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My name is Courtney Lynn and I am a junior at St. Lawrence. During my time abroad, I
was granted the opportunity to travel to Greece, specifically Athens and Crete, for an
academically enriching experience. I studied in Spain for the semester, but received the
enrichment grant to explore the birthplace of rhetoric. It had always been a dream of mine,
specifically as a communications major, to see this historic place. The work of Aristotle is vast
and readily studied particularly in my field of academics, thus the opportunity I was given was
incredibly meaningful for me.
I got the chance to see many ancient locations important to the creation of rhetoric, like
the Theater of Dionysus which was absolutely remarkable and the school that Aristotle taught
at. This experience without a doubt reassured my interest in my major and gave me a solid
footing into what specifically interests me within my major. I also used this opportunity to explore
what potential minors I could pursue upon my return. I have many other interests in related
fields, all of which were heavily influenced by work done in ancient times. For example, I have
an academic interest in fields like philosophy and government, which were obviously developed
in ancient greece. My interests in these topics were only expedited by my travels to Athens and
Crete. Seeing the locations where many of the fields originated and were developed was a once
in a lifetime experience.
As a student, I also have a deep love for history. I always loved learning about ancient
times and the cultures or traditions people had back then. Being in such an ancient place was
perfect for me in that sense, everything around me had such a deep history. I unfortunately
won’t have time to add a history minor during my time at SLU but being in Athens made me
regret that. I did have the opportunity to take Greek and Roman Mythology upon my arrival back
to campus, and have been enjoying the opportunity to relive my experience in a way. During my
travels, I went to Crete for one night and Athens for three. I got the opportunity to explore
Knossos Palace in Crete and see some of the oldest ruins in the world. The tour and
accommodations were all covered by the grant, giving me the chance to explore and enjoy the
experience without concerns for money. We also got to explore the Rocca a Mare Fortress that
stands in the port of Heraklion. The town was also incredible to see and walk around, it was so
interesting to see what sort of things were sold and talked about. Athens held similar beauty and
interests. I got to explore the Acropolis, which was a lifelong dream of mine. Seeing that historic
place was unreal, and an experience I will never forget. My time abroad was undoubtedly
enriched by this opportunity and I really can’t say thank you enough to the donors who allowed
me to explore all of these niche academic interests in such a hands-on way.