{"id":148429,"date":"2019-04-11T08:25:41","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T12:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=148429"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:02:02","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:02:02","slug":"education-abroad-omaniel-ortiz-20-london-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2019\/04\/education-abroad-omaniel-ortiz-20-london-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Abroad: Omaniel Ortiz ’20, London, England"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UConn Education Abroad program allows students to gain rich experience in other cultures by immersing themselves in the educational and social life of another country. At UConn, more than 400 programs are available, spanning 54 nations. In the 2017-18 academic year, about 19 percent of the graduating class had participated in one of the programs, well above the national average of 10 percent. More than half of those students had spent a semester or year in another country. Here is one of them.<\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong> Omaniel Ortiz
\nYear:<\/strong> Junior
\nMajor:<\/strong> Exercise Science
\nEducation Abroad program:<\/strong> London, England, summer 2018<\/p>\n

About:<\/strong> Omaniel Ortiz grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from A.I. Prince Technical High School. He is part of the Student Support Services<\/a> (SSS) program at UConn, which assists students who are first-generation to college, from low-income families, and from populations underrepresented in higher education. After graduation, Ortiz hopes to go to medical school for three years with the goal of becoming an inpatient pediatric physical therapist.<\/p>\n

\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) outside a phone booth, or 'telephone box,' in the London neighborhood where the UConn group lived.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz1<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) outside a phone booth, or 'telephone box,' in the London neighborhood where the UConn group lived.<\/div><\/div>\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) sitting on the steps of the apartments where the UConn group lived in London, an area known as Little Venice. The neighborhood, built in the early to mid-19th century, gets its name from its location near the junction of two canals.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz2<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) sitting on the steps of the apartments where the UConn group lived in London, an area known as Little Venice. The neighborhood, built in the early to mid-19th century, gets its name from its location near the junction of two canals.<\/div><\/div>\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR), right, with fellow UConn student and economics major Alex Rivera '20 (CLAS) outside their apartment in Little Venice, London.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz7<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR), right, with fellow UConn student and economics major Alex Rivera '20 (CLAS) outside their apartment in Little Venice, London.<\/div><\/div>\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) by the River Thames with Big Ben (shrouded in scaffolding) in the background. Big Ben, the iconic clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London, is currently undergoing major renovations.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz5<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) by the River Thames with Big Ben (shrouded in scaffolding) in the background. Big Ben, the iconic clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London, is currently undergoing major renovations.<\/div><\/div>\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) in front of Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen of England.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz4<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR) in front of Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen of England.<\/div><\/div>\"Omaniel<\/a>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR), right, with fellow UConn student and economics major Alex Rivera '20 (CLAS) in the park near Buckingham Palace.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz3<\/div>
Omaniel Ortiz '20 (CAHNR), right, with fellow UConn student and economics major Alex Rivera '20 (CLAS) in the park near Buckingham Palace.<\/div><\/div>\"The<\/a>
The UConn SSS Education Abroad group at the London Eye, an observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames.<\/div>
OmanielOrtiz6<\/div>
The UConn SSS Education Abroad group at the London Eye, an observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

What was it like to travel to a foreign country?
\n<\/strong>It was my first time traveling away from the United States, and only the second time I had been on an airplane. It was really phenomenal. I had no idea what to expect \u2013 it\u2019s another country and I didn\u2019t know what things were going to look like. The funniest part was when we landed at the airport, it looked like we were still in Hartford, maybe not as different as you would think. But once we got into the city, you could see the buildings were different and the culture changed. I felt comfortable because I was with other SSS students and my advisor Chelsea [Cichocki]. If it wasn\u2019t for SSS, I don\u2019t think I would have been able to do Education Abroad.<\/p>\n

What was living in London like?
\n<\/strong>We had a suite in the city. I didn\u2019t expect how much diversity there was in London. You would walk out on the street and\u00a0 hear so many different languages, which was new for me. You walk on streets here, you hear English, maybe some Spanish. There, you heard a lot of languages. Also, I had to get used to seeing people drive on the other side of the street. It was interesting how many people used the Tube [London Underground]; they rely on public transportation. You saw nice cars outside with dust and spider webs because they had not been used for so long. That was interesting to me.<\/p>\n