Excited to Learn!

I have been interested in planning since starting college. I transferred to the U of O last spring and took Intro to City Planning. Since taking that course, bike and pedestrian infrastructure and accessibility have become a fascination of mine. With the knowledge I now have about the concept and a large amount of enthusiasm to learn more about it, I am excited to participate in this study abroad program to apply my knowledge and learn more about bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the countries that do it the best. 

My current career goal is to work on and increase the sustainable bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the city of Bend because that is where I grew up and might move back to for at least a short amount of time. With that intention, I want to gain as much outside knowledge about the infrastructure principles that can make a city bike friendly. Personally, this is a topic I have wanted to get more involved in for a while, and have been doing so within the local Eugene community through internships and events. This study abroad program will allow me to fulfill two goals of mine, immersing myself in Danish culture and learning about that country, as well as applying my newly learned concepts about bicycle infrastructure and studying how this infrastructure can be adequately and sustainably used by a population. 

I am going into this program with no expectations in terms of things I want to do, but going to Sweden for a couple of days was a pleasant surprise that I am most looking forward to since it is a country that has been at the top of my list for a while. I really want to experience as much of Denmark and the Netherlands as I can and learn about myself as well as the cultures I am immersing myself in.