Why did you choose this program?
I have heritage in Scotland and I absolutely love golf. I was looking for a program that I could do without missing a whole semester of school. I looked all of those things up and was able to find Adelante Abroad. It checked all of my boxes and it seemed too good to be true. I was nervous knowing it was the pilot year of the program but I took the risk. Best decision I could have made.
What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
Adelante did a good job of communicating with me and my university to work out how I would transfer the credits I received from this program to my university. My university did not do much heavy lifting but Adelante was able to help me out a lot with figuring out how to make everything work. I did have to organize my flights and such but once I was there they took care of mostly everything.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Do not take it for granted. You can be on your phone when you get back, while you are there use it for documenting the experiences you have and communication purposes but not to waste time. Definitely fully embrace the culture in Scotland and interact with the locals when you can. They were all very polite for the most part and had a great culture to be a part of. Even if it was only for a month.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
An average day from when i was there was wake up. Eat breakfast around 8:30-9:00 then have class until around 11:00. Have lunch. And then head to elmwood for lessons and practice. If it wasn’t elmwood it would be one of the many prestigious courses that Scotland has to offer. Along with a tour of the course with the director of golf at said course. We had the weekends free to explore what the country has to offer and I suggest using that opportunity to the fullest extent.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
I was mostly afraid of if I would like the people I was going with. If the people in Scotland would like the Americans being there. As well as the weather being an issue. All of those fears were wrong. You are with these people a month and grow to love them as the trip goes on. Everyone in Scotland was super hospitable and eager to meet us. The weather was fantastic almost the whole month but even when it wasn’t. I found out that Scotland is a place that is very well equipped to handle that kind of situation.
What I loved so much about the program was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. I mean that in the best way possible. The instructors were laid back and the courses seemed easy because we were all learning about what we were passionate about. We were able to be flexible on scheduling for certain days and got to give our own input on activities to do. Which made the experience extremely enjoyable. There just seemed like there was magic in the air for that whole month and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face the whole time. I got so much better and more knowledgeable about golf and my game but apart from that the trip just made me hold Scotland close to my heart and that is Invaluable to me.