“Sometimes, the knowledge you’re looking for isn’t in the place you expect it to be.”

That sentiment from Franklin & Marshall graduate Joshua Millman ’22 took him to Europe’s northernmost wilderness. 

A graduate student at Finland’s University of Jyvaskyla, Millman found himself leading a December trip to Lapland, a sparsely populated area bordering Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Arctic Ocean.

"I learned cultural awareness and how to be a better global citizen."

Joshua Millman '22

After graduating from F&M with an astrophysics degree, Millman is pursuing a master's degree in education science. His focus is on technological innovation and STEM education on the global scale. 

Millman’s recent trip was through the university’s local Erasmus Student Network (ESN), of which he is the vice president. The expedition took him to Kilpisjarvi, Finland, and Tromso, Norway. He has also done advocacy work for ESN in Seville, Spain and Ancona, Italy.

Joshua Millman ’22 stands by the IRAM telescope in Granada, Spain, a radio telescope used to conduct astrochemistry research at F&M with Debbie Schmidt, assistant professor of physics & astronomy.

Things are a bit different in Finland, widely regarded to have one of the best public education systems in the world. But the liberal arts emphasis at F&M made Millman’s transition seamless. 

“You’re not just learning the content of the class. You’re learning the skills,” Millman said.

In his undergraduate French language class, “I had to learn how to analyze text.” In his U.S. government class, “I had to learn how to debate and defend my ideas.”

“I learned cultural awareness and how to be a better global citizen, which helped me adjust to life in Finland and grasp the Finnish language,” Millman said.

Millman, of Branchburg, N.J., quickly found his niche at F&M, staying active in Chabad, F&M Players theater productions and The Poor Richards a cappella singing group. 

"Up until that point in my life, I felt very unseen. F&M was full of people who could see the talents and the potential that I had."

Joshua Millman '22

“Up until that point in my life, I felt very unseen,” Millman said. “This felt like somewhere that I could really belong.”

“F&M was full of people who could see the talents and potential that I had. They supported me so that I could grow in the way that I wanted to,” said Millman, who graduated with multiple honors in physics. 

That academically nurturing environment inspired Millman to combine STEM studies with education. 

“That made me think about educational systems around the world,” he said. “Who's doing it best? Which students are performing the best?”

F&M students experience a rendering of life on Mars through the use of virtual-reality goggles and headsets.

Current F&M students even played a role in Millman’s graduate studies. In December, he coordinated an event for students from multiple colleges to experience a rendering of life on Mars through the use of virtual-reality goggles and headsets. 

“I see a lot of potential to achieve things that are not traditionally possible within just the classroom. Concepts like traveling through space and time are completely possible in this realm constrained only by imagination itself,” he said. 

Millman just added one more stamp to his passport. He is in the midst of an internship at Germany’s University of the Bundeswehr Munich, developing an Android-based AI avatar application for immersive virtual-reality education. He returns to Finland to graduate in May.  

Joshua Millman ’22 presents research at the American Astronomical Society Conference 240 in Pasadena, Calif., where he received an honorable mention for research conducted at F&M.