Staff Spotlight: Dawn Tohill

In today’s ever shrinking world, through the internet and social media, it is important for all students to experience these differences by visiting a country and immersing themselves in its culture. Only then can they truly learn the language and the nuances of its use, in everyday living. They also have the opportunity to become true global citizens and make lifelong friends from all different nationalities.

OISC is in the heart of Oxford and as such we are in a unique position to offer both a learning and cultural experience for our students. In the summer months we use some of the university facilities so that students who come on our Summer Experience Course can truly get a feel for the university life at Oxford. Oxford is relatively small and the majority of the colleges are near the centre. There are also many prominent cultural and literary figures in Oxford’s history that the students learn about and it provides a unique experience for them. We want all our students to go home having had a great time, and hopefully eager to return again the following year,

My favourite travelling experience was when I took a gap year, a few years ago, albeit a bit later than most! I toured Europe for a few months and then did a 3 month road trip across the USA, and managed to visit 32 states! I met many interesting people on my travels, from all different backgrounds, and I am still in contact with some of them. It showed me that we all have things in common and we all have things we can share with others. I love travelling and still have a long wish-list of places to visit.

I am currently trying to learn Russian, although progress is very slow! OISC have connections in Russia and when I visited there in November I realised how little of the language I did know. This has spurred me onto try and master the language.