Georgia Southern Students to Travel, Volunteer Abroad During Spring Break

March 6, 2009

Six Georgia Southern University honors students will begin a unique spring break next week when they depart Statesboro for a trip to Northern Ireland where they will tour, volunteer and spend St. Patrick’s Day working alongside some of the country’s most notable artists.

The Georgia Southern students will arrive in Northern Ireland on Saturday, March 14 and will tour Belfast, the North Antrim coast and Dublin. On St. Patrick’s Day they will volunteer in Derry, where they will work to repair historically significant murals alongside the famed Bogside Artists.

Derry was the scene of a 1972 protest that turned violent when protesters were fired on by the British military. The events of that day led to escalated violence in the region and were the inspiration for the U2 song ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday.” The Bogside Artists have painted a series of murals in the area depicting the scenes of that Sunday and other reminders of that unsettled time.

‘Our students seek out meaningful learning experiences,” said Dr. Steven Engel, director of Georgia Southern University’s Honors Program. ‘When some college students plan their break around fun in the sun,’ this group will have the opportunity to learn, first-hand, about the peace and reconciliation process in a society that has emerged from a period of conflict. These kinds of experiential learning opportunities are a hallmark of the honors experience at Georgia Southern University, where students can see ideas in action and make a difference at the same time.”

This trip is also significant because it will be the first time several of the students have traveled abroad. Allowing students opportunities to study and travel abroad is a key part of Georgia Southern’s mission to provide an education that will give graduates the tools they will need to live and work in a global society.

‘This experience embodies the mission of the University Honors program in that it allows students to develop an understanding of the problems that confront humanity and consider how their future careers may lend themselves to crafting solutions to these problems,” said Bob Frigo who is the assistant director of the University Honors Program.

The Georgia Southern students traveling on this trip are Ashlin Reid of Statesboro, Ga., Mary Elizabeth Cooper of Claxton, Ga., Rachel Rozier of Macon, Ga., Ava Conger and Rachel Anderson of Bainbridge, Ga. and�Kelsey Ryan of Green Cove Springs, Fla.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 116 degree programs serving nearly 18,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.