CO-OP With Freed of London
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Basic Information
Full Name: Miranda Hileman
UC Email: [email protected]
College: CEAS
Major: FEP-Chemical Engineering
Title of Project: Freed CO-OP
Thematic Area (choose only one): Global Studies
Expected Project Start Date: August 25th, 2014
Expected Project End Date: December 5th, 2014
Project Information
For my project, I want to CO-OP internationally with Freed of London. Freed is a company based out of London, England that makes pointe shoes and other dance related products. I am a Chemical Engineering student, and CO-OP is required by my college’s curriculum. However, I hope to go above and beyond the requirements and fulfill a Global Studies Honors Experience.
CO-OPing with Freed will allow be to take the first step towards my final goal of being the engineer behind the materials in pointe shoes. I was an avid dancer in high school, and I hope to continue that passion by working on the engineering side of the dance world. On top of the experiences I will gain through working with Freed, I also hope to learn about specific ballerinas in England and about British culture.
The CO-OP requires me to work full time with Freed, and I hope to gain the most out of this by asking and learning about as many areas of the company as I can. Since most CO-OPs are usually focused around the specific area or project they are working on, I will deepen the traditional experience by learning as much as I can and trying to spread myself around the company as much as possible, while still fulfilling my duties in the area or project I am assigned to.
Since I will be working with a dance corporation, this provides the perfect opportunity to learn about dancers in England and the tradition of ballet in the United Kingdom. Ballet has a different face in every country, so even though the art is the same the names, the cultural standard, and training methods are all totally different. As I already have experience in the American tradition of ballet, it will be very interesting to compare the two. Working with Freed will provide me with many outlets to working within the dance world.
Finally, living in England provides ample opportunities for learning. While I am in England there will be plenty of ways for me to explore the culture. From eating at a local restaurant, to tooling around London’s many museums, I will be completely surrounded by culture. I hope to learn the most about the theater culture, which may include experiences like going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, or going to a West End Broadway production. Of course other cultural experiences will be experienced every day, even though both the US and the UK speak English, the terminology is different, so learning new words for old things will be exciting and mentally challenging.
The time commitment is fairly simple. All the hours I work for Freed will be a part of my experience and most of my free hours will also be spent learning, since one of my other goals is to learn more about British culture.
All in all, I have a three-pronged approach to my learning on this experience: learning through experiences at work, learning about Freed’s customers outside of the working hours, and learning about the country I’m living in in any other free time I have.
Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area
Recognize the interdependence of world economies, political systems and the environment.
Through working at Freed, I hope to see how the dance world is truly international. As their products are used worldwide, it will be nice to understand how they are made before they hit the stage. I also hope to see the interdependence between different aspects of economies through Freed. For example, how the markets for the materials in pointe shoes are effect Freed’s company, and how trends in shoe style or dance style affect how the company designs its shows and how they market their products. If possible, I would love to learn about the environmental impact of companies like Freed because at first thought it seems like their impact would be very little. However, I am sure that their company affects the environment just as much as any other company. Finally, it would be extremely interesting to learn about the differences in production of products in different countries. For example, Freed as a line marketed towards American dancers, are there other lines like this for other areas of the world? Are there trends in custom-made shoes, depending on where the buyer is from? And what are the specific differences between the British line and the American line? Working with Freed will provide the perfect opportunity to experience international economics at a very close range.
Participate in a global society and understand the role of a global citizen.
By living internationally for several months, I hope to begin to understand and appreciate the unique aspects of British culture that I only tasted in my previous trip. Previously, I went to England to dance in an international summer intensive. While there I gained a basic feel of British culture, I really hope to fully understand and appreciate it more when I live there for a while. By living and not touring, I will be able to see more of a local side of things. I won’t be as focused on seeing the major touristy attractions, but will instead try and find local haunts that are undeniably British and completely quaint. Some aspects of their culture will take some getting used to, like having unconventional things for breakfast, like baked beans. I will also have a completely different view on nightlife culture, since in England, I will be able to drink alcohol and visit pubs-whether or not I actually do that is a different story. Experiencing this part of life while abroad will provide for interesting comparisons once I am actually of age here in the United States. Living internationally, as expected, will be a huge learning curve, but will be an extremely rewarding experience overall.
