In July of 2022, I had an incredible opportunity to spend one month studying at Oxford University, St. Peters College. It was an honor to stay at such a prestigious college and participate in their ancient traditions and customs. I was also humbled to be the first Longwood University student to represent Longwood in the Oxford Summer Academic Program.

During my time at Oxford, I took two courses. The first course was titled Conquest and Colonization in 1066. This course focused on the invasion of England by William the Conqueror and the Normans in 1066. My colleagues and I studied the invasion, the religion, and the culture of the Normans. As we studied the life of the Normans, we traveled across England to visit the ruins of their castles, abbeys, and cathedrals. The second course I took was titled Arthurian Legend, which focused on the legend of the mythical King Arthur. This course picked apart the legend of King Arthur and attempted to separate fact from truth. As with the Conquest and Colonization course, we traveled across England to visit sites that were a part of the legendary tales of King Arthur. One of the most incredible spots we visited was Winchester Great Hall, where we viewed the actual Roundtable that the Knights of the Roundtable are fabled to have sat at.

Another aspect of the study abroad included a four-day excursion to Wales. We departed St. Magdalens college and traveled across the entire length of Wales. We spent the week studying both the history of Wales and how climate change has affected the ecosystems in Wales. This trip included stops in Chepstow, Caldicot, Cardiff, Rhayader, Aberystwyth, and more. We were given the chance to walk among the ruins of long-abandoned Benedectine abbeys, the remains of Roman villages and fortifications, the coast, the mountains, and more. I believe the most incredible thing I learned while in Wales was that the mountains there are the same mountains as the ones in Virginia. The trip to wales was a major highlight of the whole experience.

This program aimed to give the traditional Oxford experience to approximately 20 students from the United States. We took part in many amazing and ancient traditions while we were there. We were given access to the full range of academic resources available to Oxford students, including free-range of the massive Bodleian Library complex. My colleagues and I lived in two dorms, the New Building and St. Swithens dorm. The New Building, which I was in, was home to J. R. R. Tolkein for a time while he was at St. Magdalens. Every Monday, we were treated to a High Table dinner. This began at 5:30 with a reception on the Lawn, which required one to have a Master’s degree to step on; we were invited on the lawns by our tutors. Following this, we attended a formal lecture in St. Magdelens lecture hall. We had leading experts in their fields discuss linguistics, history, the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, and more. After the lecture, we moved to the dining hall for networking and a formal three-course dinner. It was an incredible experience to take part in these ancient traditions which seemed to connect me to the thousands of students who had come before me.

While I was studying history at Oxford, I was lucky enough to attend ten classical music performances for the month I was there. I was also given an extremely rare opportunity to play on the Merton College pipe organ. My tutors were very kind and arranged this change for me. I was given the whole Oxford Cathedral for two and a half hours to practice and play. This is a video of myself performing the “Sinfonia Hymn. This was by far one of the best highlights of the whole experience.