By Bethany Sanderson/reporter

Islands as a Classroom, a speech-history travel abroad program, will have its orientation 4-5 p.m. March 9 in SSTU 2105 on South Campus and 2-3 p.m. March 10 in WSTU 1303 on NW Campus.

The program allows students to travel to the Caribbean island of St. Croix, where they will earn credits for History 1301 and Speech 1311.

A six-week course, part conducted through distance learning and part conducted abroad, will commence with a week of instruction at home and continue with a weeklong trip July 23-30 to St. Croix. That week is followed by four weeks of online instruction and one week on campus.

The class limit is 25 students, so those interested should register as early as possible.

The $1,900 cost includes accommodations, all meals, on-island transportation and excursions.

Tuition for the courses and textbooks are not included in the overall price.

Each course is worth three credit hours.

The trip is designed by NW speech instructor Carol Hunsberger and history assistant professor Jessica Patton.

“I expect the students after this visit to St. Croix to understand their history a little bit better, to understand the workings of a new culture,” Hunsberger said, “to figure out ways they can help others through service in a different culture and also be involved in a learning community.”

The students will live together, cook meals together and discuss the island’s intercultural, societal and interpersonal levels.

Students will be exposed to many historic elements like the ties between the original 13 colonial economies and the Caribbean and the larger Atlantic world.

In addition to the history and speech district syllabi, the students will be immersed in a different culture by communicating with residents of St. Croix.

“When they come back to the U.S., they will have a better appreciation and tolerance for other different types of people,” Hunsberger said.

For more information, contact Hunsberger at 817-515-7228 or by e-mail at carol.hunsberger@tccd.edu.