From Harvard to UCL – Reflections of a Summer School Student…

For the latest edition of our blog we caught up with 2017 UCL Summer School student, Lita Peña from Harvard University in the US…

Hi Lita, can you start by telling us a little about yourself?

My name is Lita Peña, and I was born and raised in New York City. I’m a junior (third-year) at Harvard University. I study psychology, with a specific focus in clinical psychology.

 Why did you choose to spend your summer studying in London?

I chose to study for a summer in London because I wanted a chance to go abroad during my four years at college. I wasn’t interested in taking an entire semester off to study internationally, and so summer felt like the perfect time to take this opportunity. I had been to London once prior to studying at UCL, and I instantly fell in love. The city is historic, diverse, and vibrant, and it’s a wonderful place for young adults to explore. I chose to study at UCL specifically because of the wide breadth of courses offered and the fact that the institution was in the centre of the city itself!

What made you choose your module here at the UCL Summer School?

I have always been interested in crime science and securities, and so when I saw that UCL was offering a course on Understanding and Countering Radicalisation and Terrorism, I knew I had to take the opportunity and apply for the module. It’s a subject that is unfortunately not offered in many classes at Harvard, and so I had not been able to study it in an academic setting until this past summer at UCL.

Looking back, what were your highlights?

The material that I learned in my module was fascinating! The instructors were all experts in the field, and the assignments were rigorous and thought-provoking. My class of 12 students was extremely diverse, with students from the USA, Australia, Greece, Spain, Taiwan, Italy, and several other countries. There were a range of activities in London to fill your time with, from high tea, to museums, to outdoor movies!

How did you find the teaching and the learning environment here at UCL? How was it different to your home institution?

The module was set up as a series of several lectures taught by different instructors and researchers. This allowed us students to hear from the top experts of many given topics. Rather than many small daily assignments, we were able to showcase all we had learned in one final presentation and paper.

Do you feel your experience will benefit you in future? If so, how?

I do think that my experience will benefit me in the future. While I plan on pursuing a career in clinical psychology, I now realize that counter-terrorism is an academic subject that I would like to learn even more about and I hope to take more classes in the future. I also think that living on your own in a foreign country is an important skill to learn as a young adult, and London was the perfect place to do that.

Can you sum up the UCL Summer School (or simply your experience) in one or two sentences?

UCL Summer School was a perfect balance of rigorous and interesting learning, meeting diverse and wonderful friends, and exploring one of the greatest metropolitan cities of the world.

Information on our 2018 Programme

Information on studying Understanding and Countering Radicalisation and Terrorism at UCL in 2018