The ORA Experience

The

Experience ORA

Every year, the Oxford Royale Academy in the United Kingdom offers the Business and Enterprise Programme for students ages 16-18. This two-week summer course is designed to provide students academic classes in international business and group activities focusing on leadership. Participants are provided with strong theoretical and practical foundations needed to be successful in the field of business and enterprise, from setting up start-ups to working in large, multinational corporations.

Last July, 19 students from UA&P participated in the Oxford Summer School Program. Three of them share their stories here.

The two weeks of my summer spent with the Oxford Royale Academy in Oxford, United Kingdom was truly one for the books. I had the perfect chance to meet young people my age from different parts of the world and share this amazing experience with them. The ORA gave us a perfectly thought out and organized array of activities not just to get to know topics on a specific course but to engage in culture, arts, and sports. The lessons taught in the chosen class vastly helped broaden and deepen our knowledge about the subject and brought out the best in our thinking capability and skills. I deeply encourage everyone to try this program for future summers to come; it really opened my eyes to a new environment of learning, and taught me to go out of my comfort zone and see the world and learn from a different perspective.

One of the most memorable days for me was the last day of the program. It was a Friday, and after breakfast everyone proceeded to their own classrooms in the manor for the final activity. For us Business and Enterprise students, it was our Final Business Plan presentation, and I was looking forward to this day. My Spanish and Belgian group mates and I presented our product, marketing plan, and business analyses. Our peers and professor chose our group for the best business plan award! It was such a great feeling; all of our hard work and days of preparation paid off. Then that afternoon we had the awarding ceremony. Everyone looked so elegant in their formal wear. They gave us our completion certificates and handed special awards to the students who excelled in their class. Thankfully, I was given a special award for putting in my best effort in Business and Enterprise. The day ended with a giant party in the city at the Oxford town hall with all the ORA students from different campuses. We had a great time that night dancing, playing arcade games, and meeting new friends. This day for me was the highlight of my two weeks at ORA.

Having had the prior mindset that I was solely getting myself into an academic course when I signed up for Oxford Royale Academy’s Global Business, Finance, and Management program, I was thrilled to discover that I was in for a way bigger treat than that. Beyond the expected academic development that I was able to gain from the different sessions and activities my program comprised of, I ended up experiencing immense socio-cultural exposure on a daily basis as well. Even the most casual conversations I had with the friends I met in Oxford of over 150 different nationalities would have passed for world history and language lessons because of the quantity of new information I picked up from every exchange. Because of these, this growth- and fun-filled experience of a lifetime was one I would undoubtedly do all over again if given the chance.

My trip wouldn’t have been the complete Oxford experience if I decided not to try my hand at one of the things that the city is most known for: punting 1 . Given the effortlessness by which the guides punted, the amount of strength, control, and patience it took to push against the riverbed and move the punt even the slightest bit forward came as quite a surprise to me. My friends, Jio (also from UA&P), Magaly from Lebanon, Pedro from Spain, and I took turns maneuvering our punt and much of what got us through the course was how we were all laughing at each other’s not-so-successful attempts to do so the entire time. Funnily (and embarrassingly) enough, ours was the only group that did not make it back to the starting point by closing time. We had to be rescued by the punt guides—which drew a laugh out of everyone—but I honestly wouldn’t have had it any other way. This whole punting experience became all the more memorable because of it.

1 Punting refers to boating in a punt, a flat-bottomed boat with square ends. The punter propels the boat by pushing a pole against the riverbed.

Samantha Ysabel Co, 36YP

To join the next Oxford Summer School Program, or inquire about other opportunities to study abroad, get in touch with the Public and International Affairs Office. Call Ms. Chesca Bringera or Ms. Marielle Abella at 8637-0912 local 206.

The Oxford Royale Academy experience was truly exceptional. Without a doubt, ORA gave me a kind of education that went beyond pure academics and immersed me in something that every nation in the world is rich in—culture. Along with the excellent summer classes on business, more than anything, the Oxford summer school was a platform for people from every corner of the world to share and take part in each other’s lives. From the jungles of Brazil to the cities of Australia, each person I met in the program all had stories to tell, practices to show, and kindness to give. Because of this, for me, ORA became something more than just a summer school and transformed into a place I can honestly call home.

Jose Genson II (right) with Samantha Co (left) and a new friend from ORA