Arielle Galston '12: An IELC-Inspired Leap of Faith

Her journey began in earnest during the fall of 2010 when she attended the School for Ethics and Global Leadership, which convenes high school juniors from around the country in Washington, D.C., for a semester of study that focuses on ethical decision making.

“That,” the 2012 graduate said, “was the tipping point.”

The next fall, her interest intensified when she served as a senior ambassador in Collegiate’s initial International Emerging Leaders Conference, a symposium of students from our partner schools on four continents.

“I’ve constantly sought out interesting opportunities,” she added. “My experiences in high school pointed me in that direction.”

Tonight, Arielle returned to her alma mater to address the delegates at the fifth annual IELC, which began Saturday and continues through October 12. She spoke of her travels.  She spoke of the challenges she’s faced, the lessons she’s learned, the culture she’s absorbed, and the enlightenment she’s gained.  Mainly, she spoke of her inspiration.

“What stands out most is the opportunity to sit in a room and interact with others my age from over a dozen different countries,” she said. “When else and where else will we have this unique experience? I decided I wanted to do more than a semester abroad. I wanted to integrate into another culture and become a member of another community.”

After Collegiate, Arielle enrolled in the University of St. Andrews – College of William & Mary Joint Degree Programme. An international relations major, she spent her freshman year in Williamsburg, then studied in Scotland as a sophomore and junior. Now 21, she’s completing her senior year at W&M and will graduate in May 2016.

“The Joint Degree Programme,” she explained, “combines the breadth of a traditional liberal arts education with the depth of study of a British degree.”
    
There’s more, much more.
    
“At St. Andrews,” she said, “you walk the streets and hear students speaking diverse languages.  You listen to their various perspectives on issues from so many backgrounds.  You don’t typically see that at a U.S. university.”

During her two years in the United Kingdom, Arielle experienced London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh as well as small fishing towns, the Scottish Highlands, and the Isle of Skye.  She ventured throughout Western Europe to such history-laden venues as Amsterdam, Rome, Florence, Venice, The Vatican, Paris, Berlin, Nuremberg, Prague, and Vienna. She also traveled to Australia and Peru.

Now, closer to home, she’s working on her senior honors thesis, a still-untitled treatise about counter-terrorism, an area of interest that emerged during her time abroad and which she hopes will become her career.

“St. Andrews has a very well known counter-terrorism and terrorism department,” she explained.  “If you do the readings, the names of the professors who work there show up all the time.  It just fascinates me…the study of what drives someone to take (terrorist) actions and the rationale behind it…and the government’s response.”
    
Her message to students, though, has more to do with following dreams, growing in confidence and maturity, and stepping outside one’s comfort zone than a particular field of endeavor.

“It was really difficult adjusting to everything in Scotland: social, academic, the climate,” she said.  “A lot of us questioned, Why are we putting ourselves through this?   In my third semester, everything started clicking.  I was helping other people who just arrived and having the same struggles I had. ? I went on so many ‘coffee-walks’ with them.  Helping them helped me grow.  That’s when I knew this was the right program for me.”

Her eureka moment came when she traveled to Dublin to meet friends.

“I planned the trip and went by myself,” she said. “Mom was a phone call away, but she wasn’t right there. If anything happened, there was no safety net. This was the first time I jumped off the springboard. It was sink or swim at that moment.”        
                           -- Weldon Bradshaw