Connection to Goals and Academic Theories
A. Eventually I want to work on the engineering side of product design in a company that is directly related to the world of performing arts. In other words, I would love to work for a company like Freed or Grishko. The best example of the kinds of projects that these companies work that I could be a major help on is the Miracle shoe. Grishko currently has a pointe shoe on the market that has some fantastic engineering in the lining of the shoe. The fabric that lines the Miracle is sprayed with the same chemical treatment that can be found on the pads of Band-Aids. Basically, a shoe that in its fundamental design destroys the wearer’s foot can now provide some healing while the shoe is still on. This experience will provide the first hands-on experience with this kind of work, and will be a true test to see if this is something I can make a career out of.
B. Study Abroad 101 by Wendy Williamson
This book gives students who are traveling abroad the basic foundation of knowledge that they will need when they are living in another country. Most students have only lived alone at their respective college campuses, and living independently abroad is a big change. In my case, since I won’t even have the foundation of a traveling group or even a university setting to fall back upon for familiarity, reading a source like this will provide incredible mental stability in preparation for living in anther country. In addition, a basic book like this one can provide for helpful advice on buying groceries and packing lists which may be something I would have been unsure of otherwise.
The Perfect Fit Short Documentary
Made by a Scottish production team, The Perfect Fit focuses on the production processes for shoes made by Freed of London. Since I will be working with Freed, watching this brief documentary will give me a very basic understanding of the making of pointe shoes. In fact, watching this documentary will be a refresher course on point shoe production, because when I first bought my first pair of pointe shoes out of sheer curiosity, I did as much research as I could on the process for making the amazing shoes. The Perfect Fit will be a very simple introduction into the processes I will be diving head first into once I am working in London with Freed.
Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity
This project is loaded with examples of initiative. UC has lots of companies with great working CO-OP relationships. Freed of London is not one of these companies. By setting up this CO-OP and working with both the office of Professional Practice and Freed, I have shown that I am willing to go out and find opportunities that interest me and fulfill the requirements for my degree. I have also shown creativity in getting my two passions to blend. Most people would put dance and engineering on two opposite ends of a spectrum and would be unable to see how one affects the other. For example, when I tell people about my dream job, the most common response is, “I didn’t even think those could be related! But that job sounds amazing!” Once in England, I will be showing creativity by using my free time to explore other outlets of the Global Studies pillar. Most CO-OPs, especially in the Cincinnati area, know the surrounding community that they work in, since I will be unfamiliar with where I am working, I think it is important to learn as much as I can in the time that I have to spend there. In my free time, I hope to explore the rich cultural history of the United Kingdom. Since the public transportation system is so amazing and cheap, it should be fairly simple for me to travel lots of different places for a low cost and with ease. It is also highly possible for me to expand my horizons even further and travel around Europe, since the establishment of the European Union makes that kind of travel extremely simple. Working and learning in England provides ample opportunity for learning and creativity.
Reflection
In order to continually reflect on my experiences in England with Freed, I will continue the blog that I started when I took my first trip to England. Titled ‘Leaping Through London’ the blog initially was intended to help the parents of the dancers on the trip know what we were up to while we were gone. Since the blog is already created, and known to an audience that would be interested in hearing about my CO-OP experience, it is an amazing outlet for my reflection. Also, since I am already familiar with blogging nearly daily on it, that aspect should come easily. The blog format also allows me to reflect daily and respond often to questions like: What is the best thing you learned today? Who made the biggest impact on your experiences today? What moment from today do you hope sticks in your mind for a really long time? How did your understanding of British culture deepen? How did your understanding of the business of pointe shoes expand?
Dissemination
During my previous trip to London, I kept a blog titled Leaping Through London so that all those back home could keep up with what was going on throughout our trip. As the dissemination for this experience, I plan on resuming entries on Leaping Through London. Since I will be living internationally, I will be able to keep up with people back home through this blog and comments on it. I will also be able to share entries with people related to UC and this Honors Experience by placing a link to the blog on my Learning Portfolio’s page about the experience. Blogging about my experience will allow me to look back on it later and will be a great way to prevent loosing memories by not reflecting on them as they occur. Since I already have an appropriately titled outlet for dissemination, there is no reason that it should go unused!
