Category Archives: Class of 2015

What is a heroine?

In my course in Conflict Transformation & Social Justice at Queen’s University, Belfast, and in all of my travels around Europe, I am focusing, broadly, on women. I am consciously examining everything that I read and see through a gendered … Continue reading

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The Tale of Declan the Hero

For the Mitchell Scholarship Orientation in Dublin, Sasha and I took a bus from Belfast, where we both attend Queen’s University, Belfast. We arrived with a few hours to spare  before the reception at Google HQ. We got off the … Continue reading

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No Marathon, But Dissertation Research

Last I left you, dear reader, you were waiting anxiously to hear whether or not I survived the Belfast City Marathon. Did I finish? Can I still use both of my legs? Was I airlifted to the emergency room at … Continue reading

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A Tale of Two Prisons

I’ve been in South Africa for the past month doing fieldwork for my dissertation. My topic is looking at barriers to implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the community level. I’m working with colleagues … Continue reading

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“Our pioneers keep striking, inwards and downwards:” Poetry in Northern Ireland

The first thing that drew me to Belfast was poetry. After spending a year poring through the verse of Northern Ireland’s poets, I wanted too to live “in Belfast between the mountain and the gantries/To the hooting of lost sirens … Continue reading

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And go.

My next seven months will be all consuming.  It is time to start something. My course of study at DIT is in Creative Digital Media with a focus on social media app design.  In my opinion, the programme is excellent.  … Continue reading

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Outside the Dublin Bubble

After living in New York City, Dublin is a refreshing change of pace. To me, it has the amenities without the hassle—a walkable city centre, diverse restaurants, gritty cobblestoned streets contrasted with the high-rises of Silicon Docks, and an absurdly … Continue reading

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Glenstal Abbey

A few weeks ago, some of our Mitchell class visited Glenstal Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in County Limerick. I had been looking forward to this trip all year. One of my college professors had once told me a story about … Continue reading

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Dublin: What To Expect

When I left the United States on my way to Ireland in mid-September 2014, I had no idea what to expect. As an engineer I researched notable sources online and started to piece together just what it would be like … Continue reading

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All Politics is Local

In the United States we have a saying: ‘All politics is local.’ While this phrase is most famously associated with former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, it more readily applies to the context in Northern Ireland, where local is … Continue reading

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The Decision to Study Abroad

When first deciding to take a year to study abroad, instead of going straight into a PhD program, I was…nervous. There was endless worrying about whether I was making the “right” decision. How would the year affect my career plans? … Continue reading

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Reflecting on the year

It is hard to believe that my Mitchell year is already coming to a close. In less than a month I will leave Dublin, enjoy a brief respite in my childhood home in Cincinnati, OH—and then fly to Washington, D.C. … Continue reading

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