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Posted: 3/03/11

TAMIU Students Ready for Study Travel Trip to Cambodia

 

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This Wednesday, 15 Texas A&M International University students will travel over 9,300 miles for a Spring Study-Travel Program to Cambodia, March 11-19.

They’ve been selected to be part of the University’s “Reading the Globe” Study-Travel Program during Spring Break 2011. They will join student counterparts from West Texas A&M University in Canyon in the historic initiative.

Students traveling are Arturo James Crake, Marcos Roel Cruz, Karen Cristina De La Garza, Olinda Victoria Domínguez, Amanda Michelle Garza, Oscar Eduardo Leyva, María Andrea Martínez, Javier Mendoza, Vanessa M. Navarro, Phillipe Quach, Evelyn F. Richardson, Carolina Yvette Salazar, Erika Salazar, Reymundo Salinas and Luís Alberto Vela.

University College’s Conchita Hickey, who coordinates the campus’ reading initiative and will accompany the group, said it provides a rare opportunity for students.


“We’re an international university, committed to helping students to expand their horizons with global experiences, but this is truly a remarkable opportunity for our students. They’ll see a part of the world none have ever seen and study a fascinating country and culture. We are much blessed that TAMIU and its partners are able to make this available to our students,” Hickey said. 


From Phnom Penh, the group will head to Kirirom National Park and homestay with local Cambodian families to learn about the country’s environment and wildlife. The group will return to Phnom Penh, visiting the Olympic Stadium and learning about the country’s educational system. The group will travel to the storied Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields, learn about cooperative social business ventures, study affordable water solutions in place in Cambodia and sample local dance and cuisine. Also planned are visits to the famed temples of Angkor Wat, a silk farm, exploration of local markets and various museums and cultural centers.

TAMIU students were selected for the study-travel opportunity based on an application, interview and personal essays they submitted for this year’s “Reading the Globe” text, “The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine” by Somaly Mam, who visited the TAMIU campus this Fall.

This is the third TAMIU group to travel abroad as part of their “Reading the Globe” experience. In Spring 2009, 15 students went to Poland. In January 2010, students traveled to Ghana. All student travel has been made possible in part by the generosity of the Lupe and Lilia Martínez Foundation of Laredo.

To learn more about this year's Reading the Globe offering or help support future initiatives, please visit University College offices in University Success Center 223, phone 956.326.2134 or e-mail chickey@tamiu.edu

Additional information is also available @txamiu on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.


Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu