UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four dozen Penn State communications students get a different kind of spring break this year — one that offers a departure from campus as well as abundance of opportunity.
The students will be traveling to well-known tourist destinations, and they’ll be there mostly to advance their careers, develop skills and work. That includes collaborating with a nonprofit company to enhance its online search marketing efforts, making films about topics with a rich history, and reporting for stories about topics ranging from climate change to curling.
Four different classes are making trips the week of March 7-11, and some left a little earlier to get as much hands-on experience as possible at the international destinations. Those traveling include advertising/public relations students to Ireland, film students to Spain, and depth reporting and international reporting students to Scotland.
“All the students wanted to find stories that they couldn’t tell here, and that’s what we pressed them to do,” said Catie Grant, a lecturer of film production who is one of three faculty members leading 10 film students to Barcelona, Spain. “Barcelona has a rich history, an artist culture and great architecture. It was a place that seemed perfect for students to find interesting stories.”
The film students — like those in all four of the courses from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications making spring break trips — already completed a lot of preparation and research in advance of their trip.
They hope to focus on filming when they arrive. So, building contacts for films about the world’s oldest magic shop, a winery that’s been owned by the same family for 500 years, and an 11-year-old aspiring Formula 1 driver has already been completed.
“They’re excited about connecting with people they’ve already worked with from afar,” Grant said. “Plus, they really seem determined and focused on the work they have to do.”
They’re not alone in that mindset.
Fourteen Bellisario College students in a search engine marketing class will be working with an online company that aggregates information and inventory for thrift stores in Dublin. They’ll meet with company leaders, visit a few stores and pull together a proposal to pitch while there — with the goal of helping the nonprofit organization enhance its bottom line and impact. If their proposal gets a thumbs up, when they return to campus after spring break they’ll focus on the work necessary to implement, initiate and run the campaign.
“It’s a prosocial effort with a real-life client,” said Lee Ahern, an associate professor of advertising/public relations. He’s one of two faculty members traveling with the students. “It’s a huge opportunity because it gives the students actual click-stream data, something we struggle with obtaining in a typical class environment. Plus, they’ll be seeing what it’s like to collaborate with a client on a complicated project.”
Both depth reporting and international reporting students will be traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland. That’s 25 students with four faculty members and one professional partner from The Associated Press.
The students have already determined their story ideas and made initial contact with sources to be focused and productive when they arrive overseas.
“They latched onto interesting topics, including how climate change is impacting golf courses along the coast, the decline of private golf clubs and the state of women’s participation in golf. They’re doing quality reporting for longer-form and sports-business stories that are interesting,” said John Affleck, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society. “In addition, one student is doing a story about ‘shinty,’ a sport that looks like a combination of field hockey and medieval warfare, while another plans to focus on curling.”
Scotland is the birthplace of both curling and golf.
This is the first time in three years students from the Bellisario College have been able to make these international trips, all part of “embedded” courses that stretch throughout the semester on campus and include the spring break week for travel and work. While coronavirus-related challenges remain, faculty members said students were enthusiastic about the opportunities. Plus, University support has been vital in making the trips possible.
Ahern, Affleck and Grant all led or participated in similar courses in previous years. Global Programs at Penn State has played an even bigger role in the trips this year.
“They’ve brought all the logistics to one place, providing more support,” Ahern said. “It cannot be easy for them but having everything from the bursar’s office to plane tickets and the Travel Safety Network in one place is really helpful for faculty members running the programs.”