Gavin Defina
Double Major Sustainable Community Development and Geography (GIST)
Studied in Copenhagen, Denmark with DIS during Summer 2024
Studying abroad in Europe over the summer was one of the best experiences I have had as a UMass Amherst student. I studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark through DIS during the Summer of 2024. Copenhagen, Denmark is known to be one of the best sustainable cities in the world and it was the perfect place to discover a new sustainable lifestyle and complete academic coursework within that framework. While abroad, I took two courses over a seven week period, Strategies of Urban Livability and Sustainable Development in Northern Europe. In both of these classes, my classmates and I took bicycle tours around city neighborhoods, volunteered on a local community-supported farm and even traveled to Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia to learn more about sustainable development in additional European contexts. Outside of the classroom, I had an amazing time exploring the Danish urban landscape by using their extensive and efficient public transportation systems, learning and practicing a new foreign language, living and socializing in a suburb Kollegium with other DIS students and full time Danish students, and cheaply traveling to other European destinations like London, Prague, Amsterdam and Belgium. I gained so much more than I expected throughout my study abroad experience, not only as an international scholar and academic student, but also as a soon-to-be new professional in the career sphere and an individual living on their own post-graduation.
As a senior Commonwealth Honors College student I am completing my Honors Thesis exploring how current senior UMass students understand the university campus spatially through mental mapping strategies. In regards to future professional plans, I am interested in both the urban planning and community development and higher education sectors. I am currently applying to full time positions at urban planning consulting firms, and graduate programs pursuing a Master’s in Urban Planning and/or a Master’s in Higher Education.