TAMIU Students Travel to Eastern Europe for Spring Break
Spring Break for college students usually means nearby beaches, but a select group of Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) students have different shores in mind…Eastern Europe to be exact.
TAMIU’s common reading program, known as “Reading the Globe” will lead 15 students and six faculty-staff members on a study-travel program reflective of the University’s international mission. Students will visit the countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
Students selected for the program include Javier Alonso, Sergio Barragán, Catia Carmona, Luís Díaz, Yesenia Garner, Alejandra Guajardo, Andres Marcos, Jazmín Ornelas, Reyna Ortiz, Julian Quesada, Angelica Salinas, Leslie Sánchez, Ruth Solis, Nadia Tabbara and Daisie Urdiales.
“We’re excited to be embarking on our eighth ‘Reading the Globe’ experience, which really validates so much of what the University is truly about,” said Dr. Conchita Hickey, Dean of the sponsoring University College.
“Launched in 2008, the Reading the Globe program requires all First Year students to read a book focused on an international topic. This book is read and discussed as part of the UNIV 1101 freshman seminar curriculum, Learning in a Global Environment I. The Common Read Program provides the opportunity for discourse about issues relevant to students, and raises social awareness on a local and global scale. We also share the experience with the City of Laredo as the selected book is part of its ‘One City, One Book’ program,” Dr. Hickey explained.
She noted that TAMIU faculty and staff also participate, fostering and strengthening the growth of an intellectual community in and around the University, and supporting students’ academic development.
“We believe this shared experience, the opportunity to become part of an optional study-travel component and to again share that experience with others, helps us to underscore understanding of society and culture, one of TAMIU’s undergraduate learning principles,” Hickey said.
The students' travel itinerary will include Belgrade, the capital of Serbia; Zemun, a walled city within Belgrade; the University of Belgrade for guest lectures on conflicts and economics of the area; Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and its many historical museums and Ottoman-styled Ferhadija Mosque; guest lectures at the Bosniac Institute on current political and economic issues; a service project at the SOS Children's Village; Zagreb, capital of Croatia; lectures at the Croatian Institute for History on independence and landmine removal; a meeting with a member of the Croatian Parliament; Budapest, capital of Hungary and lectures at the Budapest Business School on Post-Communist Hungary and EU membership issues; visit Budapest's famed Memento Park of monumental statues and a final exploration of the Budapest History Museum before returning home.
The selected text for this initiative is “The River Runs Salt, Runs Sweet: A Memoir of Visegrad, Bosnia” by Jasmina Dervisevic-Cesic, who visited TAMIU in October 2014 and spoke with students and Laredo community members as well.
To date, TAMIU’s Reading the Globe has taken students to Poland, Ghana, Cambodia, Chile, Turkey, and South Africa. While on their study program to Eastern Europe, students will blog and use social media to share their experience with others.
To learn more about past country-specific Reading the Globe travels by students, including galleries, essays and impressions by students, visit: http://www.tamiu.edu/fye/ReadingtheGlobe.shtml
To learn more about author Jasmina Dervisevic-Cesic, visit: http://www.tamiu.edu/newsinfo/newsarticles/2014-ReadingTheGlobe100914.shtml
For additional information about “Reading the Globe,” contact Dr. Hickey at 956.326.2801, 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