Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Supporting Pennsylvania College of Technology’s mission to equip future leaders with real-world experience, faculty members led students in exploring new parts of that world through six 2024 Global Experience classes.
In Europe, students explored the origin and future of objects of their study, and in Latin America, they used their budding skills to serve others.
“The Penn College study abroad model is mission fit,” said Daniel J. Clasby, assistant dean of academic operations. “Our instructors create programs that blend global learning with a student-centered, hands-on approach. Students leave the experience with wonderful memories, for sure, but they also acquire skills, new mindsets and a confidence that will follow them through life.”
Around 135 students participated in the classes:
Students in European Sustainable Building, Historical Architecture & Art visit the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest.
“Traveling abroad as a college student is an unparalleled opportunity for growth and learning,” said Naim N. Jabbour, associate professor of architecture, who taught European Sustainable Building, Historical Architecture & Art. “It allows them to step out of their comfort zones and immerse themselves in new cultures, languages and environments.
“For architecture students, these trips are especially valuable as they provide the chance to experience diverse architectural styles, historical landmarks and innovative designs firsthand,” Jabbour continued. “Visiting renowned buildings, engaging with local professionals and participating in specialized workshops enriches our understanding of global architectural practices.”
Each Global Experience course included a 16-week spring semester class that prepared students for their journeys, which took place during the summer and ranged from six to 16 days.
“It was amazing to see in person the artifacts that we had been studying during the semester,” said Hailey P. Stroble, a graphic design student from Thomasville who took part in Art History in London, England. “This made the museums much more interesting, because we knew the backstory of these art pieces and the history of the culture and time period it came from.”
In preparation for a trip by students in six majors to the Dominican Republic, Wayne Sheppard, one of three faculty members who taught the Cultural Immersion & Service Learning class, said the trio taught students about the socioeconomics, history and culture of the region they would visit. (The class's experience was recently featured on WBRE/WYOU's Hispanic Heritage Month special.)
Human services & restorative justice student Jenirosa A. White took the course and, during the group’s time in the Dominican, she was able to employ both the cultural education specific to the Global Experience class and the skills she has learned in human services coursework, practicing empathy and sympathy as she participated in service projects.
“I was able to learn about different cultures I had never thought about before,” the Mill Hall resident said.
White, second from right, and classmates on the Cultural Immersion & Service Learning trip to the Dominican Republic, display personal care kits. The group collected personal care items and packed them into kits to distribute to workers at a garbage dump.
Also employing their skills were Chris A. Fisher, of Middleburg, a construction management student who helped to build a home in the Dominican Republic, and Isabel M. Horst, of Wernersville, who helped to provide oral care in a different region of the same nation.
“Some of the skills included basic carpentry skills like framing and putting up siding, as well as the management process of having a group of people come together to build a home,” said Fisher, who also made the trip in 2023. “To have two families that have a shelter over their head and a safe place to sleep at night – it’s a great thing to know that I was part of that.”
“It has taught me a lot and shown me that people come from all different types of situations,” Horst said. “I think it’s given me a lot of empathy.”
A participant on a mission trip to Costa Rica in high school, Horst was excited to use her new dental hygiene associate degree, earned in May, to help in a new way.
“I was just excited to be able to see what I’ve learned and what I can do,” said Horst, who is working toward a Penn College bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene.
While Horst had traveled internationally before, Stroble had never left the country but said she felt comfortable doing so with her art history classmates and faculty.
“We have a lot of students who have never traveled outside the U.S.,” Sheppard said. “In general, the students jumped at the chance to try something new.”
“It definitely will be scary at first: new places, new people, new experiences. But I can safely say it is all so rewarding in the end,” said Lauren B. Klinger, of Kresgeville, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture and took the European Sustainable Building, Historical Architecture & Art course. “You gain travel experience, a feel for foreign currency, strong independence, communication skills and more.”
Lauren B. Klinger, a Bachelor of Architecture student from Kresgeville, on a boat ride to Venice, Italy.
In short: The experiences open the door for future exploration.
“During my Global Experience trip, I had the privilege of immersing myself in diverse cultures, engaging with local communities and exploring breathtaking landscapes,” said Megan N. Ney, of Trevorton, one of Klinger’s European architecture classmates. “I found myself eager to learn more about different cultures, histories, and perspectives and have been motivated to continue exploring the world.”
