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Study Abroad program revived

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Lee College freshman Annalia Stewart always wanted to travel outside of the United States but never had the chance — that is, until the college revived its Study Abroad program this summer with a 10-day trip to Great Britain, Ireland and Wales.

“This was a great opportunity for me to travel abroad without being alone. We’ll really be able to feel the history we learn in class,” said Stewart, one of 16 students now exploring the treasured landmarks of the British Isles while also earning academic credit for their Lee College degrees.

The students, accompanied by Honors Program faculty members Dr. Gordon Lee and Portia Hopkins, left for Europe on May 18 and return to Baytown on May 28. It is the first Study Abroad trip the college has organized since 2008, when Lee took a group of students to London and Paris, he said.

“Study Abroad gives students a sense that something exists beyond their own community,” said Lee, an instructor of English and Humanities. “Students are always awe-filled by what they see and experience in another country. They develop a new perspective on the world and a new appreciation for cultural things.”

As part of the trip to the British Isles, students had to enroll in an intensive English and Humanities or History summer class that began prior to their departure. Lee and Hopkins, an instructor of American Studies and History, specially designed course content to pair with notable sites that students toured while abroad — helping them forge a deeper connection with what they saw.

The students also had to complete several scholarly reading and writing assignments and maintain a travel journal, and will prepare a Capstone presentation to deliver to the campus community later this summer.

Hunter McHugh, an Honors Program sophomore and the newly elected Student Government Association president, said the class work is part of what makes traveling through Study Abroad more worthwhile than overseas trips she has taken in the past.

“Then, I was purely a tourist,” McHugh said. “Now, I know I’ll get more from the trip, and the experience will be more meaningful. This is something that I’m going to remember my whole life.”

Study Abroad at Lee College is an initiative of International Education being hosted in part through EF Educational Tours. For more information, contact Dr. Nader Naderi at nnaderi@lee.edu.