Self Assessment
Rome is an absolutely amazing city that I completely fell in love with, and I am so grateful to Washington and Jefferson College for giving me such an amazing experience. Before actually arriving in Rome, I had planned on visiting numerous sites, and studying all of them would have easily taken me three weeks to complete. However, one of the really unique aspects of Rome is that in the process of walking to the sites I was planning on studying, I would always stumble across more ruins, churches, or other historical sites I had not previously heard of, but which fit directly into my project. During the planning phase of my project, I had initially considered traveling to multiple cities in Italy to study religious art and architecture in context, but I am very glad I decided to stay in one city, because doing so allowed to to take the time to explore and study these new sites. However, despite only being in one city, there were seemingly endless sites to study in Rome, so three weeks was only enough time to scratch the surface of all there is to see in Rome.
I am graduating a semester early, so for the past few semesters I have been focusing solely on psychology and economics classes in order to complete my economics major and psychology minor. This project, however, was a great way to pursue an academic area of interest not reflected in my programs of study. For my project, I was studying how religious places of worship grew out of the context in which they were built. My project had three main phases: exclusively pagan religious architecture, pagan religious architecture with later Christian significance, and Renaissance religious architecture. In summary, places of worship in Ancient Rome were meant to reflect the power and everlasting nature of Rome, as seen by sites such as the Ara Pacis and the Pantheon. Places of worship were also meant to reflect the tolerant nature of Rome towards all pagan gods, as seen by the variety of temples and monuments in the Roman Forum and around Rome, and especially seen by the Pantheon. The popes' conversion of ancient Roman places of worship to sacred Christian sites shows their desire to prevent the destruction of these ancient Roman monuments as well as their belief that they were the heirs to the Roman Empire. Similarly, Renaissance Era places of worship reflect the popes' desire to surpass the accomplishments of ancient Rome, as well as those of previous popes.
Beyond the scholarly information I learned, the personal growth that occurred as a result of this experience is invaluable. If someone had told me freshmen year that I would plan a trip and travel to Rome completely on my own, I would have thought that person were insane. While I am very "book-smart," the trade-off is that I have been lacking in "street-smarts." My friends and family from home were all shocked to learn I would be having this experience, because they firmly believed that I would not be able to handle it. Thankfully, they were wrong, and I completed this Magellan with some minor hiccups, but no major issues. However, freshman me might not have been able to complete this project. I realize now that my previous W&J travel experience (travel courses and a domestic Magellan) were what allowed me to have the background I needed to expand upon that knowledge to successfully travel to Rome by myself. I am once again very grateful to W&J for provided me with the opportunities I needed to grow enough to complete my goals.
My previous Magellan was a very person-centered project, where I really focused on getting to know the people of New Orleans. For this project, however, I was able to spend three weeks getting to know myself. Spending three weeks in Rome studying the secular nature of religion illuminated aspects of Catholicism not usually taught in religious education, and thus this Magellan helped me to better understand my own faith.
Spending three weeks by myself in a non-English speaking foreign country gave me substantially more confidence in my ability to navigate the world. Before, navigating new parts of Pittsburgh or unfamiliar public transportation routes terrified me, but now I proceed with the knowledge that I have the skills needed to successfully complete any goal. No matter what new challenges life after graduation brings me, I know that this Magellan and W&J have given me the skills and abilities needed to overcome them. I am so grateful to W&J for enabling me to have this amazing experience, and I look forward to sharing my experience with underclassmen in the fall and encouraging them to take advantage of the Magellan Program.
I am graduating a semester early, so for the past few semesters I have been focusing solely on psychology and economics classes in order to complete my economics major and psychology minor. This project, however, was a great way to pursue an academic area of interest not reflected in my programs of study. For my project, I was studying how religious places of worship grew out of the context in which they were built. My project had three main phases: exclusively pagan religious architecture, pagan religious architecture with later Christian significance, and Renaissance religious architecture. In summary, places of worship in Ancient Rome were meant to reflect the power and everlasting nature of Rome, as seen by sites such as the Ara Pacis and the Pantheon. Places of worship were also meant to reflect the tolerant nature of Rome towards all pagan gods, as seen by the variety of temples and monuments in the Roman Forum and around Rome, and especially seen by the Pantheon. The popes' conversion of ancient Roman places of worship to sacred Christian sites shows their desire to prevent the destruction of these ancient Roman monuments as well as their belief that they were the heirs to the Roman Empire. Similarly, Renaissance Era places of worship reflect the popes' desire to surpass the accomplishments of ancient Rome, as well as those of previous popes.
Beyond the scholarly information I learned, the personal growth that occurred as a result of this experience is invaluable. If someone had told me freshmen year that I would plan a trip and travel to Rome completely on my own, I would have thought that person were insane. While I am very "book-smart," the trade-off is that I have been lacking in "street-smarts." My friends and family from home were all shocked to learn I would be having this experience, because they firmly believed that I would not be able to handle it. Thankfully, they were wrong, and I completed this Magellan with some minor hiccups, but no major issues. However, freshman me might not have been able to complete this project. I realize now that my previous W&J travel experience (travel courses and a domestic Magellan) were what allowed me to have the background I needed to expand upon that knowledge to successfully travel to Rome by myself. I am once again very grateful to W&J for provided me with the opportunities I needed to grow enough to complete my goals.
My previous Magellan was a very person-centered project, where I really focused on getting to know the people of New Orleans. For this project, however, I was able to spend three weeks getting to know myself. Spending three weeks in Rome studying the secular nature of religion illuminated aspects of Catholicism not usually taught in religious education, and thus this Magellan helped me to better understand my own faith.
Spending three weeks by myself in a non-English speaking foreign country gave me substantially more confidence in my ability to navigate the world. Before, navigating new parts of Pittsburgh or unfamiliar public transportation routes terrified me, but now I proceed with the knowledge that I have the skills needed to successfully complete any goal. No matter what new challenges life after graduation brings me, I know that this Magellan and W&J have given me the skills and abilities needed to overcome them. I am so grateful to W&J for enabling me to have this amazing experience, and I look forward to sharing my experience with underclassmen in the fall and encouraging them to take advantage of the Magellan Program.
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