“Beyond academics, these experiences broaden students’ worldviews, inspire creativity, and build lifelong memories and connections,” Jabbour, her instructor, said. “Traveling abroad truly transforms their educational journey, making it more dynamic and impactful. Studying abroad benefits all college students by broadening their cultural perspectives, enhancing their adaptability, and providing unique academic and personal growth opportunities that are invaluable in an increasingly globalized world.”
“We all get to interact with amazing people,” Sheppard said. “Everybody has different opportunities and different challenges. There’s a world of growth in realizing there are different ways of doing things.”
Teaching 2024 Global Experience classes, in addition to Jabbour and Sheppard, were Rob Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science; Gerald G. Kaplan, instructor of ceramics; Christine B. Kavanagh, recently retired assistant professor of nursing; Roy H. Klinger, instructor of collision repair; Rhonda J. Seebold, part-time instructor of dental hygiene; and Chef Mary G. Trometter, recently retired assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts.
Global Experience participation during the 2023-24 academic year at Penn College was financially supported by more than 80 donors. Students are supported through four endowed scholarship funds that award assistance to those taking the courses, and a Global Experiences General Fund that provides scholarship support to additional students.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.
In London, art history students gather for a photo opportunity in front of Windsor Castle.
Students and faculty have fun with a phone booth in Westminster. Flanking the group are Craig A. Miller (left), professor of history/political science, and Gerald G. Kaplan (right), instructor of ceramics.
Students and faculty gather outside of a technical school, where they loaded prefabricated walls and building components to transport to the site where they would build a new home for a family.
Giovanni Silva (left), a construction management student from Stroudsburg, visits a family along with a Mission 2535 pastor/interpreter.
Construction management student Chris A. Fisher (right) gains experience as the team’s foreman. Fisher is from Middleburg.
Visiting the Caribbean in late June calls for a lunch break in the shade. “Temperatures ran from the high 90s to 105 degrees most days,” said Wayne R. Sheppard, assistant professor of construction management.
The group gathers at the dump, where they shared lunch, stories, prayer and personal care kits with those who sort through garbage to find items of value.
Christine B. Kavanagh (left), a recently retired assistant professor of nursing, helps carry the load.
Some of the team (center) helps with a Vacation Bible School in the community.
Rob Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science, cuts studs as the team prefabricates wall panels for the home build.
Wayne R. Sheppard (left), assistant professor of construction management, joins students in moving a wall panel.
Students visit Prague’s Old Town Square.
More architectural study in the Czech Republic, near Prague Castle.
Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, one of Austria’s most important cultural sites.
Bachelor of Architecture student Lauren B. Klinger, who provided the photo, was surprised to learn a piece of World War II history when the class visited The Shoes on the Danube Bank monument, which remembers the 3,500 people, 800 of them Jewish, who were told to take off their shoes before they were shot at the edge of the river.
Students Kyle F. Group (left), of Gettysburg, and Billy L. Baldauf (right), of York, watch a demonstration. Both are majoring in culinary arts technology and applied management.
Maddi H. Smith, of York, culinary arts technology and applied management, tastes local honey, harvested at one of the culinary schools the group visited. The Italian students help maintain the hives and then use the honey in their lab.
The group, including faculty Chef Mary G. Trometter, recently retired assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, and Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts (third and fourth from left), gathers with its guides in Trieste, Italy.
Trometter (third from left), who established the Global Food & Hospitality course, joins students in an espresso tasting.
“Chef Gino” demonstrates pasta during one of the students’ cooking lessons,
The students and faculty join a summer black truffle hunt in Asti, Italy.
Group shows one of the black truffles found by the truffle hunter and his well-trained dogs.
Laura F. Crawford (left), part-time instructor of dental hygiene, and Rachel A. Doyle, a dental hygiene student from Lincoln University, provide oral care at a community center in Zion village, Dominican Republic.
Having received a new toothbrush and instruction, a child practices brushing his teeth.
The dental hygiene students, alumni and faculty prepare to hike to a mountaintop village where they would provide both a clinic and an oral health fair.
Dental hygiene student Alexandra M. Shenk (right), of Jonestown, works alongside 2019 dental hygiene graduate Marlene Melendez.
Posing with a local landmark in the beach town of Sosua.
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