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India is a fascinating country Posted: Thursday, May 17, 2007, 08:28 pm EST Canyon, Texas: Study abroad programs are becoming so popular at West Texas A&M University that essays on "What I did on my summer vacation" may need to become a standard assignment each fall semester.
This summer alone, more than 120 students and faculty members are heading to locations in Mexico, India, England, Spain, Italy, China, Poland and Costa Rica. Some are going on faculty-led trips, while others are going for independent study. Either way, the interest in study abroad proves that learning is expanding well beyond the WTAMU campus.
Study abroad options at WTAMU have become more visible since the development of a Study Abroad Program last May. Before then, Enrollment Management handled an average of five inquiries a semester about study abroad. This year, Desirae Norton, study abroad coordinator, has visited with at least 100 interested students during the spring semester alone.
"Students are very excited about the options available to them," Norton said. "They hear about it from faculty or by word-of-mouth, and the mass study abroad emails and presentations I've done have helped make the program more visible as well.
"I love working with the students, narrowing down their interests and making sure the overseas university credits will transfer for them."
And she's done quite a bit of work this year, what with six faculty-led trips on the agenda, not to mention more than 40 students already booked for independent study through summer 2008.
The College of Education and Social Sciences (COESS) is leading the way with group trips and has even adopted the slogan "Go Global" for its many study abroad opportunities. COESS faculty and students will make five different trips this summer to earn course credit and expand cross-cultural awareness in India and Mexico. The first trip will take 20 students and four faculty members to India June 3 for a graduate course in Multiculturalism in Education, EDPD 6304.
"India is a fascinating country," Dr. Eddie Henderson, COESS dean, said. "In some areas of India, many aspects of life have gone unchanged for thousands of years. The students will get an opportunity to observe a way of life very unique to our perspective."
The WTAMU group will travel to various Indian cities to explore the culture, food, art, history and economy. They also will donate a collection of bedding and blankets to Mother Teresa's Hospital in Calcutta as part of the course's service learning component.
Last year, a group of COESS graduate students traveled to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, to work with children at the Santa Julia Orphanage. The work started last year will continue with another group of WTAMU graduate students traveling there June 16-24 for Service Learning in Multicultural Education, EDAD 6308.
Twenty students and three sponsors will conduct diagnostic testing to help with the educational curriculum of the children at the orphanage. The testing will be evaluated in July, and a second group of WTAMU undergraduate students will travel to San Miguel Aug. 11-19 to provide teaching strategies to meet the educational needs identified through the testing.
"Our students are so excited. They will work with the madrés at the orphanage and teach them how to use educational materials," Sherry Gill, instructor of education and trip sponsor, said. "We also will get a chance to work with the teachers in the public schools."
Dr. Bryan Vizzini, assistant professor of history, will take a group of 12 students to Guanajuanto, Mexico June 16-24 for a Special Topics Seminar (HIST 6382) for graduates and a Directed Readings (HIST 4096) for undergraduates.
"Language is not all that separates us. It's also our history," Vizzini said. "Our countries have different perceptions of common events like the Alamo so we will do a comparative study and see where we depart from each other and why."
The students will visit with university faculty and public school teachers and conduct research in historic archives. The research will be the basis of collaborative presentations at the end of the course.
On June 24, a group of eight students and two faculty members will head in another direction for an undergraduate course in Political Thought (POSC 3365) in London, England. The trip will focus on the lives and times of British Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke and Jeremy Bentham.
"We read the writings of these philosophers; we don't really understand the person," Dr. Rick Parrish, assistant professor of political science and trip sponsor, said. "We are going to focus on their lives and their thoughts through expert lectures and tours of their homes and memorabilia."
The William H. and Joyce Attebury Honors Program is taking an honors seminar to Guyana, South America on June 10. Seven students will be exposed to the culture and live the life of the people there.
"It will be an interesting experience," Dr. James Hallmark, dean of graduate school and research and trip sponsor, said. "The students will be in a very primitive environment, working with the people, learning the culture and eating the food."
The group will spend three nights in Georgetown before heading to a remote area of the country to live in the home of a family that Hallmark knows well. The students have been studying the area, learning about the country's politics, religion, culture and history in preparation for the trip.
"They are all looking forward to a big adventure," Hallmark said.
In addition to the six faculty-led trips, several WTAMU students are striking out on their own for independent study. Norton has helped 18 students plan summer sessions to overseas universities everywhere from Granada, Spain to Beijing, China.
Students usually take advantage of the study abroad program during their sophomore and junior year. Norton said she often visits with freshman who are interested in it as an option for later in their college career.
"It takes about a year of planning, and I always warn the students that the classes at these overseas universities can be very different and very intense, but nonetheless, it will be a worthwhile and an unforgettable experience," Norton said.
Different, intense, exciting and fun-study abroad is definitely an adventure, and WTAMU students are traveling all over the world this summer to experience learning in a whole new way.
(As issued by West Texas A&M University)
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