York College Students Spend Part of Summer 2023 Engaged in International Learning

Several groups of York College students spent time learning in international locations during the first part of summer.

Concert Tour of the Czech Republic and Hungary

Students, faculty, alumni, and guests experienced an eight-day music and sightseeing tour of Eastern Europe under the leadership of Dr. Grace Muzzo, Director of Choral Studies and Music Education. The 33-member group’s itinerary included visits to Prague, central Czechia, Vienna, and Budapest. York College Winds and Voices performed at several beautiful locations: Church of the Holy Saviour in Prague, Palace of the Prince Archbishops in Olomouc, and Matthias Church in Budapest. 

“Music faculty members curated a concert program, adapting repertoire to the unique talents represented by the travelers, and to the cultures in which the music was performed,” said Muzzo. “York College artist faculty performed as soloists, and participated in the vocal and instrumental ensembles. Barriers of culture and language dissolved as we shared the human experience through music to large and enthusiastic audiences.”

International Sport and Entertainment

Students from various majors enrolled in Dr. Molly Sauder’s International Sport and Entertainment course, which is part of the Gen Next curriculum, traveled to London and Paris with a group from the University of Tennessee at Martin. The course provides an opportunity for students to compare management practices in sport and entertainment and covers topics like management and governance practices, sales and marketing strategies, and fan/attendee behavior.

Tours of sports facilities in London included Sixes Social Cricket venue; Stamford Bridge, home to Chelsea Football Club; All England Lawn Tennis Club, home to Wimbledon; London Stadium, home to West Ham United Football Club; Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, site of the 2012 Olympic Games; and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, for a match between Tottenham and Brentford Football Clubs. In Paris, the group visited the Tour de France Finish Line; Halle Georges Carpentier, home of Paris Basketball; and Stade de France, home to the National Football Team and Rugby Union Team.

“This was a fabulous opportunity for all of us!” said Sauder. “I was so proud of the group of students who took this class. They took every chance to learn throughout the semester and during our time in London and Paris. It was especially wonderful to see them thrive cross-culturally in France.”

Honors Community to Greece and Netherlands

Members of the Honors Community returned to Greece in May to resume their partnership with a university in Crete. They taught Design Thinking to their peers, who in turn led them in a Scrum workshop. Scrum.org says, “If you are just getting started, think of Scrum as a way to get work done as a team in small pieces at a time, with continuous experimentation and feedback loops along the way to learn and improve as you go.” Participating in the workshop “allowed our students to reflect on the core tenets of both processes and consider how they might work together,” said Dr. Karin Swartz, assistant dean of the Center for Community Engagement, who accompanied the students and two alumni.

Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Cecilia Bove accompanied a group of Graham Collaborative Innovation Fellows on a trip to the Netherlands she described as “very enriching for myself and for the students.” Through the Graham Fellowship, students are encouraged to become better global citizens and to explore learning objective that build upon their professional goals, Bove said. “In this particular case, I traveled with three students from the Nursing program, a student from the Engineering program, and a student from the History program. They were interested in learning about sustainability, pedagogy of difficult historical topics, and the impact of legalized drug use on societal wellness.”

The group visited Amsterdam and Enschede, where they connected with students from the University of Twente who also work on design thinking.

As Graham Fellows, the students created tangible learning goals and planned a detailed itinerary to achieve their objectives. “My job was to support them and facilitate conversation among themselves and folks in the Netherlands,” Bove said. “It really is exciting to see students cultivate their own interests and learn to see the world from different perspectives!”

Other Opportunities

Additionally, York College students are in Japan with Temple University; at the American Business School of Paris; in Costa Rica; in Buenos Aires, Argentina, completing an International Relations internship; and in Rome at the American University of Rome.