Category Archives: Class of 2008

November 2007 Reflection

As I walked back to my dorm room this evening from the 18th-century south campus of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, I reminded myself how much I love being in places where the history is literally within an arm’s … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

My time thus far in Ireland has been quite enjoyable. The last few months have been busy for me starting with my return home from Baghdad, Iraq in August. My wife, Carolyn, and I didn’t have much time to relax, … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

I came to Ireland in part hoping to expand STAND, a student movement dedicated to the abolition of human suffering in areas of conflict and gross human rights violations. When I boarded the plane, I had no idea if the … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

I can hardly believe that I’ve already spent over two months in Ireland. Having just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in May, I spent the past four years getting up at 6:30am and often not turning in until the … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

The few months I’ve lived here have been unforgettable. With experiences ranging from travels throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic to academic and volunteer work here in Belfast, it seems impossible to summarize life in one post. Instead, I thought … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

When I left Swaziland in July a good friend of mine said, “you’re going to blink and it’ll be October.” Here I find myself, in the middle of November, two weeks from the end of my first term at University … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

On the afternoon of September 15th, I met Bernadette and Jeff in the Chicago airport. None of us could contain our enthusiasm; in only seven hours, we would finally see the country we had been anxiously anticipating for the past … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

I told the US-Ireland Alliance that I wanted to go to Ireland to study politics. That was only half true. I admit now, scholarship safely in hand and passport stamped, that I actually came to study writing and to investigate … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

One of my favorite songs growing up was one about Belfast. It is called “The Black Velvet Band” and tells the story of a man who is smitten by a beautiful Irish woman and she ends up destroying his life. … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

“The Ireland I grew up in is no longer. The Ireland of migration is the future, my future, and my kids’ future.” As we went around my class explaining why we had chosen to pursue a degree in Contemporary Migration … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

This should serve as a warning: The Irish, apparently, don’t say “Have a nice day.” For me, “Have a nice day,” is a force of habit—it is a conversation ender, a goodbye, a polite reminder that though I just selfishly … Continue reading

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November 2007 Reflection

Within an hour of arriving in Dublin, I walked through the gated archway to Trinity’s campus and stood beneath the Campanile. It was a scene directly out of the tourist brochures – I was awed that this was to be … Continue reading

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