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Eva Parish, Elizabeth Brosius and Kaitlin Hodge, Global STRIDE
Fellows
"I found out that I had been selected for the
STRIDE program a few days before I received my formal acceptance letter from Smith.
I was terribly excited to read about this new program within STRIDE, one that put
an emphasis on international experience and language learning," says Kaitlin
Hodge, a native of Baltimore, Ohio.
"The descriptions of the many STRIDE projects
were all attractive," adds Lizzy Brosius, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, "but
I was drawn the most to the possibilities presented by the Global STRIDE initiative.
The opportunity to study abroad before my junior year and the chance to undertake
an internship with an international focus were just too good to be true." Lizzy
is continuing her study of Spanish this year and is investigating summer language
programs in Spain.
Eva Parish, from Westford, Massachusetts, was already
an accomplished speaker of Spanish and has begun to learn German this year. She notes
that what she most appreciates in the Global STRIDE program so far is the focus on
language and how the fellows are encouraged to explore all aspects of language learning. "The
chance to study abroad the summer between first and second year is an unexpected
opportunity," she
observes, and one that she is exploring with much enthusiasm. So far she has considered
summer programs in Iceland and Greece before turning more recently to Spain where
she knows she would have the opportunity of coming closer to her goal of fluency
in the language.
Kaitlin finds that the Global STRIDE program will allow
her to acquire the skills and experiences that she will need for her ultimate goal
of working in conflict resolution in central Africa. To that end, she has begun to
study French this year in preparation of spending her Junior Year Abroad in Geneva,
where she hopes to undertake an internship with one of the many NGOs that
focus on Africa. She plans to use her Global STRIDE stipend to acquire a first international
experience by studying in Africa this summer.
Eva, Lizzy and Kaitlin meet weekly with their Global
STRIDE faculty mentor, Janie Vanpée, Professor of French Studies and one of
the members of the Implementation Committee for the future Center for International
and Intercultural Studies. Their weekly discussions focus on short essays that bring
to light different aspects of language usage and language learning, from explorations
of common myths held about different languages and language learning, to particular
usage and accents (one discussion focused on articles that described vice-presidential
candidate Sarah Palin’s interviews and speeches), to effective methodologies
for teaching language.
This past month, all three fellows interviewed some
of the foreign exchange students on campus who are participating in the American
Studies Diploma Program. All agree that they learned much about the different perspectives
that these students from Germany, Spain, Switzerland, France and Burkina Faso brought
to a comparison of educational systems and politics between their countries and the
USA.
As Kaitlin remarked after her interview with Florentine
Bambara from Burkina Faso, "The perspective these exchange students bring on
our own educational system at Smith, helps us see it anew." The group is now
turning its attention to exploring the many summer language programs and summer study
abroad opportunities that best fit their individual aspirations as they evolve. Early
next semester, the group will begin to investigate the different internship possibilities
that they might like to undertake upon their return from study abroad this summer. |
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Anthropology
Area
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International
Relations
Kahn Liberal Arts Institute
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Across
the Curriculum
First-Year
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Seminars Diploma
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Meet
the 2008-09 Fellows
Meet
the 2009-10 Fellows
Meet
the 2010-11 Fellows
Smith
Elects the
World
Collaborations
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