On Tuesday 26 November, Lizzie Fanning joined us from Spain to talk to the Upper VI, Lower VI and Upper V students about her year abroad whilst studying for a BA in Modern Languages (Spanish Sole) at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. So far Lizzie has spent two months in Argentina and a month in Spain.

Touching on the amazing Argentine waterfalls featured in Indiana Jones, the delicious Argentinian version of crème brûlée and the diversity of the architecture, we instantly got a sense of how enriching her year abroad has been thus far. Through a broad range of images from her trip, Lizzie demonstrated the great variety of activities she has participated in, from watching toucans in a national park to observing the skyscrapers of Buenos Aires.

Following her travels in Argentina, Lizzie settled down in Valencia for the next part of her trip, mentioning how reassuring it was to have the university there as a support system during the tragedy in Valencia. Exciting culture was reflected through the Valencian photos, portraying traces of a Spanish Banksy in Lizzie’s neighbourhood and the beautiful buildings at the old entrance.

The talk finished with an invaluable Q&A in which Lizzie told us how she had developed as a person during her year abroad, mentioning that it had allowed her to ‘re-engage with myself and remember why I love my degree’. To conclude, Lizzie gave us tips about how to tailor a university application in order to maximise its efficacy and make yourself stand out.

Saskia, Lower VI