Student conducts research in Spain

Honors Tutorial College Spanish and political science major Kaitlyn Booher received Experiential Learning funding to return to Spain to conduct research in Toledo. The purpose of this trip was to advance her thesis research. Having previously conducted political and sociological studies, she felt encouraged to return to Spain and expand on her hypothesis.  

Kaitlyn had previous experience living in and a personal connection to Spain. She lived in Ciudad Real in the summer of 2017 with a host family, the Gomez-Antequeras. Later, two of the Gomez-Antequera daughters came to the United States to live with Kaitlyn in Indiana.  

Kaitlyn spent time in the Basque country learning about the culture. She met a lot of new people and enjoyed seeing the Basque country soccer team. Feeling somewhat out of place while in this new city, Kaitlyn spent most of her weekends either immersed in conducting interviews for her research or spending time with friends she had previously made in Spain.  

After visiting Basque country, Kaitlyn went to Toledo. She had visited Toledo three times, this being the fourth. She was most excited about this part of her trip because Toledo was most familiar to her. She spent a lot of time in Toledo learning from new friends, local waiters, and her ESTO teachers. She had many questions and loved hearing about people’s experiences from their lives in Spain.  

One of the most notable things Kaitlyn did while in Spain was to go to a business school in Bilbao and present to a class of first-year university students. 

Unfortunately, Kaitlyn’s experiential learning opportunity was cut short abruptly. Spain was experiencing a national shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaitlyn returned to the United States immediately, but she is certain that once public health is more stable and international travel is permitted, she will be returning to Spain.  

For information about the Undergraduate Experiential Learning Award, visit the Undergraduate Experiential Learning office’s funding page or contact experiential.learning@ohio.edu.