Exon. - Exeter College - University of Oxford

USAFA to Oxford
From 5am starts and screaming cadets to pigeon post and Cuppers, Oxford, after a military academy,
proves a novel experience for the Alberta Bart Holaday Scholar.
BY Ian Helms (2008, Engineering Science)
Each year a graduate of the United
States Air Force Academy (USAFA)
is awarded the Alberta Bart Holaday
Scholarship. The scholarship covers two
years of study at Exeter College. At the
conclusion of my first full year here at
Oxford University, I’ve developed a
fuller appreciation of the differences
between the Oxford and US university
systems, and more specifically the
inherent advantages and challenges
in each.
In order properly to frame the
comparison, I’d like to relate briefly my
unorthodox undergraduate experience in
the United States. Every year roughly
4,000 graduates from the three primary
US service academies, as well as those
from the United States Coast Guard
Academy and United States Merchant
Marine Academy, leave four years of
highly regimented and supervised
education to enter regimented and
supervised duty to the United States
government. Though the details are
rather mundane, suffice it to say that
a 5am wake-up fairly consistently
followed a midnight bedtime (with
rigorous activity throughout the day).
One of my younger brothers often
offered dubious consolation by noting
that he had “no idea what before nine
in the morning even looked like”.
My engineering education at the
USAFA was a model of the same military
rigidity. Except for the design project
with which the fourth year culminated,
every engineering class followed a
similar cycle of lecture, homework,
experiment, exam throughout my four
years. Though sometimes a tedious
cycle, overall I found this manner of
instruction fitted my learning methods
quite comfortably. What could I expect
to find at Exeter College
Fortunately, the culture shock I was
warned to expect in the UK did not
materialise during my first few days
walking around Oxford. Growing up in
a military family, I was fairly used not
only to moving frequently, but to a
variety of diverse locations. Additionally,
having lived in Panama and travelled to
Japan, the adjustment to another
English-speaking country was fairly
mundane, although the jet-lag was not!
I must say, however, that Oxford, and
Europe more generally, still impress me
daily with the vibrant history seemingly
present on every street corner.
“My engineering education
at the USAFA was a model
of military rigidity.”
Academically speaking, however, the
adjustment has been both amusing and
instructive. Approximately five minutes
into our first meeting my supervisor,
Professor Li He of the Engineering
Science Department, told me I could
not continue to call him “sir” for the
rest of my tenure at Oxford. Juxtaposing
thoughts of a screaming 22 year-old
fourth-year cadet admonishing me
to do exactly the opposite four years
previously brought the sudden change
in my cultural environment into
sharp relief. Overall, the educational
method here at Oxford (at least in my
department) is just as dissimilar as the
professor-student interactions. Seeking
an MSc by Research in Engineering
Science, my instruction typically comes
in weekly half-hour discussions to check
on my progress and address any issues
I have.
Just as in my experience as an
undergraduate, athletic opportunities
abound here at Oxford (although the
difference is that they are optional
activities here, rather than compulsory).
I was surprised to learn that the
University had an American Football
Club, and seized the opportunity to
compete. I have fleshed out my
athletic résumé with performances in
support of the Oxford University Athletic
Club, and by representing Exeter in
Cuppers Swimming and Cuppers Rugby.
All in all, my first year here at Exeter
has been educational and enjoyable.
I want to thank Mr Holaday (1968, PPE)
and Exeter College for this wonderful
opportunity, I’m sure the coming year
will be just as valuable as this one
has been.
The Chapel at the USAFA,
a celebrated landmark
of Colorado.
www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/alumni EXON Autumn 2009 11