Students reflect on global learning

Emerson’s Office of Internationalization and Global Engagement is expanding its education abroad opportunities this summer with the new Global Pathway Program, which includes five new study abroad opportunities in Amsterdam, France, Greece, Ireland, and Mexico.

All of the Global Pathway programs are led by Emerson faculty. Courses are also being offered in the Czech Republic; China; Colombia; Austria; and at Emerson’s Kasteel Well in the Netherlands, often referred to as “the castle.”

“These are amazing opportunities for all of our students, and this is only the beginning,” said Anthony Pinder, assistant vice president of internationalization and global engagement. “As Emerson continues to build strategic partnerships with institutions around the world, we are creating exciting pathways for our students to build intercultural competence and better understand themselves through a global lens.”

One of the Global Pathway programs this summer is “Anne Frank in Amsterdam and Beyond,” which studies the history of The Diary of Anne Frank at the Free University of Amsterdam.

Conor Doolin ’15, a Visual and Media Arts major, studied in Greece and at Kasteel Well, and is currently studying at Emerson College Los Angeles for his final semester.

“The castle is an experience every Emersonian should partake in,” Doolin said. “That being said, I really liked Greece. It gave me the opportunity to travel by myself and to take a class I normally wouldn’t have been able to take.”

Doolin spent Summer 2014 on the remote Greek island of Patmos—an average eight–hour boat ride from the mainland—where he took a screenwriting workshop with Associate Professor Jean Stawarz and six other students.

“When you’re writing…it’s often hard to turn off the world around you,” Doolin said. “This workshop helped you stay focused. You’re on this island and you’re here to be a writer.”

Doolin said the workshop met twice a day—in the morning and again in the late afternoon—giving students free time to work on projects or travel.

“I rented a moped. I’d drive up and down the island finding ruins and hidden beaches,” Doolin said. “You can do water surfing, sailing, boating. It was a really wonderful place.”

While living at Kasteel Well, Doolin said he visited 18 different countries.

“I got to see the Arctic Circle and ride dog sleds. I traveled to southern Spain and got to see the desert,” he said. “What else can you say? It was a wonderful experience.”

Paulina Pascual ’15, a Visual and Media Arts major, studied at Kasteel Well in Fall 2012 and participated in the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria in Summer 2014.

“The Salzburg Global Seminar was vastly different from Kasteel Well, so I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do both,” Pascual said. “I can definitely say I learned a lot.”

Salzburg primarily focuses on media literacy and accepts about 50 to 70 students from more than 20 different countries. Its faculty director is Paul Mihailidis, assistant professor in Emerson’s Marketing Communication Department. “I got so much out of the program,” Pascual said. “My eyes were opened up to different cultures, experiences, and perspectives. I made friends that I’m sure will last a lifetime with two girls who I am now pen pals with!”

Kate Rosenzweig ’15, a Visual and Media Arts major, also studied at Salzburg last summer and is currently at Emerson Los Angeles.

“We created media solutions to issues in developing countries and presented those ideas to representatives from the United Nations Development Programme,” said Rosenzweig, who worked with other students on publicizing the rights of workers in India through a viral game.

“The program was a combination of a stunning setting—we lived in a palace in the Austrian Alps—and a collaborative academic environment,” she said. “I liked combining what I learned in my Emerson classes and applying them to real civic issues.”