Category Archives: University College Cork

More Than Meets The Eye

In a world dominated by the visual, beautiful sounds often get overlooked in favor of beautiful sights. For many people, “sightseeing” is synonymous with traveling—we go searching for interesting things to look at and rarely notice the unique noises around … Continue reading

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I’m not an alcoholic, MOM, I just have culture

As someone with the habit of testing the water with both feet, I’ve gained a certain level of comfort when outside of my element. Of course, I applied to the Mitchell Scholarship—I knew why I wanted to go to Ireland; … Continue reading

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Gestalt

There’s a compositional idea in some 20th– and 21st-century music known as gestalt, referring to the perception of a larger structure created by many unique components. In composition, it basically means the juxtaposition or superimposition of different ideas without connective … Continue reading

Posted in Irish Relatives, Music, Composition, Travels on the Island, University College Cork | Leave a comment

Normalized No More: Gaining Perspective from Irish Prisons

The first time I stepped foot on Rikers Island, New York’s main jail complex, was in 2012 for a college course. I was struck by the long bridge, big fences, high walls, and sharp barbed wire. The old, run-down buildings, … Continue reading

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Simplicity: Accepting Ireland’s Charge

Sea-soaked air settled into my lungs as I disembarked my bus to the unfamiliar din of chatter; I am definitely not in Kansas anymore. Groan-worthy clichés aside, Cork – Ireland’s second-largest city at 119,230 residents – is more densely inhabited … Continue reading

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Half-Irishmen, Stouts, and the Dilemma of Belonging

I occupy a strange identity space here in Ireland. I’ve never lived somewhere where the vast majority of people look very much like me, yet lead lives quite different than my own. I have red hair, a red-ish beard, and … Continue reading

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Homecoming

Dia daoibh! I have a deep affinity for all things Irish. This enduring fascination with Irish culture was a predetermined eventuality put in place long before I was born. Seven of my eight great-grandparents emigrated from the Emerald Isle to … Continue reading

Posted in class of 2016, Irish Relatives, University College Cork | Leave a comment

Thoughts from Milan

It feels so strange to be writing my last blog as a Mitchell scholar. I got an e-mail notification that I’d been added to the Mitchell alum google group the other day, and I have to admit that my first … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2014, University College Cork | Leave a comment

Rough Transitions

The form that sat lifeless on my computer screen still managed to mock me in some subtle way. It symbolized the inevitable passing of time and the arrival of new things. My year in Ireland is coming to a close … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2014, University College Cork, US Military | Leave a comment

Mitchells for Maths! A story of cross-class service

Last week, thanks to Midwest, Southeast, LMFM, and KFM, I got my 5 minutes of local Irish radio interview fame talking about the MATHletes Challenge 2014, my current project as Public Policy Advisor with SOSventures and the O’Sullivan Foundation. MATHletes … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2012, mathematics, Uncategorized, University College Cork | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Looking for Answers

Studying foreign policy and diplomacy as an American in a foreign country is complicated enough. Add in the minor detail that I am in the Navy and it becomes a whole new ballgame. For a lot of my classmates, I … Continue reading

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North

Three weeks ago we made our way up to Belfast for the spring Mitchell weekend and a chance to learn a bit about Northern Ireland.  I was looking forward to seeing part of the island I hadn’t gotten to yet, … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2014, Northern Ireland, University College Cork | Leave a comment