Cabot Family Endowment for International and Intercultural Education

In the fall of 2020, several Arab countries normalised relations with Israel. This came as a shock at the time as rising tensions in Palestine caused mass protests in western countries. One of those countries was my study abroad destination, The United Arab Emirates. I decided to find out what the people of the Emirates thought about their government’s sudden shift in policy, especially for such an emotional issue. So I first set off to the three most populous emirates to the west of Jebel Al-Jais to interview people on this touchy subject.

During my semester abroad in Spain, I was fortunate enough to visit Barcelona and conduct a photographic study of the organic forms incorporated in the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. His work is admired and visited by people from across the globe, and defines Barcelona’s cityscape. While there, I went to four of his most famous sites: Parque Güell, Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milà. While these places are unique from one another, their creation was inspired by the natural world, which is what I focused on in my study.

My trip to Sydney had two main objectives- to visit Sydney Hillsong Church and to immerse myself into the Aboriginal culture through different activities. The reason why I wanted to visit the largest church in Australia was because of my passion for gospel music and the possibility of meeting Darlene Zschech, an Australian musician that I admire most. Another reason for undertaking the trip was to learn more about the survival and identity of Indigenous Australians.

During my semester abroad in Valparaiso, Chile, I was fortunate enough to trek the W Loop in Torres del Paine, Patagonia, the globally-known pristine national park.  This trip would not have been possible without the support from the Cabot Family Foundation and the Santiago Exchange Network, SEN, a company that has a core philosophy of immersing students who are studying abroad to international travels in South America.  During the trip, I specifically focused on ecotourism and its economic and environmental impacts.  I decided to study ecotourism and the ripple effects because of my dual m

This past semester, fall 2017, I got the incredible opportunity to study abroad in London. And I was able to visit Berlin a week before the program started thanks to the generosity of the Cabot Family and their Endowment for International and Intercultural Education. The aim of my project was to try to analyze the street art scene in Berlin and how it affected people, and I thought Berlin was the perfect place to do so because it is a city overflowing with street art.

I never imagined myself growing as a person so much that I could feel confident enough to explore one of the largest cities in the world alone. Being able to enjoy time with myself is one of the best skills I have ever developed. At college there are always people around, and in high school there were always family around; however, having a week in a country where you don’t speak the language and have no one but yourself to enjoy time with truly teaches you to love yourself.

As somewhat of a stereotypical “theater kid” (though one with very little actual talent), I knew I wanted to see as many Broadway shows as I possibly could while in New York City. In fact, Broadway was one of the main reasons why I chose NYC as my “abroad” destination. Throughout the Fall semester, I got to experience 19 Broadway shows (everything from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Hamilton).

Over the course of my semester abroad in London, I devoted my time to immerse myself in the theater and film scene of England’s capital. My strong focus on theater and film has encouraged me to build upon my past experiences and actively explore a potential career field.

I am an Economics and Global Studies Major and I had the opportunity to study abroad in Denmark during Fall 2018. This was my first study abroad program and with the help of the Cabot Family travel research grant, I was able to travel to Madrid, Milan, Paris, Brussels, Thessaloniki, Geneva, Hamburg, and Stockholm, where I was able to do research on Islamophobia. My SYE for Global Studies examines the effects of Islamophobia on Muslim populations within the Western world.

During my semester abroad in Spain, I had originally intended to compare the Great Mosque of Córdoba in Spain with the sand castle Quseir Amra in Jordan. Upon my return to SLU in the fall, I would make a print of each of the buildings. In the end, this project allowed me to do hands on research about the interconnectedness of Spain and the Middle East, which is something I have been interested in for quite some time. However, by the end of my semester my project had greatly evolved from my original proposal.

Prior to my semester abroad, I took an art history class with the only intention of fulfilling an art requirement, and ended up finding myself very curious about the section of the class dedicated to sculptures from Ancient Greece. For my semester abroad, I traveled to Amman, Jordan which has some examples of similar art styles. For my travel grant, I wanted to travel to Greece to see these pieces of art that I learned about in the classroom in person and compare them to the art I would be seeing in Jordan.

Music is the one thing that keeps me going daily. Listening to music from varying genres and cultures around the world is an activity I enjoy thoroughly because of both the apparent similarities and obvious differences that exist. During my off-campus program at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand (NZ) I continued my exploration of diverse music scenes and styles through a Travel Enrichment Grant to the city of Auckland, New Zealand from November 9th - 18th 2019.

Events Attended:

My name is Victoria Oakes, I am from Watertown, New York, and I am a junior at St. Lawrence University. I am an Environmental Studies major with a double minor in Arabic Studies and Anthropology. I studied abroad in Amman, Jordan during the fall of 2019. I was fortunate enough to receive a travel enrichment grant to go to Beirut, Lebanon, where I planned to study the region’s archaeology and environment. The donor that made this wonderful experience possible for me was the Cabot family.

During my time abroad in Jordan I had the opportunity to travel to Beirut, Lebanon through a travel enrichment grant from the Cabot family to study the city’s street art scene, known throughout the region and world for its vast size. My experience in Lebanon didn’t exactly go as planned and while our trip was cut short and I was unable to complete any of my planned activities, my time in Beirut constantly lives in my mind. I travelled to Beirut with Victoria Oakes, an Environmental Studies major with Anthropology and Arabic minors.

In my research, I was lucky enough to explore some of the most beautiful European cities -- through the lens of a camera, and by keeping a steady eye on street art and graffiti of several ancient and beautiful places. I flew to Paris for my research, and signed up for a formal street art tour, where my tour guide pointed out works by local graffiti troupes, as well as pieces by notable artists such as Space Invader and Banksy, and I was opened to a world of street art that many passersby may not understand or appreciate.

My name is Connor Farmer and I am part of the class of 2021 at St. Lawrence. I am a Government major and Philosophy minor from the town of St. Regis Falls, New York. The generous donation from the Cabot Family allowed me to research commercialization in sport during my semester abroad in the Fall of 2019. I conducted my research primarily in London, England, but also made a trip to Manchester, England.

My name is Abigail Evans, I’m from Essex Junction, Vermont, and I am senior here at St. Lawrence. I am double majoring in Economics and Business with a potential minor in Music. I traveled abroad to Vienna, Austria for the spring semester of my junior year. The donor that made my amazing travel experience possible was the Cabot Family.

Throughout my time at St. Lawrence, I have made performing arts a constant element in my college experience, and I hoped to continue this while abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Spring 2020 semester. With the help of the generous Cabot family, I was able to complete my project, and got to experience performance culture in three major cities across Europe! While in these cities, since the timings of some performances did not align with my break, and the COVID-19 situation hinted at our semester being cut short, I also used the time to explore local palaces and cathedrals as well.