Liberal Arts students learn about wonders of the ancient world in Greece

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 100 Penn State students spent their spring breaks traveling the globe through seven College of the Liberal Arts embedded programs, which are Penn State courses taken on campus or online that include a short-term international travel component. The students saw the classroom come to life by visiting historical and cultural sites and interacting with local people.

Students taking CAMS 15U had the opportunity to travel to Athens, Greece, as part of the Wonders of the Ancient World embedded program in the College of the Liberal Arts. Ann Killebrew, associate professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, Jewish studies and anthropology, and Jane Skinner, a research services specialist in the Jewish Studies program, led the group of 14 students.

The course focused on the famed “Seven Wonders” and other achievements dating back to 3,000 B.C.E. and explored these topics through lectures leading up to spring break. While in Athens, the group toured the Acropolis of Athens, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Tiryns and much more.

Notably, students from different majors had the opportunity to participate in this embedded course. The variety within the class offered a unique experience for each student. Michelle Kengkart, a fourth-year student majoring in criminology and minoring in sociology, took this class, she said, because she plans to go to law school and believed that experiencing a new perspective would help her better understand different cultures. The West Palm Beach, Florida, native, wanted to step out of her comfort zone and stray away from something she already knows.

“I have never been in a position where I did not know the language of the place that I traveled,” Kengkart said. “I thought it would be a good challenge for me and a good experience to be put into a situation of learning and adapting to other cultures.”

While the academics were at the forefront of the class and the group’s trip to Athens, she said being able to experience and bond with students through the extracurricular activities was an enjoyable aspect of the experience. Outside of their visits to various archaeological sites and museums, the group also visited the From A to Bee farm.

With cost being a determining factor when deciding to take part in any education abroad experience, students might have reservations about committing to a program. However, the majority of the CAMS 15U students received financial support in the form of Liberal Arts enrichment funding through the Career Enrichment Network.

Leila Filien, a fourth-year student double majoring in political science and chemistry, received funding from the College of the Liberal Arts, the Paterno Fellows Program and the Eberly College of Science for this embedded program. She advises students who plan to study abroad to take advantage of all funding opportunities and awards.

“The support and funding helped alleviate the cost of the trip greatly, and I do not think I would have been able to study abroad otherwise,” said the Brooklyn, New York, native. “I believe every student should have the opportunity to study abroad as an undergraduate.”

The Paterno Fellow also said that her past liberal arts courses have helped her learn to think beyond an American perspective and think about life outside her local point of view.

Learning inside a classroom about ancient and foreign historical sites was what intrigued most students to enroll in this class, they said. However, being able to transport the classroom from Happy Valley to Athens was an experience like no other.

“Although we spent an entire semester learning about these topics, you cannot prepare for something like this because it is not like reading out of a book,” said student Ziyen Curtis. “Someone is telling you this, and right behind them is this incredible structure built 6,000 years ago. It was simply just phenomenal.”

Curtis, a fourth-year student double majoring in history and global and international studies with minors in women’s studies and gender and sexuality studies, said that even though it was not a requirement for their global and international studies major, studying abroad was important to them. The Scranton, Pennsylvania, native emphasized that they wanted to finally see the places they learned about throughout their previous liberal arts classes.

Jay Falcone, another student from Scranton, joined the excursion to complete part of an independent study and project on the history of photography in Greece and ancient sites for their integrated undergraduate-graduate degree in anthropology. Falcone, a fourth-year student double majoring in anthropology and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies and minoring in history, said going to Greece was imperative for their project to see these sites in person.

“There have been different photographers who have worked in Greece taking photos of these sites, and with the different years and styles of photography, one of the things that I wanted to do was go there myself and take my own photos and kind of compare them to ones from the past,” Falcone said.

For some students, this was their first time traveling abroad. Leading up to the trip, many not only prepared and did research on the sites they would visit but also reviewed Greek customs and culture.

“The most valuable thing I learned on this trip was to be prepared for new experiences,” Filien said. “There were times when I was confronted with different social customs, and I had to adapt to them as time went on.”

Ultimately, the trip helped prepare the students for their final project of the semester, answering the question, "If you could add an eighth wonder of the ancient world, which one would it be?"

Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network

The Career Enrichment Network empowers Liberal Arts students to explore, engage and define their career journey through diverse career development opportunities. Students can meet with a career coach to explore careers, internships, education abroad, research, the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program and more. Through donor support, the Career Enrichment Network is able to provide Liberal Arts students with funding to support many of these experiences.