By Rylee Britton

Hi everyone, my name is Rylee, and I am currently a third-year social science student majoring in Criminology. In the next couple of months, I will be embarking on an experience of a lifetime… My exchange. I am venturing all the way to Stirling, Scotland, and I couldn’t be more excited! The reason I chose to go on an exchange is that I wanted to challenge myself and widen my knowledge, and when the opportunity presented itself, I knew that I would regret it if I did not go. As a keen traveller and avid learner, the exchange becomes more than just attending another university; it becomes about learning about the culture, oneself, and others.

As I mentioned, I am going to Stirling University in Scotland. Stirling became my number one destination because of my love for Scotland, the culture, people, food, landscape, and most importantly, the highland cows! But in all seriousness, Stirling offers a great course on criminology, and they are at the top of the field for both criminology and sociology, so I knew that I was getting the full package of what they had to offer me! I am also so lucky that they have a parkrun on campus, a swimming team, and a Formula One committee – and while these make me nervous because it means socialising and making new friends, it also allows me to be who I am and enjoy the small things that remind me of home. By the end of the exchange, I am hoping to be able to call Stirling my second home, with the outcome of having new friends, academic contacts, and an overall sense of who I am as a person. For obvious reasons, I do hope that this exchange will add fuel to the fire of my love for criminology, directing me to the right way of how I can truly use my degree to help people and I have no doubt that by the end of the exchange I will be able to do just that, founding a new confidence in me that the exchange helped me gain.