Students and Faculty Relish Beauty, Connections of Global Pathways Programs
At Maungawhau/Mount Eden in Auckland, New Zealand, students went on a walk that focused on Māori history and cultural storytelling, led by Dane Tumahai, seventh-generation Ngāti Whatua Ōrākei. 
Students visited the Elmina Castle on Ghana’s Cape Coast. From left to right: Jelani Dean ’27, Leslie Melendez ’27, Layla Stewart ’27, Director of Equity Initiatives Samantha Ivery, Annie Givhan of Howard University, and Jacob Armant ’26. 
Visiting the Parthenon in Athens was part of the Citizens and Citizenry program. Left to right: Naia Driscoll ’26, Julianna Mazzolini ’26, Hoai Co May Nguyen ’25, Hailey Bochette ’25, Zaryah Qareeb ’26, Gloria Natividade ’25, and Hannah Yellen ’26. 
A Global Pathways program in Ballyvaughn, Ireland, focused on writing and art. 
Performing Arts affiliated faculty member David Jiles Jr. led students in a Global Pathways Linklater Voice Workshop at Kasteel Well. 
Students enjoyed seeing Sweden, including the Drottningholm Palace, as part of a Global Pathways program about the country’s creative industry. 
Students visited the news studio at the University of Media Arts & Communication (UniMac) in Ghana. 
Students who attended the Global Pathways Screenwriters’ Lab in New Zealand explored significant and cultural and cinematic sites. Left to right: Julianna Saggio ’24, Andrew Ricci ’25, Luke LaTorre ’26, Izzy Desmarais, Seneca Schwartz ’26, Rhianna Hunt ’25, and Charlotte Harteveld ’26. 
In Salzburg, Austria, students focused on creativity, media, and global change — and enjoyed amazing views.
A life-changing experience.
That is how Emerson College students and faculty describe the Global Pathways programs they participated in this summer.
They learned about New Zealand’s unique film industry and dynamic screen cultures, visited archaeological wonders like the Parthenon in Athens, and studied Sweden’s influential creative economy, just to name a few trips.
“Teaching in Ghana was a life-changing experience as I watched the students evolve in their understanding of storytelling, African history, and culture,” said Jae Williams, Executive-in-Residence in Marketing Communication. “It was even more beautiful to witness their individual growth.”
As part of Imagining Ghanaian Culture Through Visual and Multimedia Storytelling, Williams led a masterclass about how to engage curiosity in the 21st-century learner. The program was created and curated by Global Pathways founder and Vice Provost for Internationalization & Equity Tony Pinder, and Director of Faculty Development & Diversity Tuesda Roberts.
Williams said the Ghanian people welcomed the group as soon as they stepped off the plane. That feeling of camaraderie with the locals was felt throughout Global Pathways programs.
“My favorite part about this program was talking to people about philosophy and meeting artists engaging with these topics in an international context,” said Naia Driscoll ’26, about the Cities and Citizenry: Negotiating the Spaces of Belonging program in Athens, Greece.
Visual & Media Arts Assistant Professor Leah Vonderheide and VMA affiliated faculty member Rob Eckard led a four-week intensive Screenwriters’ Lab in Christchurch, New Zealand. As part of the program, students explored significant cultural and cinematic sites across Aotearoa, New Zealand, reflecting on the role of land and seascapes, Indigenous storytelling, and coming-of-age narratives in a national cinema.
Luke LaTorre ‘26 greatly enjoyed his New Zealand experience.
“The Screenwriter’s Lab in New Zealand granted me the opportunity to experience a unique culture built around storytelling that has changed my perspective on writing,” said LaTorre. “I was able to build connections with many new people both in the program and local to New Zealand that will stick with me forever.”
More than 10,000 miles away in Stockholm, Business of Creative Enterprises (BCE) Graduate Program Director and Senior Executive-in-Residence Robert Lyons was leading Blueprinting Innovation: Sweden’s Globally Influential Creative Economy.
Through the program, students visited the headquarters and talked to executives of IKEA, Spotify, and H&M. They also visited tech startups and Sweden’s largest independent music label.
“[Students were] able to investigate firsthand how this small country [of 10,000,000 people] continues to innovate with world-leading brands in fashion, design, tech, and music,” said Lyons.
“Personally, it is extremely gratifying to see the students lose many of their pre-conceptions about what makes businesses in the creative industries successful, as well as having a terrific cultural immersion.”
Other Global Pathways programs offered this summer included:
Creativity, Media and Global Change (Salzburg, Austria)
Prague Summer Film Program
French Language and Global Communication (Paris, France)
Metropolis in Motion (Berlin, Germany)
Writing Place and Distance: Art and Environment in the West of Ireland (Ballyvaughan, Ireland)
James Baldwin Writers’ Colony (Kasteel Well)
Travel Writing (Kasteel Well)
Kristin Linklater Voice Workshop (Kasteel Well)
From Shakespeare to Standup (London, England)
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