Project Advisor
My project advisor for this trip will be my dance teacher from the time I used to dance, Denise Gillman. Ms. Denise will be an ample source of knowledge for living in England and working in the dance world because she often goes over to teach at one of her good friend’s studio’s in Warrington, England. Ms. Denise has visited England many times, and also has connections through teaching at Kate Simmons studio. By keeping in contact with Ms. Denise during my honors experience, I will be able to find connections in the unfamiliar international environment and those connections will most likely be connected to the world of dance and ballet in some way as well. Therefore, because of her connections with both the world of dance and traveling in England, Ms. Denise is a wonderful choice for Project
Advisor.
Denise Gillman
(502)-614-0446 (Cell)
(502)-243-9722 (Studio Number)
[email protected] (E-mail)
7205 Clore Lane
Crestwood, KY 40014 (Studio Address)
Budget
*All numbers are approximations and take into consideration the conversion from pounds to US dollars.
Itinerary
Since I am on CO-OP most of my time will be spent at work or fulfilling some other kind of daily routine. However if and when I get the chance to sightsee, I would love to take in several different sights. Shakespeare’s Globe is a definite must. I’d also like to see a Royal Ballet performance, since many of their dancers wear Freed shoes. I’d like to take a tour of a few different castles, including Buckingham Palace-a tour that is extremely difficult to get into. Of course I would like to explore the Covent Gardens district more, and would love to return to Harrods’s (and not get lost like my last visit). I’d definitely like to ride the Eye again, and tour Westminster Abbey. If there is a tour of the Houses of Parliament that doesn’t involve me simply peering into the gates, I would love to experience that. And of course, if I get the chance to go back to Warrington and visit people I know there, or head over to Wales to visit my friend Georgia, I would jump on the opportunity!
Full Name: Miranda Hileman
UC Email: [email protected]
College: CEAS
Major: FEP-Chemical Engineering
Title of Project: Freed CO-OP
Thematic Area (choose only one): Global Studies
Expected Project Start Date: August 25th, 2014
Expected Project End Date: December 5th, 2014
Project Information
For my project, I want to CO-OP internationally with Freed of London. Freed is a company based out of London, England that makes pointe shoes and other dance related products. I am a Chemical Engineering student, and CO-OP is required by my college’s curriculum. However, I hope to go above and beyond the requirements and fulfill a Global Studies Honors Experience.
CO-OPing with Freed will allow be to take the first step towards my final goal of being the engineer behind the materials in pointe shoes. I was an avid dancer in high school, and I hope to continue that passion by working on the engineering side of the dance world. On top of the experiences I will gain through working with Freed, I also hope to learn about specific ballerinas in England and about British culture.
The CO-OP requires me to work full time with Freed, and I hope to gain the most out of this by asking and learning about as many areas of the company as I can. Since most CO-OPs are usually focused around the specific area or project they are working on, I will deepen the traditional experience by learning as much as I can and trying to spread myself around the company as much as possible, while still fulfilling my duties in the area or project I am assigned to.
Since I will be working with a dance corporation, this provides the perfect opportunity to learn about dancers in England and the tradition of ballet in the United Kingdom. Ballet has a different face in every country, so even though the art is the same the names, the cultural standard, and training methods are all totally different. As I already have experience in the American tradition of ballet, it will be very interesting to compare the two. Working with Freed will provide me with many outlets to working within the dance world.
Finally, living in England provides ample opportunities for learning. While I am in England there will be plenty of ways for me to explore the culture. From eating at a local restaurant, to tooling around London’s many museums, I will be completely surrounded by culture. I hope to learn the most about the theater culture, which may include experiences like going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, or going to a West End Broadway production. Of course other cultural experiences will be experienced every day, even though both the US and the UK speak English, the terminology is different, so learning new words for old things will be exciting and mentally challenging.
The time commitment is fairly simple. All the hours I work for Freed will be a part of my experience and most of my free hours will also be spent learning, since one of my other goals is to learn more about British culture.
