By Lauren Gordon/ reporter
TCC students can participate in a study abroad program this summer hosted by the Salzburg Global Seminar at the historic Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria.
Photo courtesy Lauren Gordon
Applications for the Salzburg Student Scholars Global Citizenship Program open this week with forms available online. Approximately 20 students will be chosen for the trip.
Participants will complete two courses for six hours of college credit. Students are responsible for paying $500 plus tuition and fees.
At the seminar, students will engage in discussions with intellectuals from around the world as well as connect with other students from across the country. The seminar includes interactions with keynote speakers who share their journey to become global citizens.
Nary Ouk, NE student and recent Salzburg scholar, said she applied to the program not expecting to be accepted. As a nontraditional student who had recently moved to Texas, she appreciated the study abroad.
“The trip fosters a new level of thinking — not one from textbooks but of experience,” she said.
Through the presentations, conversations with speakers and connections, Ouk said she discovered the reality of the world, not just her world. Presentation topics ranged from education in third-world countries to mapping ethnocentrism.
“I now have a worldly appreciation and keep a worldly perspective,” she said.
TR student L.T. Wallace, who was once homeless, said she was grateful for the opportunity. The challenges she overcame made her the perfect candidate for the program.
“I have gone from feeling alone in a crowded room to recognizing that I have a purpose in this world,” she said. “And there are millions out there willing to do the same and take a stand against the wars, hatred and one-sidedness of mankind.”
The goal of the Salzburg Student Scholars Program is to build understanding of global citizenship and cultural appreciation through discussions. After the Salzburg seminar, Wallace said she felt it was everyone’s duty to educate others so selfishness is not so rampant.
“We are not seven billion people in one world,” she said. “You are one person in seven billion worlds.”
As part of the program, students visit the Dachau concentration camp site in Germany.
“When we went to Dachau, it opened my eyes because we need to avoid that from happening again as much as we can,” said SE student Saran Kaba, who attended the program last May.
Genocide is an attempt to destroy a national ethnic, racial or religious group of people. Dachau, the first concentration camp, became a model for all German camps. Kaba said visiting Dachau was influential and something she’ll never forget.
“Being a global citizen means taking responsibility and action while understanding your actions have an impact on the world,” she said.
Dachau held more than 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries. Students spend an entire day at Dachau to witness memorial sites, walk the grounds and relive the history. Kaba said she learned to be open-minded and embrace the multicultural world she lives in.
Information for the program is available at www.tccd.edu/Courses_and_Programs/Study_Abroad/salzburg.html.
For more information, e-mail salzburg@tccd.edu.
