My experiences at A.I.U. started around January 1st, 2022. The eight months that I spent at A.I.U. was
full of learning experiences. The course that comes to mind first is the one that I named “Meditation,”
where I read about the art and science of meditation and wrote an essay about it. I feel that the
opportunity with doing such a course in A.I.U. helped me gain insight into things in the world that
otherwise I would not read about. I realize though that knowledge is a vast thing and there are many
books about a single topic. With “Meditation” I feel that I could have come up with a sequel course and
could have named it “Meditation 2.”
I also had the opportunity to express my own creative thoughts about how the world works. I think
that human society is constructed as a tree, and that the high portion of the tree has many advantages
while the lower portion of the tree has disadvantages. As nutrition is sucked out the soil by the roots
and taken to the high parts, soil represents enslavement.
My tutor Tobi called often to check on me to see how things are going with my studies and if I am
staying on track. I often changed my major, but though that was somewhat unsettling I managed to
keep up with the studies.
I believe that one of the major strengths of A.I.U. is their amazing online library. The online library
seems to really signify the legitimacy of the school, even if it has a special type of accreditation.
As for the accreditation, I realize that the international version of accreditation is different from the
traditional form of accreditation often done for recognition of education institutions in the United
States. I do think it is important for the university to get more involved with discussions about the
academic studies that the student undertakes. The strength of the free style of learning in this
university is that it can open the hearts and minds of students towards learning, but isolation can be a
weakness. I think tutors could give more comments on essays, rather than just giving a letter grade. I
suppose that the burnout rate being high comes from such isolation, but I’m glad that I managed to pull
through and get my degree.
I do plan to do a graduate study program with A.I.U. I’d like to take the opportunity to write about
how envision my learning goals for this future. I want to analyze world problems, particularly world
crises. If the world could come together to solve them rather than continue to be divided, then there
would be hope. One way the world comes together is through the United Nations, so studying about
what they do would naturally be part of the program. I’d like to examine the various crises starting with
nuclear threat, then climate change, then economic inequality that threatens the lower class, and social
issues such as racial equity, women’s rights, LGBTQ recognition, etc.
All in all, studying at A.I.U. has been a rewarding experience. I thank all the staff and my tutor for my
time here.Best Regards, Mark Carpenter, Bachelor of Holistic Education