Shona Beattie | @OurSyracuseU

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Shona Beattie is a first year student and is a Lockerbie Scholar from Lockerbie, Scotland.

Each year two students from Lockerbie, Scotland are selected to study in Syracuse for a year and represent the Lockerbie 11, and SU’s commitment to Remembrance.

On campus for only a few months so far, Shona is already involved with a running club and Freedom by Design. In class, she’s studying scuba diving, figure sculpture, architectural drawing for non-majors, foundations of human behavior, world cultures and Chinese.

Hi guys! My name is Shona Beattie and I’m a freshman student from Scotland, studying here at SU for a year as a Lockerbie Scholar along with Sian, who you got to meet last week. For anyone who didn’t know, every year 35 SU students and 2 students from Lockerbie are selected to represent the Pan Am 103 air disaster, the 270 lives lost and the motto of ‘Look Back Act forward’, due to the fact that 35 of those lives were SU Abroad students and 11 were residents of Lockerbie . I grew up on a dairy farm just outside the town – which Sian and I estimate is no bigger than campus – which goes to show how crazy it is for us to get the opportunity to fly across the pond to a place like Syracuse. I’ve been loving it here, and I can’t wait to share it all with you. So to start off the week, here’s a post from the start of our adventure – our time in London, making the most of the fact that we had to travel there to get our visas. While we were there we had the chance to visit Faraday House, home of the SU London Campus, as well as have lunch with a couple of the professors there. If you ever study there I’d recommend paying a visit to a place called Giraffe! Looking forward to spending the week with you all – SB ☺️

A photo posted by OurSyracuseU (@oursyracuseu) on

What is your favorite thing about SU?

My favorite thing about SU would have to be the people. Even in my 6 short weeks here I’ve met so many great friends from so many different places. Everyone makes you feel so at home and becomes like a second family so quickly – which makes the experiences and memories you share even better.

If you could tell a new or incoming student just ONE thing about SU, what it would be?

Don’t be afraid to throw yourself into opportunities and push out of your comfort zone, because what have you got to lose compared to the amazing experiences you could have and the great people you could meet?

What does it mean to you to be a Lockerbie Scholar and to be here in Syracuse?

From the first moment that I knew I was coming to Syracuse, it meant a lot to me to be part of something so meaningful and to represent Lockerbie, its loss and its link with SU. However, it wasn’t until I arrived in Syracuse and began to settle in that I realized quite how life changing an experience I was in for. Now a quarter of the way through the shortest year of my life, I have got to know some truly amazing people – starting with the victims and their stories. The Remembrance Scholars, advisors, friends and relatives of the victims and many many more have welcomed us and provided an example of strength, remembrance and unity which has given me a new understanding of Remembrance Week and of the air disaster, and given it a meaning which I would never have been able to understand from wee Lockerbie. Being a Remembrance or Lockerbie Scholar is something that is with you for life, and I will forever be grateful that I have had the chance to be a part of it and honored that someone believed I was up to the task of embodying the spirit of those lost and doing their dreams justice by acting forward in their memory.

I can’t believe it’s already been a week since the Rose Laying Ceremony – one of the traditions of Remembrance Week, where all the scholars lay a rose and pay respects to the victim of Pan Am 103 whom they are representing 🕊️ I don’t think any of us were truly prepared for the emotions involved, but it was a really special day – and for all of us although the hecticness of Remembrance Week is over, it will always be close to our hearts. The week made me even more grateful for being here, the opportunities I’ve had and the amazing people I’ve met along the way. If you didn’t make it this time I’d definitely recommend going along next year, because I can’t do it justice with words – SB #suremembrance2016 #SyracuseU @suremembrance

A photo posted by OurSyracuseU (@oursyracuseu) on

Sian McLaughlin | @OurSyracuseU

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Sian McLaughlin is a first year student and is a Lockerbie Scholar from Lockerbie, Scotland.

Each year two students from Lockerbie, Scotland are selected to study in Syracuse for a year and represent the Lockerbie 11, and SU’s commitment to Remembrance.

On campus for only a few months so far, Sian is already involved with Ottothon, First Year Players, and the Shanti Yoga Club. In class, she’s studying scuba diving, figure sculpture, fiction writing, human sexuality and Latin.

