Pauline Hales-Brown in Dublin
Program: Trinity College Dublin
My time at Trinity College Dublin was unforgettable. It was an honor to be taking classes in the same English department that was home to Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and more recently, Sally Rooney of Normal People fame (the Hulu adaptation was filmed at Trinity while I was there!). I made friends for life, both Irish and international. I joined numerous clubs. I had poems published in the school’s literary magazine, Icarus, which has previously published literary greats such as Seamus Heaney, Eavan Boland, and Colm Tóibín. I was able to travel throughout Ireland as well as to Germany and England. I saw the cast of Derry Girls at the Dublin airport! I came to feel at home, both at Trinity and in Dublin. I won Runner Up at the Dublin Comic Arts Festival, giving me the opportunity to sell my comics to comic fans who were visiting from all over Ireland and Europe. I was selected to sell my comics at Trinity’s first-ever holiday market, an event that over 2,000 people attended. It was an experience I will cherish forever and I cannot wait until I can return to Dublin again.