LANDSCAPES, LACROSSE, AND LEARNING: WILL COLEMAN '07 HAS A LIFE-ALTERING YEAR AT OXFORD

Will Coleman '07 (top) punting with Jeremy Babener '07, also a Visiting Student at Mansfield College, Oxford.

Studying at Oxford University for the 2005-2006 academic year was nothing short of a life-changing experience. I guess changing lives is both the purpose and the cliché of a study abroad program, but I was lucky enough to have the kind of year that makes the cliché true. I can’t express enough gratitude to Dean Donna Mancini for her guidance and belief in me.

The idea to study in England came from my interest in British landscape painting of the 19th century. As a history of art major, I can’t count the number of hours I spent standing in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s intimate gallery of works by John Constable, drinking in their atmosphere— so crisp and fresh you almost shiver in the sudden summer breeze that stirs the trees. One cannot help but imagine how it must feel to laze like Constable’s figures under such skies. The nice thing about the Oxford experience was the ability to tailor it precisely to my interests, so I spent three terms exploring topics the history of western art in one-on-one tutorials with some of the world’s truly great scholars. In these sessions, I would read aloud a 3,000-word essay I had composed in the preceding week in response to a given query with use of a given list of suggested reading. Then he or she would critique and correct, throwing an occasional bone of praise, while I scrambled to defend my work. Among others, I studied Italian ceramics with the Ashmolean Museum’s Keeper (Chief Curator) of Western Art, English and French landscape with senior faculty members, not to mention 19th-century English literature to provide some context. I enjoyed the new feeling of being in touch with the art historical community, finding my tutors consistently thanked in the acknowledgements of my texts. More importantly, the intensive reading and writing helped me come to grips with the dialogues that have taken place over the years and left me secure in my belief that this was the field and career for me.

Will Coleman '07 played lacrosse for the University Level "Blues" men's lacrosse team.

Extracurricularly, life in Oxford did not disappoint. It’s amazing how quickly one can grow accustomed to literally walking in the footsteps of one's idols on a daily basis in that beautiful city. Memories of punting on the Cherwell River (confusingly pronounced Charwell, one of many inexplicable Britishisms that would leave me red-faced on occasion) and raptly listening to debates at the Oxford Union with friends will never leave me. Interning in the Ashmolean Museum’s Old Master drawings collection, where I enjoyed personal contact with inconceivably fragile and valuable preparatory sketches by Michelangelo and Raphael, was a special experience. Though I came to England expecting to focus on work and skip athletics, I quickly found that the University Level “Blues” men’s lacrosse team was in need of a goalie, so I had my pads shipped over and had a great season playing, representing my adopted University and the Southwest and English Universities All Star Teams. (The standard of lacrosse is decidedly lower over there so it was nice to be a bit of a star for a few months instead of the benchwarmer I was at Haverford my freshman year!) We traveled from Wales across England, eventually earning a 21-0 record and our league championship. The only honor that mattered, however, was the 9-6 victory in the “Varsity Match” versus hated rival Cambridge, after which there was a wonderful black-tie dinner in the 12th-century Oxford Town Hall.

Experiences like these became a regular part of life when studying at that incredible institution. One immediately senses the centuries of scholarship that built the town and it makes it easy to work hard, in hopes of achieving the kind of greatness that has gone before him or her. Studying at Oxford was a useful and revitalizing part of a Haverford career. Though I thoroughly enjoyed myself, found confidence in the path my life was taking, and did some of my best work, it certainly was not the warm, supportive environment that we all know and love, and I was ready to leave when the year came to an end. I am eager to return to Haverford in the fall to see how my new discipline with reading and writing helps with the more structured workload.

— Will Coleman '07