Shannon Bishop [front left], a Bachelor of Arts student from the University of Newcastle, participated in our Cambridge History Summer School program in July this year. Shannon recently took some time out to tell us more about what it was like studying this intensive course at this prestigious university.
Hi Shannon! Could you please introduce yourself?
I am currently finishing off my Bachelor of Arts (History and Ancient History) at the University of Newcastle. I'll be proceeding onto my Honours (History) this year.
Why did you choose AIM Overseas' Cambridge History summer school course?
I chose the History Summer School because A: its Cambridge! Who wouldn't want to study there if they had the opportunity? And B: I thought it would be a good experience for me, experiencing a different university in a different country, and it would also stand out on my transcript that I took a course at Cambridge; and, of course, I have a love of history - it was a great opportunity to study at such an old and prestigious University.
The glorious gates of the University of Cambridge
Did you have any fears or concerns before doing the program?
No I didn't have any real fears... well I suppose the only one would be the amount of work that needed to be done. I wanted to get credit for the course, so I chose to complete an essay for evaluation. I found out that if you did the essay for one of your courses in the second week, it wasn't due until the week after (which meant I would be back at home) - so I found it easier to do that, so that I would have time to explore Cambridge, as opposed to being stuck in my room, doing my essay.
The pain of being stuck in your room writing essays must surely be softened when you're surrounded by scenes like this...
Tell me about a typical day at Cambridge.
I was staying at St Catharine's College, which is right smack bang in the middle of Cambridge, a few metres down from the illustrious Kings College and the centre of town. My day would begin with breakfast at around 7.45am; we got a buffet type breakfast, so we were able to fill up, and have some energy for what seemed like long days (although they weren't). I would often meet up with my fellow classmates, as well as students from the science and literature programs, which was always interesting.
Us history students were then off to the first lecture of the day - the plenary lecture. The subject for this year was War and Peace. This encompassed many different eras, from Stuart Britain right up until the Cold War. This lecture was mandatory, so we always had to make sure we arrived at class at least 5 mins early. These lectures went for 1.5 hours, then we had a half hour break, before the first of our special subject lectures started at 11am.
My chosen morning special subject was Revolutions in Latin America - something that wasn't studied at my uni, but interested me (it was made all the more interesting with the lecturer always taking his sandals off and walking around the room barefoot!). In week two I studied Making and breaking the Soviet Union.
We would then break for lunch at 12.30pm for an hour and a half. During this time, I met up with some friends that I had made (from various parts of the world), and we would go off into town to find some lunch.
After lunch we would start our afternoon lectures - this was always hard, starting at 2pm after a long lunch, after what had already seemed like a long day. I was taking Disasters in the Roman World, which I had thought was going to be very interesting, though it ended up being my least favourite lecture series! In week 2 I studied Heroes and Villains: the Victorians and History.
Shannon and friends take a happy snap on campus
With classes completed by 3pm, we had time from then until dinner to do what we pleased, with most afternoons spent walking around Cambridge, and looking at the different colleges, and trying to get a head start on the essay.
Dinner was always a fun catch up for the day. The first time I walked into the dining hall, I thought I was on the set of a movie - it reminded me of Harry Potter! Dinner was a three course menu and often quite interesting! We would use the time at dinner to catch up with our fellow college mates, and discuss the day and how we were feeling about our classes, and talked about our lives outside of Cambridge.
After dinner there were a bunch of lecture series running - sometimes they were particular to which summer school you were studying, and some were joint ones between all of the summer schools (these were optional - if you didn't want to go, you went into town/pub/worked on essay). With these lectures finishing around 9pm, I'm glad it was daylight savings so that there was still light as we walked back to the college from the teaching sites.
What was the highlight of the program for you?
There were a couple of highlights for me. Meeting new people from around the world was excellent and I still talk to most of them now via Facebook, which is great!
Shannon and her new-found Cambridge friends from all around the world: luckily there's Facebook to keep in touch!
Another highlight were two evening lectures - one given by the official historian of MI5, and one given by Dr James Grimes on understanding codes and the Enigma Machine. Dr James Grimes is best described as the doppelganger of Mr. Bean - not in looks but in actions. The fact he was cracking jokes every few minutes made the hour go very fast, and no one wanted his lectures to end!
Another highlight at this lecture was that we were able to get up close and personal with an Enigma machine which had been captured by an American GI in France during WW2 - Dr Grimes showed us how it worked - it still worked after all this time!
Do you have any funny travel stories you’d like to share?
On the second last day at Cambridge, after dinner, I was headed back to my room for the night as there were no evening lectures. I got to my room, popped my bag down, and headed off to see a neighbour. After a few minutes, I returned to my room - well, I tried to, anyway... I put the key in the door lock, and the key just kept turning around and around... I thought to myself, "Hang on, that's not right," and I gave it another go - but the same thing happened again!
So I trotted off down three flights of stairs to the porters office to see if he could get me into my room. Both of us trotted back up, and he decided he would try his master key - but oh no, that didn't work either! So back down to the porters office we went so he could log a job with the locksmith at the college.
He told me that he would have to put me in another room for the night, as the locksmith wouldn't be coming tonight (it was only 8pm - I didn't understand why they didn't have a locksmith on call 24/7!). He gave me my key and said for me to come back down in the morning after breakfast and they'd send the locksmith up to get me back in. Mind you, all this time I had nothing with me except the clothes on my back and I was glad it was summer as I just had a t-shirt and shorts on.
So what was I to do for the rest of the evening with no iPod or kindle or laptop? I found the TV room, and watched TV for awhile, went to the computer room and played on Facebook, then toddled off to find my new room for the night - luckily it was next door to one of my new friends!
Finally, the next morning arrived, and I rushed off to breakfast - relaying this story to my breakfast pals - then raced up to my room, to find the locksmith there (yay!) using a crowbar to open the door! Finally, I was able to get in, get changed and grab my stuff for class! He was going to fix the lock so it would be ready by the time I returned in the afternoon. Oh well, it all made for a fun story anyway!
Do you have some tips for someone who's going on this course?
I guess just do some reading on the subjects you are taking before you go, it helps to have a bit of a background knowledge so that you don't feel like you're lost and confused in class.
The Anchor is the best pub we found to go to - good food and service at a good price, plus it was right near the teaching site so we didn't have to go to far and have to race back for afternoon class.
When packing: you need to pack for all seasons. Since it was summer, the weather wasn't especially cold and a light jacket sufficed. Also, pack an umbrella or rain coat (or both). I was lucky and it only rained on one day!
Also - if you show your International School student card (mine was green, I think it depends on what college you are staying at) you can walk through Clare College and its gardens - it's beautiful!
How has this program impacted you?
Personally, I think it has instilled an awesome sense of pride in me - I know that I have gone to Cambridge, studied and passed with a decent mark - and it makes me proud to say I went there! Professionally - well we'll see, but I am sure it will have a good impact!
What would you say to somebody who’s thinking of doing the program? Do it!
Thanks Shannon, we hope you're not missing Cambridge too much!
What are you waiting for? Cambridge beckons...
This program runs every year in the July uni holidays. To find out more about this program or to apply, please go to our website: www.aimoverseas.com.au or email us on info@aimoverseas.com.au
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