Volunteering at Whitstable & Day Trip to Greenwich – 9th Week at NYU London!

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Michaela Greenlee

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Michaela Greenlee

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hello! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> New York University <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> London, United Kingdom <i>Program provider:</i> NYU London <i>Major/minor:</i> Global Public Health <i>Demographics:</i> Caucasian/White, Hispanic/Latinx <i>Future career aspirations:</i> My future career goals involve becoming a university professor of public health in the social and behavioral sciences. I hope to conduct research in my own laboratory that explores how to mitigate health disparities among low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations. As a future professor, my mission is to empower my students (particularly females and students of color) to volunteer in my lab and develop a passion for working towards health equity. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> My top three goals for my time abroad include developing a comparative lens to analyze differences in health care infrastructure between the United States and United Kingdom, building strong and professional relationships with my internship mentors, and becoming an independent individual who can learn to take accountability by navigating through challenging situations.

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! Welcome back to my 9th blog – last weekend I was pretty busy participating in volunteer work and going on day trips with NYU London.

On Saturday, I organized my own service event at Russell Square Park where NYU students and I volunteered with the Russell Square Gardening Group to help out with raking up leaves, planting tulip bulbs and weeding. It was such a fulfilling experience because I got to meet other college students outside of NYU, specifically people from University College London who regularly volunteer at the garden. Following the event, we discussed the importance of garden sustainability and the volunteer director even said he’ll send us a picture of the tulips once they have bloomed in the spring!

After the volunteer event ended at 1pm, my friend and I made plans to go to Greenwich which is home to a vibrant marketplace, museums and galleries, a gorgeous park, and the Royal Observatory. First, we took a stroll through the market which had a wide variety of food stalls and artisan stores with items ranging from jewelry, to succulents, paintings and vintage clothing. After observing the bustling scenery, we decided to buy some food – my friend got some delicious Brazilian churros and I got mushroom lasagna with salad from a vegan stall! Once we finished our meals, my friend and I walked through the park and chatted a bit on a bench. We were lucky to have sunny, warm weather in London for once and took advantage of the bright, cheery atmosphere.

On Sunday, the NYU London cultural programming staff took us on a day trip to Whitstable where we joined a local beach volunteer clean-up group and were treated to free fish and chips afterwards! Whitstable is a quaint seaside town with a beautiful coastline just miles away from Canterbury. From shopping at independent record stores, clothes shops and bookstores, to feasting on fresh oysters and observing tiny galleries, Whitstable has activities for nearly everyone. I particularly enjoyed this trip because I actually met a new friend from the NYU Abu Dhabi campus – she and I clicked super fast and connected over our passion for volunteering and the beach.

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to read my 9th blog post! This weekend I have other activities planned, such as taking a day trip to Stonehenge/Salisbury and checking out Sky Garden with my friend. Be on the lookout for my blog next week! :)