HONS 490 was a course that substituted my study abroad experience. One of the aspects of the Honors College at Longwood that encouraged me to go was the study abroad requirement. With study abroad, you can experience new places and cultures, make friends from around the world, and gain a global perspective. I have never traveled outside of the United States before, but always dreamed of doing so. Unfortunately with the restrictions and uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, my chance to travel was taken from me. I, however, did not miss out on the true values of a study abroad experience. This course was a collaboration with students at Windesheim University in Zwolle, Netherlands. Our goal of the semester was to create a social innovation for climate change that would target problems in both cultures. Before this class, I knew nothing about the efforts to slow down climate change.  I have become more observant on the ways in which individuals, businesses, companies, countries, etc. are taking climate change initiatives and ways in which they are not. If it wasn’t for this class, I do not know when I would have discovered COP26 or the serious climate issues we face. After talking with my group members about climate change issues in both the U.S. and the Netherlands, we discovered that in both countries, there is a lack of education and knowledge on the climate. This discovery emphasized, to me, that it is not that we, as humans, find difficulty in changing lifestyles for the climate but it is simply that we are unaware of the impact our choices have. If more people started having conversations about climate with people all across the world, I think it would be easier to 1) see climate change as a real threatening issue and 2) unite to take initiatives that slow down the damages of climate change. It is similar to the bystander effect in the way that every person or group of people thinks that the other person or group of people will solve the problem. It is not like this. There needs to be more conversation and awareness for climate change in order to slow down its effects in the world. 

Beyond the knowledge I gained about climate change, I gained professional skills such as communication, time-management, organizational, and technological skills. I also had the chance to form relationships with other individuals from a different country which allowed me to better my knowledge of the Dutch culture. So while I did not get the chance to travel to the Netherlands and see the country in all its glory, I gained the same professional skills and the same friendships I would have if I did. Traveling to the Netherlands is definitely something that has now been added to my bucket list. 

Here is the podcast my group members made about our social innovation.

(Spring 2022)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13rTiF0MBwO9ZtXAQK5Lppuyzs1vRkJ3h/view?usp=sharing

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