed with great assiduousness.

In my second week at Cornell, I woke up to a very strange day: I switched on the radio to hear that something had happened in London and went to the common room to see a familiar place in a most unwelcome state. I lived in my first year in Tavistock Square and there, many thousands of miles away, I stood looking at a picture of a bus exploded. That day I felt a very long way from home but I also felt great warmth from everybody. Countless people put their head round my door to see if I was ok, if I knew anyone and if they could do anything: on such a terrible day, if I couldn't have been safely at home, I don't think there is anywhere else I would have rather been.

Before travelling to the US I was rather sceptical as to the need for broadening the curriculum of British students' education especially post-16. I return with my opinions completely transformed. Depth of knowledge is certainly important but the breadth achieved in the US system is not only impressive but provides for a more rounded education and I found more intellectually stimulated students. I felt that somehow I had donned blinkers since I finished my GCSEs. Sciences? I don't do science; I know little about science and sadly probably have even less interest in it. At college, sciences were in one building whereas we arts students were safely in another - and the two never met. Yet the US system forces students to do both, I was after all in the College of Arts and Sciences. I vividly remember one boiling evening going for a walk with a sophomore whose major was English and as we walked past the Fuertes Observatory, our conversation turned to astronomy and the detail of her knowledge was phenomenal. She said until coming to Cornell she hadn't had much interest in it but after taking a couple of courses in astronomy she had become fascinated by the subject. There are few, if any, universities in Britain which would have enabled my friend to discover her interest in space.

The diversity in education may go too far on some occasions however. One night a group of us went bowling, now I must admit that I am terrible at bowling but I was shocked that you can take a class in 10pin bowling as part of your degree. Indeed the grading of the class depends not on whether you are any good at it or not nor even if you improve, rather all you need do is show-up and you get your credits. I might just recommend this to the LSE! Fear not if bowling is not your thing you can always do Swedish Massage - the mind boggles. In all seriousness though the requirement that the US system imposes on students to study beyond their comfort zone, forces students to learn new skills, engage with new ideas and leads to more interesting people. I was quite jealous.

I discussed some of my observations with Professor Byrnes over a very nice Thai lunch in Collegetown. He knew the British system quite well as he had studied for a year in the UK at Reading University. We agreed on the strengths of the US system but I did challenge him with regards the method of assessment in the US. I found it bizarre that exams are not marked anonymously; I found it even stranger that tests were conducted in a usual classroom situation, with people quite able to look at each other's answer books. The constant assessment is also quite different. Each summer my whole year's work at the LSE comes down to four 3-hour exams, whereas my 6 weeks at Cornell, consisted five tests and two papers. In effect it was a test or a paper every week. In some ways the US method assessment becomes less a test of memory and more a test of understanding but it was quite a culture shock. I think many of my friends from home would have been horrified just how hard students in the US work. With May and June being the only months that matter result-wise in the UK, many students are able to thoroughly enjoy their lives as students. By contrast, US students who may never be more than a fortnight away from another test, cannot miss one week's readings, cannot rely on the Easter holidays to catch-up and cram like mad when the sun begins to shine in May.

A university with no bars is quite something also and I was asked many times at Cornell about my thoughts on the US drinking laws. I do find it bizarre that the drinking age is 21 which leads to a ritual where the cops break one party up and everyone simply heads elsewhere in Collegetown where the partying continues just where it left off. One guy seemed obsessed with everything British whether it be British beers or British expressions ("do people really call each other chuck?" "well, yeah in some parts" "awesome") so over the 6 weeks I tried to teach him as many phrases as possible, certainly my vocabulary expanded, no longer do I describe things as "dodgy' no, from now on they are officially "sketchy'.

I made some wonderful friends at Dickson, and had some wonderful times. We went to a play at the Hangar Theatre, went fruit-picking, went swimming, I went to Boston with the ISSO. I will never forget the Boston Pops Concert next to the Charles River Basin and the fireworks were magnificent! I experienced sakki-bombing for the first time and I have become a big fan of "bubble tea". My recommendation is strawberry black with tapioca, delicious.

The six weeks went by far too quickly I met so many wonderful people; I had such an amazing time. I learnt a great deal not only about Greek Mythology and International Relations but about the bonds between the US and the UK and a lot about myself. I continued my American adventure with a backpacking trip that took me from Niagara Falls to Washington DC, Chicago to the Carolinas. I would never had this opportunity without the Cornell Club of London, I am so very very thankful.

There are faults with the US system, most notably the fees but there is so much right about it. There is nowhere quite like Cornell in the UK, it has such charm, such beauty and such energy. It's much more than just classes, it's the Harry Potter like library, the incredible Johnson Museum of Art, the Plantations, I could go on but I won't bore you. I hope that the scholarship continues for many years and many more people are able to enjoy the experience of a lifetime just like myself. I must thank Liz Simpson, Natalie Teich, Jonathan Silver, the sponsors and everyone else once again. I hope this short piece gives some insight into my summer "on the hill" and I hope it conveys just some of the delight it gave me.