All photos provided by Alice Hobbs.
All study and no adventures at uni leaves our Thouron Scholars restless, and does not provide the full experience of studying abroad in a new country. Alice Hobbs (Br’23) understands this as a Scholar studying at the University of Pennsylvania. Travelling from New Orleans to Canada, Alice is a great example of how we hope our Scholars take advantage of their fellowship as it enriches their lives and their cultural understandings.
Hailing from Reading, England, Alice completed her undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge University. While currently on sabbatical from her career in the U.K. government, Alice is also excelling at something we encourage all of our Scholars to do across both countries: explore!
After spending the past 5 years working in technology policy roles with the U.K. government, including publishing the U.K.’s National Cyber Strategy, we would say that Alice has more than earned this time to challenge herself and have new adventures.
“[I am] studying a Master’s in Computer and Information Technology at UPenn. This is a course unique to Penn, taking students from non-computing backgrounds and putting them through a compressed undergraduate and master’s curriculum in computer science,” Alice shares.
Thus far some of Alice’s local adventures in Philadelphia have been heavily summer themed! “Philadelphia in the summer is hard to beat. Great weather, lots of different neighbourhoods to explore, and unbelievably good ice-cream! We’re also super close to cities like New York and Washington, DC, and beautiful scenery in Amish country,” Alice fondly describes.
She even took on the challenge of learning American sports and attending events! “I had absolutely no knowledge of the rules, but an inkling that I might enjoy it. Philly is a huge sports city — all four of the major professional sports are represented here — before a big game, even the buses display messages of support for the home team. There is an atmosphere on game days,” Alice states.
What makes these adventures in Philadelphia the better for Alice is enjoying them with fellow Scholars. “I am in awe of the brilliance of my fellow Thourons: from medicine, to physics, to law, to public policy, we have such an inspiring group. It was great to be able to spend some more relaxed time together on [a] ski trip,” Alice warmly recalls. The ski trip is another tradition for Thouron Scholars, as it is a regular opportunity for new scholars to go visit Rupert and Jan Thouron up in Vermont.
And what about her adventures outside of Philadelphia? Thus far Alice has been to six different cities in the US, with plans for more on the West Coast, and she has just returned from a trip to Canada. “[I have been to] Washington and New York — both so close, both packed with things to do. I recommend reserving a lot of time to wander around Washington to absorb the architecture and history. And it’s probably futile to try and describe New York in just one sentence,” Alice admits.
For Christmas, Alice ventured to Miami for the awesome weather, food, and friendly people. Chicago has become a frequent travel destination for her, too. “I have been to visit a few times now — do the architecture tour on the river and wrap up warm if you are going in the winter!” Alice advises. Adventures in America wouldn’t be quite complete without a stop in the Big Easy, New Orleans. On visit, Alice loved the music and food — beignets were a revelation and she recommends going into the Bayou, preferably by kayak if you can!
One of her other favourites has been Texas. “[There is] lots of diversity across the different cities — great food scene [and] NASA! [I also] spent a lot of time in search of the Austin bats…” Alice shares. Up next? She plans to visit Canada, making her way to hopefully Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Montreal at the end of August 2024, and then to the West Coast! Los Angeles, Sequoia, Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco are her plans in the winter months.
The most adventurous thing Alice has done isn’t even all of the wonderful travelling! It’s taking one of the least used American transportation methods: train. “To the horror of many of my American friends, we have done a lot of our travel on the trains. I am here to tell you that it is possible!” Alice encourages.
The possibilities are truly endless with the Thouron Award. When our Scholars push themselves out of their comfort zones both academically and culturally, there are memories and experiences that wait to be collected. The rigours of academia do not mean you have to stop living, so enjoy life too!
Regarding her studies, Alice sees the incredible benefit of studying at Penn in her field. “The U.S. is home to a huge, innovative computing industry, and is, of course, an important partner to the U.K. in technology policy. UPenn is world-leading in offering such a rigorous technical course to candidates from a non-traditional background,” Alice shares. With her future ambitions lying within work focused on public-interest technology, we’re very pleased to have Alice join our Thouron community.
“The Thouron community is full of people with big ideas and real love for their subject. I love that such a diverse range of disciplines are represented. On the U.K. side, we are particularly lucky that we all end up in the same U.S. city and are able to explore together!” Alice expresses.
Cheers to Alice and Her Adventures in the Americas!
What adventures await you as a Thouron Scholar? Learn more about the Thouron Award — one of the most prestigious and generous academic scholarships in the world.