Office of Study Abroad

Profile: Kiah Holmstrom '25

Major: Politics and Film

Study Abroad Program: Midyear Program in London, UK (Fall 2021)

Reason you chose this program: I chose this program because I’ve always wanted to visit London and I thought it would be a good stepping stone into international travel.

Favorite class: I really enjoyed all of my classes, but my British Politics class was super fascinating.

How did you incorporate your Brandeis areas of study into your abroad experience? I wanted to study things that related to politics and media as much as possible, so I took classes like Politics, a British Imperialism class, and a class about the impacts of migration in the city of London

Housing situation: I lived in Princess Elizabeth House, which housed about 80 or so freshmen from different January admit programs.

What are some parts of your identity that you thought about while considering study abroad that other students may want to talk to you about? I’ve never been abroad before, and I’ve never lived in a city bigger than 15,000 people, so living in a large city like London was definitely a change. However, the adjustment was fairly easy and London turned into a second home for myself.

Best memory: I really enjoyed spending a lot of time in the South Bank during the London Film Festival. I met wonderful people who became some of my closest friends, as well as saw beautiful films and even walked a couple of red carpets!

Greatest challenge: My greatest challenge was adjusting to being fully on my own. I’m a very independent person, and I knew how to cook/clean/do laundry, but being fully on my own was a change. I got used to it quickly though, and I wasn’t as homesick as I thought I would be.

What you know now that you didn’t know before: The London Underground is a lot easier to navigate than I thought it would be!