Jordyn Fearon loves traveling and wanted to study abroad while in college.
So when a pair of opportunities to study in Europe was presented at UToledo during her freshmen year, Fearon knew they were too good to pass up.
Jordyn Fearon, a law and social thought sophomore at UToledo, during her first study abroad trip to Sorrento, Italy.
By the start of fall semester, Fearon, a sophomore from Sugarcreek studying law and social thought, will have studied abroad in Sorrento, Italy, and London.
Fearon is part of the College of Arts and Letters’ inaugural Palmer Global Fellows Program. Thanks to the donations of Tom and Susan Palmer, a two-time alumna, Fearon and 10 other first-year College of Arts and Letters students were able to participate in a fully paid, weeklong trip to Sorrento from May 6 through 13.
The Palmer Global Fellows Program offers every first-year student in the College of Arts and Letters a passport and the chance to be selected for the Global Fellows cohort, where this small group of students will embark on a faculty-led international excursion at no cost to them.
“This has honestly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting to go to Italy,” Fearon said. “I wouldn’t trade the people I met or memories made on this trip for anything. I learned so much from this trip and I gained so much independence and confidence.
“I feel like I have been changed through this experience.”
Following her Sorrento excursion, Fearon returned to the United States for a month and on June 16 left for her second trip: The University of Westminster in London, where she will be taking a three-week course, “Jack the Ripper’s London: Myth, Reality, and the Victorian Metropolis.”
While the only UToledo student going to London as part of the Palmer Global Fellows Program, Fearon will be alongside other college students from around the globe.
“I’m excited to explore a new culture and meet new people from all around the world,” she said. “Living alone in another country will have its challenges, but this experience will increase my adaptability and global competency.”
Thanks to the mentorship of her academic advisor and help from the Center for International Studies and Programs, Fearon was able to cross off an item on her bucket list: to study abroad in London.
Dr. Lisa Bollman, an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Letters, said it was Fearon’s maturity and drive that made this all possible.
“Jordyn was determined the moment she started at UToledo,” Bollman said. “She had ambitious goals for herself; to study abroad while maintaining her status in the accelerated 3+3 law program,” and is on track to graduate with both her bachelor’s and juris doctorate in just six years.
“She will do great in her future endeavors,” Bollman said. “We are so lucky to have her.”
Jordyn Fearon, left, and other UToledo students and faculty and staff pose for a photo in ancient ruins during their fully paid, weeklong trip last month to Sorrento, Italy.