All in all, I have a three-pronged approach to my learning on this experience: learning through experiences at work, learning about Freed’s customers outside of the working hours, and learning about the country I’m living in in any other free time I have.
Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area
Recognize the interdependence of world economies, political systems and the environment.
Through working at Freed, I hope to see how the dance world is truly international. As their products are used worldwide, it will be nice to understand how they are made before they hit the stage. I also hope to see the interdependence between different aspects of economies through Freed. For example, how the markets for the materials in pointe shoes are effect Freed’s company, and how trends in shoe style or dance style affect how the company designs its shows and how they market their products. If possible, I would love to learn about the environmental impact of companies like Freed because at first thought it seems like their impact would be very little. However, I am sure that their company affects the environment just as much as any other company. Finally, it would be extremely interesting to learn about the differences in production of products in different countries. For example, Freed as a line marketed towards American dancers, are there other lines like this for other areas of the world? Are there trends in custom-made shoes, depending on where the buyer is from? And what are the specific differences between the British line and the American line? Working with Freed will provide the perfect opportunity to experience international economics at a very close range.
Participate in a global society and understand the role of a global citizen.
By living internationally for several months, I hope to begin to understand and appreciate the unique aspects of British culture that I only tasted in my previous trip. Previously, I went to England to dance in an international summer intensive. While there I gained a basic feel of British culture, I really hope to fully understand and appreciate it more when I live there for a while. By living and not touring, I will be able to see more of a local side of things. I won’t be as focused on seeing the major touristy attractions, but will instead try and find local haunts that are undeniably British and completely quaint. Some aspects of their culture will take some getting used to, like having unconventional things for breakfast, like baked beans. I will also have a completely different view on nightlife culture, since in England, I will be able to drink alcohol and visit pubs-whether or not I actually do that is a different story. Experiencing this part of life while abroad will provide for interesting comparisons once I am actually of age here in the United States. Living internationally, as expected, will be a huge learning curve, but will be an extremely rewarding experience overall.
Connection to Goals and Academic Theories
A. Eventually I want to work on the engineering side of product design in a company that is directly related to the world of performing arts. In other words, I would love to work for a company like Freed or Grishko. The best example of the kinds of projects that these companies work that I could be a major help on is the Miracle shoe. Grishko currently has a pointe shoe on the market that has some fantastic engineering in the lining of the shoe. The fabric that lines the Miracle is sprayed with the same chemical treatment that can be found on the pads of Band-Aids. Basically, a shoe that in its fundamental design destroys the wearer’s foot can now provide some healing while the shoe is still on. This experience will provide the first hands-on experience with this kind of work, and will be a true test to see if this is something I can make a career out of.
B. Study Abroad 101 by Wendy Williamson
This book gives students who are traveling abroad the basic foundation of knowledge that they will need when they are living in another country. Most students have only lived alone at their respective college campuses, and living independently abroad is a big change. In my case, since I won’t even have the foundation of a traveling group or even a university setting to fall back upon for familiarity, reading a source like this will provide incredible mental stability in preparation for living in anther country. In addition, a basic book like this one can provide for helpful advice on buying groceries and packing lists which may be something I would have been unsure of otherwise.
The Perfect Fit Short Documentary
Made by a Scottish production team, The Perfect Fit focuses on the production processes for shoes made by Freed of London. Since I will be working with Freed, watching this brief documentary will give me a very basic understanding of the making of pointe shoes. In fact, watching this documentary will be a refresher course on point shoe production, because when I first bought my first pair of pointe shoes out of sheer curiosity, I did as much research as I could on the process for making the amazing shoes. The Perfect Fit will be a very simple introduction into the processes I will be diving head first into once I am working in London with Freed.
Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity
This project is loaded with examples of initiative. UC has lots of companies with great working CO-OP relationships. Freed of London is not one of these companies. By setting up this CO-OP and working with both the office of Professional Practice and Freed, I have shown that I am willing to go out and find opportunities that interest me and fulfill the requirements for my degree. I have also shown creativity in getting my two passions to blend. Most people would put dance and engineering on two opposite ends of a spectrum and would be unable to see how one affects the other. For example, when I tell people about my dream job, the most common response is, “I didn’t even think those could be related! But that job sounds amazing!” Once in England, I will be showing creativity by using my free time to explore other outlets of the Global Studies pillar. Most CO-OPs, especially in the Cincinnati area, know the surrounding community that they work in, since I will be unfamiliar with where I am working, I think it is important to learn as much as I can in the time that I have to spend there. In my free time, I hope to explore the rich cultural history of the United Kingdom. Since the public transportation system is so amazing and cheap, it should be fairly simple for me to travel lots of different places for a low cost and with ease. It is also highly possible for me to expand my horizons even further and travel around Europe, since the establishment of the European Union makes that kind of travel extremely simple. Working and learning in England provides ample opportunity for learning and creativity.
Reflection
In order to continually reflect on my experiences in England with Freed, I will continue the blog that I started when I took my first trip to England. Titled ‘Leaping Through London’ the blog initially was intended to help the parents of the dancers on the trip know what we were up to while we were gone. Since the blog is already created, and known to an audience that would be interested in hearing about my CO-OP experience, it is an amazing outlet for my reflection. Also, since I am already familiar with blogging nearly daily on it, that aspect should come easily. The blog format also allows me to reflect daily and respond often to questions like: What is the best thing you learned today? Who made the biggest impact on your experiences today? What moment from today do you hope sticks in your mind for a really long time? How did your understanding of British culture deepen? How did your understanding of the business of pointe shoes expand?
Dissemination
During my previous trip to London, I kept a blog titled Leaping Through London so that all those back home could keep up with what was going on throughout our trip. As the dissemination for this experience, I plan on resuming entries on Leaping Through London. Since I will be living internationally, I will be able to keep up with people back home through this blog and comments on it. I will also be able to share entries with people related to UC and this Honors Experience by placing a link to the blog on my Learning Portfolio’s page about the experience. Blogging about my experience will allow me to look back on it later and will be a great way to prevent loosing memories by not reflecting on them as they occur. Since I already have an appropriately titled outlet for dissemination, there is no reason that it should go unused!
Project Advisor
My project advisor for this trip will be my dance teacher from the time I used to dance, Denise Gillman. Ms. Denise will be an ample source of knowledge for living in England and working in the dance world because she often goes over to teach at one of her good friend’s studio’s in Warrington, England. Ms. Denise has visited England many times, and also has connections through teaching at Kate Simmons studio. By keeping in contact with Ms. Denise during my honors experience, I will be able to find connections in the unfamiliar international environment and those connections will most likely be connected to the world of dance and ballet in some way as well. Therefore, because of her connections with both the world of dance and traveling in England, Ms. Denise is a wonderful choice for Project
Advisor.
Denise Gillman
(502)-614-0446 (Cell)
(502)-243-9722 (Studio Number)
[email protected] (E-mail)
7205 Clore Lane
Crestwood, KY 40014 (Studio Address)
Budget
*All numbers are approximations and take into consideration the conversion from pounds to US dollars.
- Airfare: $1,500 Round Trip
- Housing: $8,000 Total for end of August to beginning of December
- Food: $3,000
- Transportation- (i.e. Tube Passes, and Train Tickets): $2,000
- Leisure- (i.e. Tickets into Museums or Productions): $3,000
- Misc.- (Clothes, Souvenirs, etc.): $1,500
Itinerary
Since I am on CO-OP most of my time will be spent at work or fulfilling some other kind of daily routine. However if and when I get the chance to sightsee, I would love to take in several different sights. Shakespeare’s Globe is a definite must. I’d also like to see a Royal Ballet performance, since many of their dancers wear Freed shoes. I’d like to take a tour of a few different castles, including Buckingham Palace-a tour that is extremely difficult to get into. Of course I would like to explore the Covent Gardens district more, and would love to return to Harrods’s (and not get lost like my last visit). I’d definitely like to ride the Eye again, and tour Westminster Abbey. If there is a tour of the Houses of Parliament that doesn’t involve me simply peering into the gates, I would love to experience that. And of course, if I get the chance to go back to Warrington and visit people I know there, or head over to Wales to visit my friend Georgia, I would jump on the opportunity!