02-06-22 Education - Flipbook - Page 5
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 6, 2022 5
A global world
International experiences rich in value and purpose, both during
and beyond the pandemic
By Tracy M. Fitzgerald, Contributing Writer
V
irginia Coldren is pursuing a degree
in theatre and arts leadership at the
University of Maryland, College Park.
Like many college students, in spring
2020, she worried about the impact
of the COVID pandemic on her education, and
if her experiential learning opportunities in the
semesters ahead would be nonexistent. How
would she be able to complete an internship or
take part in other hands-on learning experiences,
critical to her long-term success, at a time when
the whole world was functioning in virtual mode?
Coldren’s answer came just a few months later
when her school introduced its Virtual Global
Internship Program. It opened a door for not
only real-world experience, but also whole-world
experience, creating a platform for students to
become globally active citizens, using technology during the pandemic. The stars aligned for
Coldren when a team of people in Iran contacted the University of Maryland, looking for a
partner in the launch of a “Re-Connect Online
Performance Festival.” Their goal was to unite artists from all over the world at a time when people
were otherwise grounded in their homes and
socially distancing from others. The Re-Connect
Festival could make it possible for artists to not
only perform during the pandemic, but also
to connect with new and expanded audiences
in ways that were previously not considered.
The festival founders were incredibly enthusiastic
but needed help to bring their vision to fruition. They were searching for interns interested
in theater, event planning and administration,
marketing, public relations, and website development. Passionate about leadership work in theatre, Coldren quickly jumped on the opportunity.
“Through my internship experience, I was in
contact with different people all over the world
to collaborate on projects, recruit participants for
festival events, and get more people involved,”
says Coldren, a native of Chesapeake, Virginia,
who will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree
this May. “Every country has different opportunities in my field, and it was very interesting to hear
about them from people who have a first-hand
account. My biggest takeaways from my internship were the connections I made and will sustain, and the things I learned about other people
and parts of the world.”
Coldren’s story exemplifies why Kerry Tripp,
J.D., was motivated to start the Virtual Global
Internship Program at University of Maryland in
the first place. As a principal lecturer and faculty
Coffee hour, with
a global twist
In March 2020, as the world began shutting
down with realities of the COVID pandemic setting in, more than 200 international students from
Goucher College jumped on flights out of the U.S.
as quickly as they could. Karen Sykes, associate
director of Goucher’s office of global education,
was determined to make sure those students
remained connected to and supported by the college, once settled in their home countries. She
launched “Global Coffee Hour” with a vision to
engage small groups of students from all over the
globe in ongoing conversation. Initially, about 40
students participated. And the value and impact of
Global Coffee Hour was immediately clear.
“This was presented as an open forum for
students to connect and share, and any topic was
game,” says Sykes. “Sometimes the conversation
focused on lockdown situations and travel restrictions in various countries. Other times the students
talked about how they were feeling, their families
or hobbies. It helped people connect, stay on track
and stay motivated. It helped our students maintain friendships and also build new ones.”
With the return to in-person learning this year,
some, but not all, international students have
returned to Goucher’s campus. That said, participation in Global Coffee Hours varies these days,
but remains on the calendar two times per month
for students to take advantage of, regardless of
their location of study.
“Goucher College is committed to global education and to providing the support our students
need to be successful,” says Sykes. “This program
started because of the pandemic but will continue
on become it aligns with those commitments.”
Loyola currently facilitates 34 study abroad programs across the globe with more being added.
lead for online and hybrid instruction, she is an
obvious advocate for the use of technology in
learning environments. But Tripp is also a firm
believer in the value of cross-cultural opportunities and wanted to make sure they continued for
her students, despite the pandemic.
“We need to know each other across the
world, and the pandemic forced us to look for
new and different ways to accomplish that,” says
Tripp. “We started this program with two priority projects focused on public health issues in
Africa, and over the past year, the concept has
exploded. Our students are seeing that international experiences are still very much within their
reach through this internship program. They
are gaining valuable international exposure and
experience as well as very practical virtual work
experience.”
To date, Tripp’s “master list” of virtual global opportunities has grown to include
more than 40 internship options, in partner-
ship with organizations such as the Re-Connect
Online Performance Festival; the World Health
Organization (WHO); the Center for Values in
International Development; the Community,
Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health
(CEEJH) Lab; the Chesapeake Environmental
Justice Coalition; and the University of Havana.
While the virtual internship concept was originally founded in response to the pandemic, Tripp
fully expects it will continue indefinitely, and
will also evolve and grow in the years to come.
In tandem, she is forging ahead with planning
traditional international travel experiences for
students in the upcoming year.
“We are planning to resume our annual
10-day summer study abroad trip to Cuba in
2022, where we will visit health clinics and hospitals, the pharmaceutical factory where Cuba
invented its COVID-19 vaccine, a fertility clinic, a
Cuban medical school, and a lawyer’s office,” says
Tripp. “Our students learn valuable comparative
and analytical skills in this once-in-a-lifetime
cross-cultural experience.”
Similar, beyond-the-pandemic plans are taking shape at Loyola University of Maryland.
Under the leadership of Andre Colombat, Ph.D.,
dean of international programs, Loyola currently
facilitates 34 study abroad programs across the
globe. In the coming year, two more options will
be added. The first is a full semester abroad program in partnership with Sogang University in
Seoul, Korea, which offers more than 100 courses
taught in English. The second is a full semester
experience in the Dominican Republic, where
students pursue a series of academic courses and
actively participate in two community service
projects, at the same time. Both programs are
accepting applications now and will officially
launch in Fall 2022.
“When you study abroad, you are learning
something new at every waking moment,” says
A global world,
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