Jack Estrin '17 found many opportunities to engage his interests in journalism and athletics during his four years at UVM. What he couldn’t have anticipated was the influential role international study programs would play in his education and personal development.
“I never thought my studies here would lead me to two different locations in Europe,” said Estrin, who will graduate with a double-major in economics and political science.
A student-athlete at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Springs, Md., (he started on the school baseball team for three years) Jack was also enrolled in the school’s writing intensive magnet program and served as editor-in-chief of the online newspaper his senior year.
One of his UVM mentors, associate professor of geography Pablo Bose, recently developed an interdisciplinary course Geography of Peace and Conflict in Belfast about the history of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland for players on the UVM hockey team. The players took the course in preparation for an early-season tournament in Belfast over the 2016 Thanksgiving break, and Bose asked Estrin to come along.
“Jack was a standout in several of my classes and he’s worked with me on several research projects,” Bose said. “I recruited him for the opportunity with the Belfast class; if there was a student who could help out with one of my broader goals as chair of UVM’s Athletic Advisory board—to help connect student athletes and their experiences with the broader campus community—I felt that Jack would be someone who could do it.”
Estrin and the team spent a week in Belfast, touring the city and learning first-hand about the conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s through the late 1990s, including the partition of Ireland, the role of British colonialism, and how peace was finally achieved. He wrote a thoughtful personal reflection (PDF) of the trip, which was also an opportunity to learn from one of his favorite professors at UVM.
“Pablo has been a real mentor for me,” Estrin said. “I know he cares deeply about each of his students, and he’s helped me so much throughout my time here. He knows my interests as a student and looks for ways to engage those interests.”
The Belfast experience whetted Estrin’s appetite for studying abroad, and this spring he’s taking advantage of another international opportunity available at UVM—a semester at the University of Pablo De Olavide in Seville, Spain.
“I’ve taken several years of Spanish, and I want to be fluent in the language. I’m making progress on that—besides taking a Spanish class, I’m staying with a host mother who speaks no English.”
Estrin is also taking three other courses at UPO during the semester geared toward his twin majors. The classes are small and engaging—just like at UVM. When he attended Admitted Student Day before his freshman year, he met economics professor Ross Thomson, founder of the university’s Integrated Social Sciences Program (ISSP). ISSP is an inter-disciplinary program that engages socially conscious students by providing a broad view of problems shaping the world.
“I hoped that UVM would be the right size—not too big or too small—to find my niche. After meeting Ross I ended up joining ISSP, one of the better decisions I made. Through ISSP, I was able to get small class sizes from my first year. I think UVM has been the best of both worlds—big enough to provide lots of opportunities but small enough to get to know my classmates and professors.”
Last summer, Estrin completed an internship at the Chittenden County Public Defender's Office in Burlington. He is mulling over his options after graduation—one of the options he’s considering is law school.