Morning SU! My name is Sian McLaughlin and I’m a Lockerbie Scholar from Scotland. I’m here with a fellow scholar to study for one freshman year, to experience SU and work with the 35 Remembrance Scholars here. I’m here in honor of the victims of the Pan Am 103 flight which was bombed over my hometown, Lockerbie, on the Christmas of 1988. The plane carried 259 passengers, 35 of which were Syracuse students travelling back from a semester abroad. The plane fell upon my town, and we lost 11 of our residents. This scholarship is a meaningful and once in a lifetime opportunity for me, so I’m really excited to share my experience of our Remembrance Week and my other participation on campus. Check out @OurSyracuseU this week to learn more about why I’m here and what I do here! Meanwhile, here’s a picture of myself and Shona Beattie the day we were selected for the scholarships.

A photo posted by OurSyracuseU (@oursyracuseu) on

 

What is your favorite thing/part about SU?

My favorite thing about SU is the spirit – whether I’m meeting new people, spending time with friends, or going to a game, the Syracuse spirit is so evident and uniting for students. I find this heartwarming as an international student, and feel it makes meeting new people all the more easy and exciting.

If you could tell a new or incoming student just ONE thing about SU, what it would be?

Never let there be an awkward silence – fill it, speak to people you don’t know and be outgoing. You never know who you’ll meet or who they’ll become to you. Also, first impressions are almost always wrong.

What is your favorite class to date?

I find it hard to choose, but I particularly love my Fiction Class because it’s a workshop, so it’s about working as a team to help one another build on a personal hobby. I also love Scuba because it’s challenging but rewarding.

What does it mean to you to be a Lockerbie Scholar and to be here in Syracuse?

It is still hard to fully comprehend that I have been selected to study in a place which once lost 35 of its students to the same tragedy that cost my hometown 11 residents – and much more. The communities of Lockerbie and Syracuse united in pain, and from this have become stronger than they were before; to be a part of this is really special to me and an opportunity for me to not only experience this community with which my hometown has bonded with all my life, but to help bring justice to the victims of the disaster and learn of who we lost that night. Working with the Remembrance Scholars to express the passion we share for looking back on the victims’ lives and acting forward in their memory, is really heartwarming. I am so lucky to be welcomed by SU from all the way across the Atlantic, and to witness how much the community here cares for my hometown. Being among now 52 young people from Lockerbie who have become part of both communities really shows, despite the horrendous acts of terrorism, the ability people have to grow stronger when united.

 

Being among now 52 young people from Lockerbie who have studied in at SU over the past 26 years is a massive privilege – becoming part of both communities really shows, despite the horrendous acts of terrorism, the ability people have to grow stronger when united. Andrew McClune, a Lockerbie scholar in 2002, had the same privilege and shared the same passion for Remembrance as Shona and I do. Andrew’s life was cut short during his time here, and so in memory of the outgoing and positive person he was, we continue not only to remember the 11 lives lost in Lockerbie, but the fellow Lockerbie scholar who was also dedicated to remembering them and was taken from us too early. Join us at the Rose Laying Ceremony tomorrow at 2.03pm (the time of the disaster, US time), where we will remember each of the victims for who they were, as well as Andrew McClune. #SURemembrance2016

A photo posted by OurSyracuseU (@oursyracuseu) on

#SUGrad16

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Hey graduates! How are you enjoying your last days on the hill as students & celebrating Commencement? Are you visiting your favorite spots on campus? Or, perhaps snapping photos with your roommates? Share your memories and photos using #SUGrad16 and your posts may be featured here!

Click here for everything you need to know about Commencement Weekend. Click here to watch livestreams of Convocations and Commencement.

Remember, once an Orange, always an Orange! Click here to learn how to stay connected wherever you are. And be sure to answer these quick questions so we know how to reach you after graduation!

 

Orange Game Day Traditions

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Hey #OrangeNation! How do YOU get revved up for an Orange game day? Do you slip into a pair of Orange socks you’ve been wearing since the ’90s? Gather with a group of friends and always share orange cheese doodles before kickoff or opening tip? Or, perhaps you sit in the same position on your couch until the Orange score?

Syracuse University Magazine wants to see and hear about your rituals, traditions, and superstitions.

Share your game day traditions with us (photos encouraged!) by Friday, May 20 via the form below or using #IBleedOrange on social media – include your full name, class year, and hometown.

We will pick our favorites for publication in the magazine’s summer issue and share others on the Syracuse University Magazine website and on our social media channels.

Alumni, update your contact information to receive the Syracuse University Magazine.

Download #IBleedOrange cover photos here and check out our Original Orange website for Orange history, spirit, and game watch locations.