Category Archives: Class Year

Starting Off with a Bang

After nearly ten months of anticipation and excitement, I was finally in my room at Trinity College Dublin. I immediately began to unpack, anxious to get settled and begin this new chapter of my life. In just a few minutes, … Continue reading

Posted in class of 2016, Trinity College Dublin | Leave a comment

Life in Ireland is “grand”

The alarm goes off at 5:30am, signaling the start to my day. As a Muslim, I pray 5 obligatory prayers and our earliest begins at dawn. This means I’m always awake by 5:30am everyday! I also try to spend parts … Continue reading

Posted in class of 2016, National University of Ireland Maynooth | Leave a comment

Mitchell Scholar Michael Solis reports on his experience with the Irish development agency, Trócaire, in Latin America and Sierra Leone

It feels like just a few days ago that I was furiously typing out my master’s thesis at NUI Galway, in-between runs along Galway’s promenade and late night hang-outs at the pub with Mitchells and Irish friends. That was back … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2010, Development, National University of Ireland Galway | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Queen's University Belfast | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Trinity College Dublin, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“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

Posted in Class of 2015, Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Dublin Institute of Technology, Technology | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015 | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015 | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Trinity College Dublin | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Northern Ireland, University of Ulster | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Class of 2015, Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast | Leave a comment