Category: Maggie Gossage

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Harlaxton Day 13: Castle Rising and The Beach

August 6, 2019 | 2019 Harlaxton, 2019-2020, Avatars, Maggie Gossage, Study Abroad, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

GOOOOOOD MORNING! All caps was necessary to capture my excitement of FINALLY being in the beautiful Harlaxton Manor!

Today started off bright and early with students eagerly rushing to finish their breakfast so that they could hit the bus by 8:40. Once we were all on the bus, we set off to Castle Rising Castle: the ruins of a medieval castle in the small town of Castle Rising. At Castle Rising, we walked through the ruins and tried to imagine what the castle was like in its prime. Most people took advantage of the sun and either laid on the grass or threw around a frisbee. 

After our time at Castle Rising Castle, we hopped back on the bus and went to the beach for lunch. Our first beach destination was Brancaster Beach. When we arrived, I soon realized that beaches in the U.K. are vastly different from beaches in the States. Brancaster Beach stretched outwards for miles, with the ocean about a mile out. We set up camp here and downed our PB&Js while feeling the sun on our face and sand between our toes. When bellies were full and lunches complete, we headed off to Hunstanton Beach. Here, students enjoyed the plethora of sweet and fried food stands set up along the beach. I decided to get a British staple, fish and chips, and something new to me, British fried donuts, as a post-lunch snack. I was thoroughly satisfied with both as they were down in less than 5 minutes. 

When our time was over at Hunstanton Beach, we headed back to the manor for dinner. As students prepared for the next day’s class by reading short stories, or let off some steam by playing croquet on the lawn or snooker in the Junior Common Room, I hoped that there would be more fried donuts at our next destination. 

Maggie

Maggie Gossage

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Harlaxton Day 4: Sherlock Holmes and The Cereal Killer Cafe

July 26, 2019 | 2019 Harlaxton, 2019-2020, Avatars, Maggie Gossage, Study Abroad | No Comments

My morning in London started off with a cup of yogurt, a couple pieces of “streaky” bacon, and a heaping mug of hot tea. After breakfast at our residence hall, my classmates and I headed off to class. Class today consisted of picking apart “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, and discussing my favorite assigned reading, “Gifted.” Discussion on “My Last Duchess” was definitely the highlight of class for me. Through analyzing the poem line-by-line, we drew some intriguing conclusions about the content of the poem and shared a lot of laughs while doing it.

After class was over, I headed back to our residence hall, ready to prepare for the rest of the day. My group decided to head down to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Although I have never read the books, the museum proved to be quite interesting. The tour guides were dressed in Victorian Era clothing, and the home was set up to the specific details presented in the novels. As I walked through the museum, I saw old medicine bottles, the letters “V R” shot into the wall, and some… interesting looking wax figures, to say the least.

When we left the museum, we decided to hop on the tube and ride to Camden Town to visit the Cereal Killer Cafe. Whenever I found out that I would be studying abroad in Great Britain, and that we would be staying in London for a week, I decided to heavily research unique places to eat in London. That is when I came across the Cereal Killer Cafe, a cafe solely dedicated to every kid’s favorite morning breakfast food: cereal! This 90’s themed cafe has a wall of all different cereals that you can choose from to mix and match in a bowl, and also has special items like cereal ice cream and cereal fried chicken. I decided on a bowl of their homemade Spaceman cereal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

After my stomach was full of cereal, and my heart was full of happiness (from eating said cereal), my group rode the tube one last time back to our residence hall. I decided to turn in early so that I could get a full night’s rest for our exciting trip to Bath the next day. It was an amazing day of seeing so many quirky little places and having such entertaining class conversations.

Maggie

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2019-2020 Avatar: Maggie Gossage

July 10, 2019 | 2019-2020, Avatars, Maggie Gossage | No Comments

Hi friends! My name is Maggie Gossage, and I am from Russell Springs. My pre-Gatton experience was a unique one. I grew up with educators dispersed throughout my family, so education has always been a priority. Deciding to go to Gatton was a difficult choice because that meant leaving the best principal in the world, my dad, behind at my home high school. I wanted more than what the walls of Russell County High School could offer, and Gatton was just the place for me.

The Gatton Academy has allowed me to take classes in a range of departments and helped me find what I am passionate about. I entered Gatton with a firm plan to pursue psychology in every way possible. But after taking biopsychology with the charismatic Dr. Leslie Baylis second semester, I fell in love with neuroscience and biology. Psychology, though, has still been a major component of my Gatton Academy experience. Over this summer, I got the opportunity to conduct my own research project with Dr. Rick Grieve through the Gatton Academy Research Internship Grant, or RIG as the Gattonites call it. I spent my summer in the Clinical and Applied Research lab researching male body image and action figures physiques. This was a meaningful experience, as I got to write my first research paper that I plan to submit to the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Sports and clubs were an integral part of my identity at my sending school. Although I don’t get to run 8 400-meter sprints back-to-back at track practice anymore (sarcasm very much intended), I still have the opportunity to participate in all of my old clubs from my sending school. This past year at Gatton, I was a member of Student Y, GALE (Gatton Academy Leaders in Education), Yearbook, Tennis Club, and Bollywood Movie Club. 

One of the best things about going to Gatton, in my opinion, has to be getting the opportunity to study abroad. This summer, I will be traveling across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom for my English Literature class. I am thrilled that my first experience abroad will be with all of my closest friends!

The Gatton Academy has been my home for the past year, literally, because I reside there, but also figuratively. Gatton has introduced me to some of the best people I have ever met. The students are so helpful in every way and, well, I can say the same about the staff. I never go a day without feeling appreciated, and everyone makes it their priority to make everyone around them feel special. Whenever I step foot through the doors of Florence Schneider Hall, I am back where I need to be. 

I cannot wait to see what my senior year has in store for me and for Gatton as a whole!

Maggie 

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