TAMIU ‘Reading the Globe’ Students Travel to Turkey for Spring Break

A group of 14 Texas A&M International University students will travel to Turkey this Spring Break as part of TAMIU’s “Reading the Globe” Program.

They were selected for the “Reading the Globe” program after a competitive essay based on their reading of the University’s campus read selection, “Prisoner of Tehran” by Marina Nemat.

Dr. Conchita Hickey, dean of University College, which directs the annual initiative, said the students have a remarkable study-travel opportunity ahead of them.

“We will be visiting a country that has an old and rich history that has propelled itself into the modern world with a dynamic synthesis of east and west that truly bridges Europe and Asia.  In addition to a 10,000-year old heritage, Turkey is also home to stunning natural beauty and rich study opportunities to explore the life and culture of Asia Minor,” Dr. Hickey said.

Highlights of the groups’ study-travel will include Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar; the Princess Islands, the World War II Battlefields of the Gallipoli Peninsula, the Dardenelles, the Archaeological Museum of the Ephesus Ruins, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hierapolis, the Silk Market of Bursa and a cruise along the Bosporus, the strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.

Students participating in the study-travel project are Lorena Abrego, Sergio Bernal, Carlos Calderon, Hector Gonzalez-Cantu, Gabriella Castillo, Rocio Cavazos, Naomi Cortina, Jessica Gomez, Laura Gonzalez, Annette Lara, Juan Carlos Nava, Christian Nielsen, Dim Siam and Esteban Vargas.

This is the fifth TAMIU student group in the “Reading the Globe” program.  Previous study-travel sites have included Poland, Ghana, Cambodia and Chile.

Student impressions and galleries of previous trips are archived at tamiu.edu/spotlight

For more information on future “Reading the Globe” programming or opportunities to assist the program, please contact Hickey at 326.2801, email chickey@tamiu.edu or visit offices in the Senator Judith Zaffirini Student Success Center, Suite 223.

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