By Kendra Decker/reporter
Ten students have been selected districtwide for the second annual Salzburg Seminar in Austria.
The Austria-bound students include Steve Emenhiser, Matthew Maxwell and Mario Quintero and Louis Tomanek from South Campus; Pamela Morgan and Leah White from NW.
Also attending are Bradley Denton, Tina Fredell and Joshua Freeman from SE and Susan Hyde from NE. Amelia Kay and Andrew Hill, both from South Campus, have been named alternates.
John Haglund, instructor of geology and chair of the South Campus natural sciences department, and Margaret Debenport, instructor of CAD and chair of the South Campus engineering department, will teach the two classes.
This summer’s program will include an eight-day excursion at the beginning of June.
Students will study and eat in Schloss Leopoldskron, the castle used in The Sound of Music, and meet with other U.S. colleges students.
The majority of time at the seminar will be spent listening to lectures on topics related to global citizenship. The goal is to make students more aware of the linkage between nations.
“ I was once told, ‘We are all playing in the same sandbox, why would we want to dirty the sandbox we are playing in?’” Haglund said.
Educating students, as well as adults in the work force, is part of the agenda.
So what draws a person to a castle halfway across the world, geared toward international concerns?
“ It’s a great opportunity to expand my focus and talk about global issues,” Emenhiser, an environmental geology major, said.
Emenhiser said by working with our international counterparts people can solve many different problems.
The students participating will not only receive credit for GEOL 2407 (field geology) and DFTG (topographical drafting) but three days before the seminar’s start, they will study classic Alpine geology in Berchtesgaden National Park in Bavaria, Germany.
The three days will include a boat trip and hike along the Konnigsee and a guided tour through a salt mine that has been in operation since the 1500s.
Participants will also hike along the Wimbachklamm, a canyon cut through the Alps.
Journaling and sketching will be required as well as student participation.
This eight-credit-hour block comes at the cost of $600, not including the price of the required passport.
The selected students were required to complete an application, write an essay, submit at least one letter of recommendation and official TCC transcript and sign a Salzburg Seminar waiver form.
These students also had to meet the following academic requirements: must be an enrolled TCC student, have earned more than 18 credit hours and have a GPA greater than 3.0.
To obtain more information, contact either Debenport at 817-515-4777 or Haglund at 817-515-4754.
Other information is provided on the Internet at www.salzburgseminar.org.
