From Ire­land to Italy, Wes­ley Trav­els the World

By Leigh Ann Lit­tle ’09

Saint Augus­tine once said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Fol­low­ing this phi­los­o­phy, Pro­fes­sor of His­tory Dr. Susanne Fox has been coor­di­nat­ing trips abroad to Ire­land and Italy for the Wes­ley com­mu­nity the past nine years, in hopes that these expe­ri­ences start a new chap­ter in the lives of stu­dents, fac­ulty, staff and alumni.

“We see in our stu­dents a new matu­rity. They become very proud for expe­ri­enc­ing these cul­tures on their own. For many of them, it’s the begin­ning of their love for travel. They want to con­tinue to travel and that’s really why we do it,” said Fox.

In con­junc­tion with their course­work, stu­dents trav­el­ing abroad are given a chance to wit­ness first­hand the peo­ple and places they have read about and dis­cussed in class. “Rome was more spec­tac­u­lar in per­son than what I imag­ined,” said Chris Birch ’07. While a Wes­ley stu­dent and later an alum­nus, Birch trav­eled with Fox and Pro­fes­sor of His­tory Frank Gre­gory. His first ven­ture abroad was on the 2005 trip to Ire­land. Birch returned with a bright new per­spec­tive of the world. “Step­ping out­side the fast-paced Amer­i­can cul­ture for about ten days was refresh­ing and showed me that the world is a fas­ci­nat­ing place to explore.”

One key advan­tage to trav­el­ing with the Wes­ley Col­lege group is hav­ing a worry-free expe­ri­ence, with all the details cov­ered within an afford­able pack­age price. “Dr. Fox was always very seri­ous about our safety,” said Katie Mene­fee ’08. On the var­i­ous trips, the fac­ulty and stu­dents have got­ten
to know their infor­ma­tive guides and trust that they will escort them safely to all the best loca­tions. Fox and Gre­gory, along with numer­ous chap­er­ones, are pleased to report that they have never
left a per­son behind. “I’m just amazed at how smoothly the trips go. Peo­ple get along, they’re where they should be, and they’re atten­tive to the guides. I find it to be a very pleas­ant expe­ri­ence for all,” Fox expressed.

The stu­dents, alumni and fac­ulty that have par­tic­i­pated in these trips know that the most price­less ben­e­fit is expe­ri­enc­ing a cul­tural edu­ca­tion with fel­low mem­bers of the Wes­ley com­mu­nity. Fox strongly encour­ages alumni, the least rep­re­sented group in past trips, to come along for the jour­ney. “I would love to have more alumni. It’s neat for them to see the stu­dents here at Wes­ley now, and it’s a fairly inex­pen­sive way for them to travel,” said Fox.

Dur­ing spring break in Feb­ru­ary 2010, another group will travel to Italy to visit the areas of Rome, Naples, Pom­peii and the Amalfi Coast. For alumni that are inter­ested in learn­ing more about future Wes­ley trips abroad, visit www.weare.wesley.edu/events W