l–r: Dr. Paul Vincent, Johanna Debari, Chloe Nixon, Chloe Edmonds (photo by Rotary President Cathy Gray)
In October, Johanna Debari, Chloe Edmonds, and Chloe Nixon, all seniors in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, spoke at a Keene Rotary meeting about their away-from-KSC experiences. Debari and Edmonds as exchange students at Jagiellonian University and Nixon as an intern with the Washington Center in DC.
Because Keene State values experiential learning and strives to create hands-on learners, these three students were excellent ambassadors for the College and the HGS program. “The common message was the perceptible value of undergraduate students studying away, whether overseas or in an environment such as Washington, DC.,” explained Professor and Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies Paul Vincent.
From high to low: Dylan Morrill, Miles Dumas, Michael Kolodziej, Sean Millikan, Nick Cobb, and Kelly Welch in Topes de Collantes national park
Six students in the Honors Program traveled to Cuba recently as part of their Global Engagement requirement. The trip—led by retired Political Science Professor Chuck Weed and his son, Tim, who has taught writing at KSC—began in Havana and took in several towns and sites, including the Bay of Pigs, Trinidad (a beautifully preserved colonial city), museums, factories, farms, and a national park. Each student worked on a chosen research topic, which included primary and secondary education, the health delivery system, sports as a unifier, the genres of Cuban music, sites and memories of mafiosa in pre-revolution Cuba, and organic agriculture. As Dr. Weed explained, the trip “was certainly varied enough to give more than a surface introduction to a complex country and its citizens.” Continue reading Honors Students Visit Cuba→
If you were on campus in the fall of 2005, you probably remember Dom Smith, the exchange student from York St. John University in northern England. He made quite an impression—and he made the Dean’s List.
“During my short time at KSC, the whole place made a massive impact on me,” Dom recalled. He took a journalism class with Rose Kundanis, whom he remembers as rewarding hard work and accuracy. “I learned my work ethic from Rose, and my fellow students. I did my very first face-to-face interview around a story on Pumpkinfest ’05. I got some feedback from Rose about “leading questions,” which I like to think I’ve taken forward! I also volunteered at the radio station to get more experience, and now I am a regular contributor to BBC Radio North Yorkshire. As a person, my experiences in Keene made me more confident, more worldly-wise, and also more competent as a journalist. … I am incredibly proud of my experience there.” Continue reading Dom Smith, Former Study Away Student from England, Releases App for Alternative Music News→
Holocaust and Genocide Studies students Johanna DeBari (left) and Chloe Edmonds (right) hold the Jagiellonian University flag with Justyna Jochym (middle), who coordinates the Jagiellonian study-away program.
Just over two years ago, Keene State forged an exchange relationship with Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Although the relationship is not specifically for Holocaust and Genocide Studies majors, it certainly offers them a rewarding opportunity. “It fit beautifully for us,” explained Paul Vincent, professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, “especially for the Holocaust part of our major. Krakow is perfectly located within walking distance of the infamous Płaszów concentration camp. The factory mentioned in Schindler’s List is located nearby, as is the ghetto. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Auschwitz. If you’re studying the Holocaust, there is a remarkably powerful mental impact to stand in the places where these things happened. You see the world differently when you’re actually studying this in Poland.”
So far, three Holocaust and Genocide Studies majors have taken advantage of the opportunity at Jagiellonian. Two of them, Chloe Edmonds and Johanna DeBari, now completing their spring semester at the university, wrote a detailed letter to Dr. Vincent telling him of their adventures. It’s an inspiring testament of bright, engaged students exploring new horizons and taking on challenges beyond the call of duty. But it’s better to let them tell their story in their own words: Continue reading A Letter from Krakow→
Political Science major James Lavimoniere has been awarded an all-expenses paid, year-long academic and professional experience in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a highly competitive exchange. Funded by the German Bundestag and U.S. Congress through the U.S. Department of State, this program annually provides 75 young professionals who have a strong interest in cultural exchange the opportunity to study, work, and live with a host in Germany. The CBYX program consists of two months of German language school; four months of classes in the participant’s career field at a university, technical school, or professional school; and a five-month internship in the career field. Participants are placed throughout Germany on this scholarship program. Continue reading James Lavimoniere Earns Year in Germany→
Honors students and teachers in Nicaragua, l–r: Diego Gene (teacher at the Mime School), Prof. Patricia Pedroza, Bryan Fusco, Prof. Peggy Walsh, Josh DiGiovanna, Devin Cutter, Kaitlyn Conor, Velvet Young, Becky Rieger, Jess Pierce, Emily Winskowicz, Rissa Grady, Ali Asmus, Krista Sullivan, Alex Kirk, Kim Christel, Ana Maritza (teacher), and Aldo Marcel (guide).
From Peggy Walsh, professor of sociology and director of KSC’s Honors Program:
“Thirteen Keene State College Global Engagement honors students recently returned from two weeks in Nicaragua, the culmination of a spring course that focused on the social, economic, and political dimensions of this Central American country. The students had studied the early and recent history for a semester and were well prepared to participate in different aspects of the culture, converse with journalists, observe classrooms, and see first-hand the unanticipated consequences of the revolution that began in 1979 and ended just before many of them were born in 1990. Continue reading Honors Students Lend a Hand in Nicaragua→
Prof. Paul Vincent with Bridget Love (l) and Megan Olson (r) at a Krakow restaurant.
When Paul Vincent (professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies) and Hank Knight (director of the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies) visited Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, last year,their aim was to establish a formal relationship between KSC and Jagiellonian’s Centre for European Studies. “It fit beautifully for us,” Dr. Vincent explained, “especially for the Holocaust part of our major. Krakow is perfectly located within walking distance of the infamous Płaszów concentration camp. The factory mentioned in Schindler’s List is located nearby, as is the ghetto. It’s about a 45-min drive from Auschwitz. If you’re studying the Holocaust, there is a remarkably powerful mental impact to stand in the places where these things happened. You see the world differently when you’re actually studying this in Poland.”
